A newspaper article in the "New Jersey Journal" of March 6, 1804 (p. 4), references a house for sale on Shunpike Road between Morristown and Elizabethtown (Elizabeth), New Jersey. This "Shunpike Road", parts of which are still extant, was in existence the same year that the turnpike it was used to avoid, the Morris Turnpike, was opened for business: 1804. It ran southwest of and parallel to the Morris Turnpike, now called "Old Turnpike Road". It was formed by the improvement and connection of sideroads to enable country people to avoid the expenses of the tolls. Shunpike Road ran through the towns of Bottle Hill (now Madison), Chatham, Summit and Springfield.