Historic Roadbed

This roadbed dates from the earliest colonial times in what is now Patrick County and may have been in use as early as the 1750 period. About one thousand feet of the historic road forms the eastern boundary of the Laurel Hill property owned by the J.E.B. Stuart Birthplace Preservation Trust Inc. The road appears on maps dated as early as 1818, when it was known as the Old Sulphur Springs Road. On its way to Mount Airy, it crossed present-day Virginia Route 773, meandered across the fields to the left of Virginia Route 773, and rejoined the present-day road a few hundred yards before crossing the North Carolina state line. The old road crossed the state line at the same point as the present-day road. It is thought to have been constructed along part of the eastern survey line of David Bell's 2,816-acre patent obtained in 1753, land that later became part of Elizabeth and Archibald Stuart's plantation, Laurel Hill.

Virginia · United States