Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike
Rich Mountain Battlefield
This turnpike connected the upper Shenandoah Valley with the Ohio River by 1847. Designed by master engineer Claudius Crozet, it was a major rock-paved roadway with toll stations. The road you are traveling follows the original turnpike route. Both armies struggled for control of this road in 1861. The Union victory at Rich Mountain secured much of Western Virginia and sustained a growing statehood movement. A 35th star was added to the flag in 1863 for West Virginia.
Union and Confederate troops clashed on the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike throughout the Civil War. General Robert E. Lee unsuccessfully tried to regain control of the area later in 1861. See many of these sites today along the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike Byway.
Marker is on Rich Mountain Road / Files Creek Road (County Route 37/8), on the right when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
