According to some historians, this roadbed once connected to the 10-mile-long Providence Plank Road. Constructed in 1856, the road ran from South Fifth Street in Columbia, down the present Providence Road, and south to the present Providence. Named for the wooden planks that covered it, the road was considered the best of its time. James McConathy, one of the organizers of the Providence Plank Road Company, helped finance the road in part to aid the transportation of whiskey barrels from his distillery near the Rock Bridge into town.

During the Civil War, Union troops often disembarked at Providence and marched up the road to Columbia. The thundering sound of hundreds of boot-clad soldiers, their horses, and heavy wagons could be heard for miles.

In September 1863, a group of Union soldiers broke into the distillery at the Rock Bridge. The result was a wild rampage through Boone County on the way to Columbia. Several Civil War skirmishes occurred in the area in the following years. On August 4, 1865, the last Union soldier left Boone County, ending more than three years of occupation.

Heavy traffic and harsh weather eventually took its toll on the road, and by 1880, not a single plank remained.

FoRB Office

Outdoors Building
200 Old 63 South, Suite 204
Columbia, Missouri 65205

Contact the FoRB office at
Mjdonlsn@aol.com

Contact the Park Office at:
(573) 449-7402
Check trail conditions at:
(573) 442-2249