The Occaneechi Mountains border the Eno River south and east of Hillsborough. In fact the river, flowing generally north to south west of Hillsborough hits the west end of these volcanic remnants and turns east until a soft vein in the northeast end of the range allowed the river to cut thorough. There it cut through the last of the line of monodonocks, turned east and then south to pass behind the Occaneechi chain for a ways before turning once again east. Porters, pack horsemen, wagoners and highway engineers all have had to cope with this peculiar geology.

Coming at the Eno east of the Occaneechi range required that travelers either recross the river to get to the upper fords over the Eno or parallel the south bank of the Eno and avoid another crossing. This course required traffic to pass either through or south of the Occaneechi Mountains. These hills are not easy to pass. But once atop the hills there is relatively easy passage until one approaches the main cluster of three peaks south of Hillsborough.

Just south of the main three peaks there is, though, a saddle gap that allows travelers to avoid the main obstacles, the hills and the Eno. It minimizes passage over the mesa extending several miles south from Occaneechi Mountain. Today that gap carries Interstate 85, and one hundred years ago it carried what came to be called Highway 10, and before that it eased the way for any number of paths, trails and roads headed to or from the middle fords over the Haw River between the town of Haw River and Saxapahaw.

The half mile long gap reduced the height of the ridge line by about 100 feet, thus it saved the burdened traveler a considerable amount of energy.  It appears from road remnants seen along the edges of I85 and I40/85 (west of the gap) that freeway construction erased most vestiges of numerous roads gathered in at each end of the gap.
 
[The two small images on the left of the page are 3D views of the gap as seen from the east (above) and the west (below).  The Digital Elevation Model (DEM) to the right graphically represents the same fact.  In it the "white" represents the highest elevation, the green the lower elevation.]


[To the left is a 3D rendition of likely courses for a road connecting the historic ford over Seven Mile Creek (1.5 miles west of the gap) to the Eno River's best ford, Fanny's Ford (6 miles to the east).  West is at the top of the map.]

The Eno River is not a particularly daunting stream except in spate.  Eno River crossings do not present significant challenges under normal conditions.  Spates can lift the river near Hillsborough up to 10 or more feet and 48 hours after the rain ends the river will be back to normal flow; at most crossing points this is calf deep.  But, 48 hours is a long time for a cargo carrier to be idle, and  it must be remembered that fording is inherently dangerous (slippery or sharp rocks and unseen holes can injure a pedestrian or wreck a horse), so stream crossing had to procure substantial advantages to warrant the risks entailed.  The villages at the great bend in the Eno and at the oxbow downstream were apparently trader-friendly (why else put them on maps) but it is doubtful that they were accommodating enough o make two or three crossings of the Eno worthwhile.  It is likely that the fords at the oxbow and at the great bend were secondary routes until a county seat made the terrain between them too valuable to bypass.   Until that happened it is most likely that traffic passed either south of the monodonocks or well north of the great bend.

There is one other fact, beside transportation physics, that implies a connection between the main road crossing Seven Mile Creek in earliest times and the roads that cluster at the great ford over then northern-most point on the Eno, at Buckquarter Creek.  In both places the old roadbeds leading into and/or out of the crossing are lined with low stone walls.  It is not common for old roads to be lined by stone walls.  In the Eno area such walls are only found in association with four out of more than twenty mapped old roads.  What this implies can not be said with any certainty.  It may be that the same supervisors built all these roads or it may be that the roads were all built at a time when such appurtenances were required.  Only further, archaeological and historical study can offer proofs of these surmises.  All that can be said with confidence now is that the roads exist and share certain unusual features.

We believe at this point is that the Virginia "post road(s)" that crossed the Eno River near Buckquarter Creek Were laid down upon older trails that passed through a saddle gap south of Occaneechi Mountain and crossed Seven Mile Creek on a line later called Highway 10.  This road accessed fords over the Haw River, most conveniently, between the town of Haw River and the town of Swepsonville.  The original roadbed can be seen at several points in the Haw Fields, near the intersection of Highway 10 and Highway 86, between Moorefields and I40/85, along the course of Fish Dam Road, through Occaneechi Golf Course northward, over the Eno River to convergences with Highway 157 and Highway 57.