With county and state government unable to effect road improvement, California lawmakers immediately opened the field to private initiative. At least 159 private companies successfully built and operated toll roads in California. Compared to earlier toll roads in the eastern U.S., the California...

In studying the history of toll road companies in California, we see motives of both use-and-esteem and residual returns. Some road companies were initiated as business enterprises, aiming squarely at dividends. For other road companies, use-and-esteem motivations inspired a large number of...