Rivers and roads

About this book

"This short book provides a largely pictorial history of early American transportation. Focusing on Tidewater Virginia, starting with the founding of Jamestown, the photography draws largely on Tidewater locales and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's coach and livestock resources, including horses, oxen, and wheeled vehicles such as coaches, wagons, carts, and riding chairs. The photography also includes the Jamestown Settlement re-creation of the Discovery, one of the three ships that brought America's first permanent English colonists to Virginia in 1607, and a few other water transports. The text describes how early American transportation began with an almost an exclusive reliance on water, how horses became indispensable once they arrived, and how trails were eventually widened into roads to accommodate the carts, wagons, and carriages that became a critical part of social and economic growth in early America"--Provided by publisher.