Roads in the area began as paths formed by walking and by the passage of wagons and buggies, and when the first cars arrived they were still rough, described as “pot-hole after pot-hole.” Sam Bonham recalled riding his motorcycle to Knoxville, Tennessee, around 1918 while dodging holes in the road, and when it rained the roads became mud. The Macadam road from St. Clair’s Bottom to Chilhowie was built around 1905. H.L. Bonham played an important role in developing good roads in Smyth County, Virginia, served on the commonwealth of Virginia’s Good Road Commission about 1916, owned the local area’s third automobile, a Cadillac, in 1911, and his Carriage House was built to shelter his first cars. The first automobile used for farm work was a Ford Model T.