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In
the search for the 1759-60 Crown Point Road, contemporary maps have been
a good source for finding its general location. Those maps published in
the late 1700's are very rudimentary since there were few established
townships then in the area later to be known as Vermont. A straight line
drawn across the territory from the Connecticut River to Lake Champlain is
little more than a tantalizing clue to the actual route.
Early
town charters, surveys, lotting maps and deeds provide valuable
information but details are often vague; for instance, a landmark may
have been a tree stump or stone pile which has long since been lost to
time.
Military
documents such as maps, letters and journals provide some answers but also raise
intriguing questions.
The
remembrances of early settlers, passed down to their descendants, often
contain useful information but are sometimes dismissed by
modern-day researchers as hearsay. In the early 1900's, when chapters of
the Daughters of the American Revolution and several townships were erecting markers for the
road, it is possible that, in some cases, they may have relied on these
recollections. However, without their efforts much of the road would
have been lost and forgotten and most of the markers are well
positioned.
A major breakthrough came about with the discovery of the works of early surveyors such as William Cockburn and Archibald Campbell. Cockburn and Campbell, surveying for the state of New York in 1771, carefully noted in their logs and on their maps the points at which they crossed the "old military road" or Road from No. 4. Utilizing their coordinates and description of landmarks, CPRA historian Al Ransom set about locating and documenting these points.
This research has been most valuable in establishing the original course of the Crown Point Road and its later branches as shown on the maps in the Crown Point Road Association’s publication, "Historical Markers on the Crown Point Road - A Driver’s Guide". So, even centuries later, it is possible to locate an ancient road.