In 1874, Assam was separated from Bengal and converted into a province under the Chief Commissioner. Shillong was chosen as the seat of the new administration. The foundation stone of the capital was laid down by Col. Hopkinson, the then Commissioner of Assam.
In 1874, Lord Northbrook, the Viceroy, visited Shillong. He ordered that certain tracts in the neighbourhood of the 'town be reserved to protect its water supply and to form a fuel reserve. In 1875, however, Shillong could hardly be called ·a town. Its population was less than that of Shella, the largest Khasi village. During that period, the main communication between Shillong and the rest of the country was via Cherrapunjee through Sylhet.
However, better communications with the opening of a cart road to Guwahati in 1877 hastened the growth of the town. The Guwahati-Shillong Road, opened for wheeled traffic in 1877, took two days to reach Shillong by a "tonga". The narrow winding road which were in many areas originally village paths and which even till the late twenties rarely saw a motor car.
As the consequence of growth of urbanization, the lands acquired for the Umiam Hydel Project which geological investigation was started in 1956 and Umiam dam construction over the Umiam River work was done during 1960. From that time this historical road became abandoned and diverted the Guwahati- Shillong Road to the present location in Umiam.
