Existing comment:
20th Century Visitors: Building a Road:
By the beginning of the 20th century, the Wilderness Road had become terribly rutted by the wagons, buggies and sleds used by the area's growing population. At the same time, the spectacular mountain scenery and a nostalgia for the past began attracting increasing numbers of people to the region. With the advent of the automobile, far-sighted state leaders realized the need to pave the road. In 1908, with the completion of Object Lesson Road, a Federal demonstration project, the Gap was opened to commercial traffic. |