{{Unreferenced, date=December 2009
The Springfield Grade Road was an early
turnpike between
Springfield, West Virginia
Springfield is a census-designated place (CDP) in northwestern Hampshire County, West Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, Springfield had a population of 455 (down from 477 at the 2010 census). Springfield is located north of Romn ...
and
Capon Bridge, West Virginia
Capon Bridge is a town in eastern Hampshire County, West Virginia, United States, along the Northwestern Turnpike (U.S. Route 50), approximately west of Winchester, Virginia. The population was 418 at the 2020 census. Originally known as " ...
.
Springfield Grade Road was originally known as the Great Wagon Road or Great Wagon Turnpike that connected
Winchester
Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
to
Cumberland
Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Later, in the 18th century, the wagon road became known as the Springfield Grade and when county routes were established in West Virginia in the 1920s, the road was signed as Springfield Grade Road. From Springfield to
Slanesville on
West Virginia Route 29
West Virginia Route 29 is a north–south state highway located in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The southern terminus of the route is at West Virginia Route 55 and West Virginia Route 259 (Corridor H) in Baker, Hardy County. Th ...
(then
West Virginia Route 45), Springfield Grade was County Route 3. From Slanesville to the village of
North River Mills, the grade was County Route 45/20. And finally, from North River Mills to Capon Bridge, the grade was County Route 15.
In 2003, the Hampshire County 911 Center was given the responsibility of completing a database of Hampshire County roadnames to ensure that there were no duplicate names that would interfere with emergency services and the county's new addressing system. It was decided that because Springfield Grade Road was made up of several Secondary Routes, it would be divided and renamed. On the section of Secondary Route 3 between Springfield and Points, the grade was renamed Springfield Pike. The remainder of County Route 3 between Points and Slanesville was renamed Slanesville Pike. County Routes 45/20 and 15 were renamed Cold Stream Road between Slanesville and Capon Bridge.
Today, while the newly assigned addresses to the residents living on the old Springfield Grade Road reflect the road's newly minted names, the people of Hampshire County continue to refer to it as Springfield Grade.
Transportation in Hampshire County, West Virginia
Pre-freeway turnpikes in the United States
Turnpikes in West Virginia