Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike
Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike is a National Scenic Byway in West Virginia. Within West Virginia it covers roughly 170 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
West Virginia's Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike can still be traced today via State Route 47, US 33, and US 250 from Parkersburg to Virginia. Built as a toll road to connect Staunton, Virginia, and the upper Shenandoah Valley to the Ohio River, it was surveyed in 1823 by Claudius Crozet, Virginia's chief engineer, a former officer in Napoleon's army who later taught at West Point. Construction began at Staunton in 1831 but stalled for lack of money until the Virginia Board of Public Works took direct control in 1841; the road finally reached Parkersburg in 1847, passing through Linn, Weston, Buckhannon, Elkins, and Beverly. Some of the Civil War's earliest campaigns were fought for control of the turnpike, and the Union's 1861 victory at Rich Mountain secured it for the North for the rest of the war. The West Virginia portion was named a National Scenic Byway in 2005.
- Claudius Crozet engineering
- Parkersburg to Staunton
- 1847 completion
- Rich Mountain Civil War battle
- 2005 National Scenic Byway
- Buckhannon and Elkins
- toll road history
Designated for its historic qualities
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Places to stop along Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike
Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park
A reconstructed Palladian mansion on an Ohio River island, reached by sternwheeler, linked to Aaron Burr's alleged conspiracy.
WebsiteRich Mountain Battlefield
A mountain pass where Union troops won an early 1861 victory that helped launch George McClellan's career and paved the way for West Virginia statehood.
Beverly
A historic turnpike town with a heritage center in its old courthouse buildings.
Buffalo Lake
A quiet lake in the Monongahela National Forest near the Virginia line.
Where to Stay along Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike
3 campgrounds and RV parks sit within about 5 miles of Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike.
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Photos of Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike
What is a National Scenic Byway?
National Scenic Byways are roads recognized at the federal level for at least one outstanding quality — scenic, natural, historic, cultural, archaeological or recreational — that gives travelers a reason to seek them out rather than just pass through.