The road traveled from Cincinnati, the Old Pinckney Road it was called locally due to its proximity to Pinckney Pond, which was in the area just south of the expressway and north of Valley Road. This was literally a wagon trail along what was believed to have been an Indian route to the Ohio River.

Before the road laws were legislated and improvements began, the Pinckney Road, or Trail, was the first path accessible to the pioneers from Fort Washington (Cincinnati) to Bellbrook. It ran from the Queen City to Lebanon, passed through Bellbrook on Main Street, proceeded north toward Alpha and passed by Pinckney Pond, in which the road was supposedly so named.

A local story from the Beavercreek Historical Society's 'Beavercreek Chronicles':

One night, John and Samuel Morningstar went out on Pinckney pond in a canoe with their guns and a large torch. Proceeding slowly along the banks, they suddenly came upon a large buck standing at the edge of the water. The blinding light of the torch seemed to petrify the animal with fright and the sudden appearance of such large game gave the boys a genuine attack of what is known among hunters as ‘buckague’. The boys recovered and shot the deer. It bounded directly into the boat, capsized the hunters, and a long struggle took place in the water which finally ended when the boys succeeded in dispatching the deer.