The Valley Turnpike, chartered in 1838 as a joint-stock corporation, followed the route of the Great Wagon Road from Philadelphia to the backcountry of the Carolinas, a major migration route of the mid-18th century. First an Indian path, then a wagon road, it had become by the Civil War a hard-surfaced macadamized commercial highway. Here on Tumbling Run stand the remains of the Old Pike stone bridge. Lack of maintenance and overuse by armies in every season often forced soldiers to repair roads or clear new ones while campaigning. During the Civil War, nine major battles were fought in the Shenandoah Valley along the Valley Turnpike, and many more battles and engagements took place on other Valley thoroughfares because armies marched on the most accessible and advantageous routes, which were also the historic routes used for commerce and private travel. Road networks and intersections often dictated where battles occurred, and roads were essential to the logistical trains that followed the armies, including baggage wagons, herds of stock, fresh horses, ambulances, artillery pieces, and caissons. During the battles of Fisher's Hill on September 22, 1864, and Cedar Creek on October 19, 1864, the bridge here was important to the marching armies because it supplemented the natural defensive terrain of Fisher's Hill as a line of communication. During the Battle of Cedar Creek, the bridge became a choke point as fleeing wagons, artillery caissons, and demoralized Confederate soldiers forced their way across the stream.