<P> The first major toll road in the United States was the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike, built in the 1790s, within Pennsylvania, connecting Philadelphia and Lancaster . In New York State, the Great Western Turnpike was started in Albany in 1799 and eventually extended, by several alternate routes, to the Finger Lakes region . </P> <P> Prior to the American Revolution, some smaller toll roads organized by local governments existed, such as the Little River Turnpike which connected Alexandria, Virginia with the farmland of Western Virginia . </P> <P> In the mid to late nineteenth century, private toll road building was particularly active in the West including California and Nevada . In Nevada, over 100 private toll roads were laid out between the 1850s and 1880s, some of them nearly 200 miles (320 km) long . The owners included stage companies, miners, and ranchers who built the roads, at least in part, to attract business for their primary investments . </P> <P> By the turn of the twentieth century most toll roads were taken over by state highway departments . In some instances, a quasi-governmental authority was formed, and toll revenue bonds were issued to raise funds for construction and / or operation of the facility . </P>

What is the origin of the word turnpike