[Philadelphia] Partially-Printed Certificate for the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike Road

Philadelphia, March 16, 1795. Single oblong sheet, 7 1/2 x 9 1/2 in. (190 x 241 mm). Partially-printed Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike Road Company stock certificate on vellum (No. 935), signed by President William Bingham, entitling the Insurance Company of Pennsylvania one share of stock in the company. Engraved vignette at top; blindstamp at left. Docketing and notations on verso. Creasing from old folds.

A scarce stock certificate for the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike Road Company, signed by prominent Philadelphia merchant and land speculator William Bingham (1752-1804). The first long-distance paved road and first major toll road in the United States, the Philadelphia-Lancaster turnpike began construction in 1793. As the construction of the road was too costly for the Pennsylvania government to fund on its own, the state legislature incorporated the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike Road Company in 1792 to execute the project. Subscriptions to the stock opened that June, which proved to be incredibly popular, with one observer coining the frenzy for stock as "Turnpike rage". Bingham was elected president and carefully oversaw the roads' construction. Stretching 62 miles, construction was completed in 1795 at a cost of $465,000, or $7,500 per mile. It helped open Western Pennsylvania and the area northwest of the Ohio river to rapid settlement.

This lot is located in Philadelphia.

[Philadelphia] Partially-Printed Certificate for the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike Road