The section of present-day PA 462 east of Lancaster was constructed as the westernmost part of the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike, a turnpike connecting Lancaster to Philadelphia. The turnpike company was incorporated in 1792 and the road was completed in 1794. The Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike was built with a stone and gravel surface and was the first long-distance turnpike constructed in the United States, leading to a movement to improve roads across the country. The turnpike also opened up settlement to the Northwest Territory past the Ohio River and provided cheap transportation between the coastal areas and the "bread basket" region around Lancaster. By 1796, a road continued west from Lancaster to the Susquehanna River and to York.