This record is made available under an Universal 1.0 Public Domain Dedication Creative Commons license.
This collection is minimally processed and open for research. Please handle gently as covers are missing and fron page is detached.
This collection contains an account book of the toll house along Brown's Gap Turnpike. The account book, oblong in format, contains thirty pages, nine of which have pasted news clippings pasted over the manuscript entries. The account book spans from 1810 to 1817 and details road tolls for wagons, lodging expenses for men and animals, meals, and other expenditures. Accounts for the Brown family loom, grist mill, and sawmill also appear, listing charges for grain, planks, etc. Through these charges, the account book documents the many early settlers of western Albemarle County and the Shenandoah Valley. The newspaper clippings are unrelated and cover a variety of topics related to homemaking, including cures for various ailments for animals and humans, advice on growing plants, and keeping house.
The Brown's Cove toll road began construction in 1805 and opened in 1806, connecting Grottoes in Rockingham County with the Three Notch'd Road in Albemarle County. It is among the oldest east-west toll roads in the Blue Ridge. The Brown House, called "Moutain View," was known as "Toll House" and later "Headquarters" by users of the Turnpike. It was at the Toll House that stagecoaches and freight wagons would stop to pay their toll before passing through Brown's Gap. Brown's Gap offered the northernmost mountain crossing in Albemarle County, allowing easier access to Charlottesville and Richmond for Valley people and their goods. The Brown family also owned a flour and grist mill, a sawmill, and one of the first power looms in the United States.
This collection was purchased from Franklin Gilliam Rare Books by the Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia on 22 January 2025.
The Library believes that all or nearly all material in this collection is likely to be in the public domain, free of copyright restrictions. Visit our Permissions and Publishing page for more information about use of Special Collections materials. The library can provide copyright information upon request, but users are responsible for making their own determination about lawful use of collections materials.