Editing New Jersey Route 26 (section)

===Trenton and New Brunswick Turnpike===
[[File:2021-09-26 14 24 02 View north along New Jersey State Route 26 (Livingston Avenue) from the overpass for U.S. Route 1 in North Brunswick Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey.jpg|thumb|left|View northbound along Route 26 from US 1 in North Brunswick Township]]
Route 26 followed a majority of the Trenton and New Brunswick Turnpike, a gravel toll road envisioned in 1795 to connect [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]] with New York City. People raised money for the new turnpike, which was to cost $300,000 (1795 dollars) by selling 75,000&nbsp;shares at $4 apiece. From there, officials would request charters from New Jersey, [[New York (state)|New York]] and [[Pennsylvania]] for creation of the highway. Although officials in cities like New Brunswick were supportive of the plan, insufficient funds were raised and the plans eventually folded. On November&nbsp;14, 1804, the plans for a turnpike went forward once again, with the [[New Jersey State Legislature]] chartered the Trenton and New Brunswick Turnpike, a new toll road between the two cities. In Trenton, the turnpike was to begin at either Warren or Green Streets, heading along the current US&nbsp;1 corridor to New Brunswick, where it would end. The new charter set a term of 99&nbsp;years for the corporation. Two thousand shares of stock in the corporation were to be sold at $100 apiece (1804 dollars). Tolls for the highway would cost from half a cent to two cents a mile, as approved by the State Legislature.<ref name="turnpike">{{cite web|url=http://www.plainsborohistory.org/turnpike.htm|title=Trenton and New Brunswick Turnpike|year=2009|publisher=Plainsboro Historical Society Inc.|access-date=November 20, 2009|location=[[Plainsboro, New Jersey]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619062828/http://www.plainsborohistory.org/turnpike.htm|archive-date=June 19, 2010}}</ref>

[[File:2018-05-18 14 19 56 View north along New Jersey State Route 171 and Middlesex County Route 691 (Livingston Avenue) at Suydam Street in New Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey.jpg|right|thumb|1965 shield of Route&nbsp;26 on its newer alignments of CR 691 and Route&nbsp;171]]
On August 9, 1805, the commissioners of the turnpike met in [[Kingston, New Jersey|the community of Kingston]] to appoint officers and to begin to lay out the new highway. Enough of the 2,000&nbsp;shares had been subscribed, and the commissioners went ahead and approved a survey map created for the turnpike. By 1806, a portion of the new turnpike was opened and tolls were being collected on the new highway. On November 28, 1806, a second charter was passed in the legislature to grant fines of $20 (1806 dollars) for evading tolls or defacing property along the turnpike. In 1807, the road was completed, and [[Henry Gallatin]], the [[United States Secretary of the Treasury]], reported that the alignment of the {{convert|25|mi|km|adj=on}} long turnpike was nearly straight except for an "obstruction" at Sand Hills, where they had to dig into the hill to create the highway. The new turnpike was {{convert|36|ft|m}} wide and had stone abutments for the new wooden bridges.<ref name="turnpike" />

The turnpike was heavily trafficked, with several forms of transportation using it at a time. There were three tollgates along the turnpike, one at around {{convert|4|mi|km}} from Trenton, one at Ridge Road and one at the current railroad crossing for US&nbsp;1. Toll collectors on the turnpike would often have a hard time counting the number of horses at a tollgate because of kicked up smoke and dust. During the [[War of 1812]], the turnpike gained record usage, moving goods between Philadelphia and New York. A third supplement was added to the charter in January 1814, where the turnpike corporation would have to upgrade the road in eighteen months or face removal of tolls. If they did not, tollgates would be removed from the turnpike. Although the corporation upgraded the route in 1827, the road was still very tough to travel for passengers and people hauling expensive goods. During the early 19th century, the turnpike was profiting from stagecoach companies, which had about six different lines winding through the turnpike. When the [[Delaware and Raritan Canal]] and [[Camden and Amboy Railroad]] were constructed during the 19th century, the profits began to dwindle and the turnpike could not handle the expenses for stagecoaches.<ref name="turnpike" />

[[File:1904 US Route 1 big.JPG|left|thumb|A view of the turnpike in 1904]]
To cause further problems, in 1832, the New Jersey State Legislature approved the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad, a railroad to connect the two cities. A further note was made that the railroad could acquire the old turnpike for railroad right-of-way to connect Philadelphia and New York. That December, the railroad company attempted to merge the turnpike company into theirs, but faced opposition. In 1834, the turnpike company requested the choice to put another railroad on their turnpike right-of-way, but the monopoly from the Delaware and Raritan Canal and Camden and Amboy Railroad immediately opposed. Later that year, the Philadelphia and Trenton gained a controlling interest in the turnpike company, with hopes to lay the tracks on the right-of-way. The railroad company petitioned the state legislature to let them lay tracks, but the votes turned against their favor. After the Camden and Amboy commandeered control of the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad, a secret truce was made in 1835, which left the construction of a railroad to become a dead proposal, and the right-of-way remained a road. However, the turnpike was already hurting for funds, as passenger and most stagecoach traffic had moved to the Camden and Amboy Railroad. The last stagecoach line left went out of business soon after becoming the only stagecoach line along the turnpike, which cut turnpike revenues drastically.<ref name="turnpike" />

By 1858, the turnpike had basically begun to fold, with tolls only being charged at one gate for several years as most traffic had moved to rails rather than road. That year however, there were some upgrades made to the road, but not by much. In 1867, the competitor Camden and Amboy Railroad merged with the [[United New Jersey Railroad]] to create a new company. In December 1871, that company then became part of the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]], which was one of the major railroads at that point. The railroad also took over jurisdiction of the turnpike. In 1899, people from Trenton and nearby [[Penns Neck, New Jersey|Penns Neck]] approached the railroad to help reconstruct the old turnpike road, but no full proposal ever came forward. By 1903, the 1804 charter had expired, and the roadway was placed under public control, but was still in a derelict condition.<ref name="turnpike" />