Responding to Relative Decline: The Plank Road Boom of Antebellum New York

John Majewski, Christopher Baer and Daniel Klein

University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers from University of California Transportation Center

Abstract: From 1847 to 1853 New Yorkers built more than 3,500 miles of wooden roads. Financed primarily by residents of declining rural townships, plank roads were seen as a means of linking isolated areas to the canal and railroad network. A broad range of individuals invested in the roads, suggesting that the drive for bigger markets was supported by a large cross section of the population. Considerable community spirit animated the movement, indicating that New Yorkers used the social capital of the community to reach their entrepreneurial aspirations.

Keywords: Social; and; Behavioral; Sciences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1993-03-01
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Journal Article: Responding to Relative Decline: The Plank Road Boom of Antebellum New York (1993)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cdl:uctcwp:qt0jk2683v

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