Route to Richmond

The most established route to Richmond from Charlottesville and Monticello during Thomas Jefferson's lifetime, aside from the James and Fluvanna Rivers, was the Three Notched Road (sometimes listed as the Three Notch'd Road or, as it is known around Richmond, Three Chopt Road). Jefferson's account books record his stays at taverns along that route: William Rutherford's ordinary in Goochland County near Gum Spring, John Parrish's ordinary in the same area, the Byrd ordinary in Louisa County, Anderson Peers's ordinary in Goochland County, and others. Jefferson also very often stopped at the homes of relatives and friends, including Eppington, Ampthill, Carysbrook, and Tuckahoe.

It is likely that the Goochland ordinaries are the closest to Richmond in which Jefferson stayed (other than in Richmond itself), since tavern stops were typically spaced about 30 miles apart, roughly a day's travel. Their presence on the list is a good indication that Jefferson traveled the route on Three Notched Road with some regularity, and so would have traveled past the area that became known as Short Pump.

- Eric Johnson, 11/15/06; revised Anna Berkes, 5/2/17

Further Sources

• MB.
• Pawlett, Nathaniel Mason and Howard H. Newlon, Jr. The Route of the Three Notch'd Road: A Preliminary Report. [PDF] Charlottesville, VA: Virginia Highway & Transportation Research Council, 1976.  Rev. 2003.