Travel the roads of the past with us, through the mountains of western Virginia... The Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike was built before the Civil War to connect the Shennandoah Valley at Staunton to the Ohio River Valley at Parkersburg. The first real road directly through the Allegheny Mountains, it was crucial to the growth of central western Virginia. Read more about the HISTORY of the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike.

After Union forces secured the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the remainder of the 1861 Civil War Mountain Campaign was fought for control of the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike and of northwestern Virginia.

As the 21st Century begins,  the Staunton - Parkersburg Turnpike Alliance, a non-governmental, non-profit  organization of regional volunteers, is working to interpret, enhance, and promote the Turnpike.