| Indiana (Henry County), Knightstown — The National Road -- West |
| | Knightstown -- First Town platted on National Road after survey, 1827 -- Named after noted surveyor Jonathan Knight. Home of American Communications Network founded, in 1966, to preserve and perpetuate the "Ideals that built America" and "the Dignity of Man." Situated in Henry County, so named for American patriot Patrick Henry by special legislative dictate in 1821. Why stand here idle! Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery! Forbid it, . . . — Map (db m271) |
| Indiana (Vigo County), Terre Haute — 84.1998.1 — Crossroads of America |
| | U.S. Highway 40, the old National Road which opened the West for settlement, and U.S. Highway 41, a major North-South route, were designated part of the original Federal Highway System in 1926. Their intersection in Terre Haute at Wabash Avenue and Seventh Street became the "Crossroads of America." — Map (db m8925) |
| Indiana (Wayne County), Cambridge City — Cambridge City |
| | A transportation center, platted 1836 along the Whitewater River, the Cumberland/National Road, and the Whitewater Canal route. Four steam railroads served the town; interurban electric railroad opened 1903. Cambridge City Historic District listed in National Register, 1991. — Map (db m269) |
| Indiana (Wayne County), Richmond — Madonna of the Trail |
| | (Southwest Face) N.S.D.A.R. Memorial to the Pioneer Mothers of the Covered Wagon Days.
(Northwest Face) A Nation's Highway! Once a wilderness trail over which hardy pioneers made their perilous way seeking new homes in the dense forests of the great north-west.
(Southeast Face) The first toll-gate in Indiana stood near this site on the National Road.
(Northeast Face) The National Old Trails Road. — Map (db m244) |
| Indiana (Wayne County), Richmond — The First Toll Gate |
| | This tablet marks the site of the first toll gate in the state of Indiana erected about 1850. — Map (db m288) |
| Maryland, Baltimore — Gwynns Falls Valley — From Work to Play |
| | As the Baltimore and Frederick-Town Turnpike twisted and turned westward, it passed one of the centers of early city industry. A three mile long millrace on the Gwynns Falls provided power for over twenty mills that sawed wood, ground flour, wove cloth and smelted iron. By 1850, brewers, butchers and a hairbrush factory had moved in. Country beer gardens became getaways on Sunday when city saloons were closed By 1900, the Gwynns Falls’ industries were moving away. Baltimore’s Municipal Art . . . — Map (db m4940) |
| Maryland, Baltimore — Irvington — The Last Stop before Baltimore |
| | Before Irvington existed, eastbound travelers encountered the last hill on the Baltimore and Frederick-Town Turnpike. The turnpike was part of the system of roads that connected to the National Road in Cumberland in 1806. During the 1800s, this landscape was dotted with taverns, summer estates, monasteries and cemeteries, all overlooking Baltimore. From that, Irving Ditty laid out this Victorian style suburb. By the 1830s, Baltimoreans began building vast landscaped cemeteries in the country . . . — Map (db m4941) |
| Maryland, Baltimore — Railroads Eclipse a National Road — “Thus will scientific power conquer space.” |
| | For several decades in the early 1800s, thousands of Conestoga Wagons, “ships of inland commerce,” ruled the National Road. With their sloping bodies, wheels taller than a man and six-horse teams
skillfully maneuvered with a single “jerk line,” they could carry up to eight tons of freight. The railroad, a Baltimore-borne transportation revolution, soon put them out of business, along with the taverns, livery stables, wheelwrights, and blacksmiths that served
them. In . . . — Map (db m5705) |
| Maryland, Baltimore — The Baltimore & Frederick-Town Turnpike — A Transportation Revolution started here |
| | Maryland toll roads helped revolutionize American travel. The Baltimore and Frederick-Town Turnpike began with a tollgate, placed near this corner in 1807. For
a few cents, you could head west on a “smooth” road that was the ancestor of today’s turnpikes. Private investors spent ten thousand dollars a mile to build crushed stone all-weather thoroughfares all the way
to Cumberland. This road system became Baltimore’s link to the federal National Road and the American interior. . . . — Map (db m5700) |
| Maryland, Baltimore — The National Road — The Road that Built the Nation |
| | “. . . so many happy people, restless in the midst of abundance.” —Alexis de Tocqueville, 1840.
Americans are an adventurous people. From
past to present, they have used feet, horses,
wagons, stagecoaches, canals, railroads,
bicycles, automobiles, trucks and buses to
“perpetually change their plans and abodes.”
Centuries ago, George Washington dreamed of
a highway joining east and west. In 1806,
Thomas Jefferson made that roadway a . . . — Map (db m5703) |
| Maryland, Baltimore — The Port of Baltimore — The National Road begins and ends here |
| | Moving Goods Since 1729, Baltimore has owed its existence to its deepwater port. The city looks east to the Chesapeake Bay and ports around the world. It also looks west with access to markets in America’s heartland. It began with local farmers bringing in their crops. In the early 1800s, the National Road, which started here
as the Baltimore and Frederick-Town Turnpike, gave the port more and more reach inland.
Moving People
“The long ocean trip is ended and the great . . . — Map (db m6140) |
| Maryland (Allegany County), Cumberland — “The Narrows” |
| | One of the most picturesque spots around Cumberland, discovered by Spendelow after the road over Wills Mountain had been constructed by General Braddock. Adopted as the route of the Cumberland Road (The National Road) 1833. The old stone bridge across Wills Creek was used from 1834 to 1932. — Map (db m4927) |
| Maryland (Allegany County), Cumberland — Cumberland Gateway Westward |
| | Will's Creek Settlement, later known as Cumberland, served as a major gateway for trade, military campaigns against the French, and settlement beyond the mountains in our growing nation. "The New Storehouses" of the Ohio Company were across the river beyond the present highway bridge. The streams before you, the Caiuctucuc (Wills Creek) to your left and the Cohongaronta (Potomac River) to the front and right, were a source of food and transportation. Near this spot, in January, 1755, Governor . . . — Map (db m17783) |
| Maryland (Allegany County), Cumberland — The Narrows — An Easier Route for the National Road |
| | At first, the National Road climbed west from Cumberland up and over Haystack Mountain. In the 1830s, when the road was rebuilt, a new route was chosen. It would be a mile longer but the grade was substantially decreased so that horse teams could pull twice the weight. The new route took advantage of the Narrows, a natural gorge cut by Wills Creek between Haystack Mountain and Wills Mountain. Traffic along the National Road grew rapidly when the new route was completed in 1834 and a new bridge . . . — Map (db m4926) |
| Maryland (Allegany County), Cumberland — The National Road — (Called The Cumberland Road) |
| | Was the first of the internal improvements undertaken by the U.S. Government. Surveys were authorized in 1806 over the route of “Braddock’s Road,” which followed “Nemacolin’s Path,” an Indian trail, over which George Washington traveled in 1754 to Fort LeBoeuf. — Map (db m444) |
| Maryland (Allegany County), Cumberland — The Old National Pike |
| | The National Pike was also called the National Road (used national funds) or the Cumberland Road (began in Cumberland). Behind you and to the right along the base of the hill, were the storehouses of The Ohio Company. The earliest rails were made by Indians. Christopher Gist followed these Indian trails while exploring for The Ohio Company. In 1751, Gist and the Indian man Nemacolin laid the course of a road from Will's Creek to the site of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was known as the . . . — Map (db m18728) |
| Maryland (Allegany County), Cumberland — Where the Road Began — The Historic National Road - The Road That Built the Nation |
| | You are standing at the starting point of this country's first federal road building project, the National Road. A vision of George Washington as a means to develop the continent and to unite the country, his idea was championed by Thomas Jefferson and authorized by Congress in 1806. Nestled in the Allegheny Mountains, Cumberland sat on the edge of the frontier in the early 19th century. Crossing the mountainous landscape was challenging. The eastern continental divide was a barrier for . . . — Map (db m17716) |
| Maryland (Allegany County), Flintstone — Martins Mountain — Sunday Drivers and “Tin-Can Tourists" |
| | The National Road enjoyed a revival from about 1910-1960, with the rising popularity of the automobile. Tourist travel began in earnest when cars became reliable enough for the average person to take a long trip. “Waysiders,” people who catered to these “tin-can tourists,” built hotels, garages and road houses all along these Allegheny ridgetops, catering to the needs of the twentieth century traveler. Their businesses lived and died according to traffic along U.S. . . . — Map (db m4922) |
| Maryland (Allegany County), Frostburg — Blazing Braddock's Road |
| | “We this day passed the ‘Aligany’ Mountain (Big Savage Mountain) which is a rocky ascent of more than two miles, in many places extremely steep…”
Captain Robert Orme, June 15, 1755
British General Edward Braddock led a 2,100-man army through this wild country in 1755. The troops intended to dislodge the French from the “Forks of the Ohio” (Pittsburgh) almost 100 miles away. They were blazing a new trail, forever known as “Braddock’s Road.”
As . . . — Map (db m5013) |
| Maryland (Allegany County), Frostburg — Frostburg — The Frost Family Legacy |
| | Years before St. Michael’s Church was built,
Meshach Frost and his wife Catherine purchased
this property in 1812. When the Frosts bought the
property, construction of the National Road was
already underway. They soon found they were
feeding and housing laborers working on the
road.
Once the National Road was completed through
western Maryland, the Frosts’ Highland Hall
became a popular stop where travelers changed
horses and relayed the mail and freight.
Originally called . . . — Map (db m3551) |
| Maryland (Allegany County), Frostburg — Frostburg — The National Road, Coal and Fancy Hotels |
| | The National Road has sustained Frostburg
for almost two centuries. As the road was
being surveyed in 1811, Josiah Frost began
laying out lots. Businesses, serving passing
stagecoaches and wagons, soon lined a
developing Main Street.
By the 1850s, travel along the road was
eclipsed by railroads and canals. The town’s
prosperity continued, however, with a lively
trade in locally produced coal and fire bricks.
The Gladstone Hotel brought the big city to
Frostburg in 1897. . . . — Map (db m3553) |
| Maryland (Allegany County), La Vale — First Toll Gate House |
| | First toll gate house on the old National (Cumberland) Road. Erected about 1833 after this portion of the road was turned over to the State of Maryland by the United States government. There was one other toll gate in Maryland on this Road. — Map (db m442) |
| Maryland (Allegany County), La Vale — The La Vale Toll House |
| | Toll houses were built along the National Road as a result of a 25 year national debate as to whether or not the federal government should be responsible for funding road improvements. While there was agreement on the idea that those who used the road should help defray maintenance costs, it was also thought unconstitutional for the federal government to charge tolls. The debate was finally resolved when it was decided to transfer ownership of the National Road to individual states. After . . . — Map (db m443) |
| Maryland (Allegany County), Little Orleans — Town Hill Overlook — The Beauty Spot of Maryland |
| | The long, winding ascent of Town Hill reaches a height just beyond that of Sideling Hill, but was much more easily crossed. However, early automobiles were still no match for the steep grades and tight turns along this section of the National Road. At the turn of the twentieth century, it was “practically an uninhabited section-wild and beautiful beyond anticipation, and with a most clear, bracing atmosphere...it seems quite safe to estimate that there may be more bridges than . . . — Map (db m20986) |
| Maryland (Baltimore County), Catonsville — 6-Mile Marker on the National Road — 1787 |
| | This 6-miles-to-Baltimore marker was welcomed by thousands on horseback, in stagecoaches and wagons, who traveled this Frederick Turnpike. Some headed west to settle in the Ohio Valley, along with merchants selling their wares, while millers with their products, and farmers, driving animals on foot to market, traveled east through Catonsville to the port city of Baltimore. — Map (db m4936) |
| Maryland (Baltimore County), Catonsville — Castle Thunder |
| | A gift from Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Castle Thunder, the home of Richard and Mary Carroll Caton, stood on this site from 1787 to 1906.
The 7-mile Frederick Turnpike stone marker of 1804 was moved here from its original position 3/10 mile west. — Map (db m4910) |
| Maryland (Baltimore County), Catonsville — Catonsville — A Turnpike Town |
| | This 1877 “Plan of Catonsville” lays outs all the possibilities of an energetic and emerging suburb of Baltimore, only eight miles, or a one-day carriage ride, to the east. The centerpiece of the town is the Frederick Turnpike, part of the road system that connected to the National Road in Cumberland.
Typical of many pike towns, the Plan shows that the majority of properties and buildings are directly adjacent to the road, thus making the Turnpike the hub of economic and social . . . — Map (db m5500) |
| Maryland (Baltimore County), Catonsville — Catonsville — From Stagecoaches to Horseless Carriages |
| | The reign of stagecoaches and Conestoga Wagons on the Baltimore and Frederick-Town Turnpike only lasted seventy years. Omnibuses, attached to teams of four horses, began rolling out from Baltimore to Catonsville in 1862.
The Catonsville Short Line Railroad was next. Starting in 1884, a steam engine pulled passenger and freight cars through the countryside to a depot on Frederick Road.
In the 1890s, trolley cars hooked up to electric lines strung everywhere throughout Baltimore. For . . . — Map (db m5536) |
| Maryland (Baltimore County), Catonsville — Oella — Conquering the “Nine Mile Hill" |
| | The Ellicott brothers constructed what became the first leg of the Baltimore and Frederick-Town Turnpike to get their flour to market in Baltimore. By 1787, they cut a new road east through the forests to shorten the trip to the city. This route became part of the National Road system in 1806.
Travelers on the turnpike faced a steep grade nine miles west of Baltimore. They had to conquer the hill using numerous switchbacks as they ascended from the Patapsco River Valley.
As the road . . . — Map (db m5741) |
| Maryland (Carroll County), Mt. Airy — Parrsville & Ridgeville — Two Towns at the Four Corners |
| | Here at Milestone 31, about 130 feet southeast of its original location, the Baltimore and Frederick-Town Turnpike created two towns as it moved west. Both Parrsville and Ridgeville are now a part of Mount Airy. Parrsville, to the east, was named for a nearby spring that creates the headwaters of the Patapsco River, flowing east into Baltimore Harbor. Parr’s Spring, an important landmark for early surveyors, is the point of four corners between Carroll, Montgomery, Howard and Frederick . . . — Map (db m4933) |
| Maryland (Frederick County), Bolivar — South Mountain Summit — What an Ideal Location for a Break! |
| | As early as 1750, Robert Turner bought land here on the top of South Mountain. The date of construction is unknown, but by 1790 a full-fledged inn was in operation at “Turner’s Gap.” Since then, the building has been in almost continuous use as an inn, tavern or private residence. After the steep climb up South Mountain’s slope, horsemen, stagecoach drivers and passengers, even drover and teamsters, reveled in the luxury of the famous “Mountain House.” During its . . . — Map (db m1600) |
| Maryland (Frederick County), Braddock Heights — Hagan’s Tavern — If walls could talk.. |
| | The National Road has borne witness to many notorious comings and goings. The quiet atmosphere you’ll find at Hagan’s Tavern today is quite different from the raucous bawdiness of yesteryear. This tavern was a “place where the old bloats of the neighborhood would gather on Saturday and public days to run horses, fight chickens, drink bad whiskey, and black each others eyes.” It was also a political stomping ground where “cooping” commonly occurred, a practice . . . — Map (db m2247) |
| Maryland (Frederick County), Frederick — A Crossroads of American History — The Frederick Square Corner |
| | The Square Corner, at the intersection of Patrick and Market Streets, has long been the commercial and financial heart of Frederick. It is here that the National Road meets several important north-south roads that lead to Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. The Square Corner has witnessed both dramatic and ordinary events for over two hundred and fifty years. British, Hessian, and Tory prisoners marched through town during the Revolutionary War, while Union and Confederate armies . . . — Map (db m2748) |
| Maryland (Frederick County), Frederick — A Good Night's Rest — Frederick's Hotel Block |
| | This part of downtown Frederick has long been a place of lodging and hospitality for travelers along the National Road. Kimball's Inn, Talbott's Tavern, the City Hotel and the Francis Scott Key Hotel have occupied this site for over two hundred years. Among the many notable travelers was Revolutionary War hero, Frenchman Marquis de Lafayette. He was a visitor to Frederick on a triumphal tour of America. "He was received with pomp and parade. He last night attended a public dinner at Talbott's . . . — Map (db m2822) |
| Maryland (Frederick County), Frederick — Frederick — A Town becomes a City |
| | Frederick Town was founded in 1745 when Daniel Dulany the Elder carved out an eastern portion of his 7,000 acre parcel patented as "Tasker's Chance." The town was then laid out in an orderly grid with Patrick Street designated as the east-west thoroughfare and Market Street running north-south. Most agree that the first house in town was built at the northeast corner of Patrick Street and Maxwell Alley by schoolteacher John Thomas Schley in 1746. National Road mile stone 45 now stands in front . . . — Map (db m2805) |
| Maryland (Frederick County), Frederick — Jacob Engelbrecht — A Frederick Diarist on the National Road |
| | In 1826, Jacob Engelbrecht moved to the house across the street near Carroll Creek. He began reporting on the National Road cavalcade that was going by his front door. His priceless diary recorded everything he saw. Travelers he observed included: The famous: General Winfield Scott, Presidents Andrew Jackson and William Henry Harrison and Senator Henry Clay rode through, traveling to the Capital City. The ordinary: “A drove of turkeys amounting to nearly four hundred from Westmoreland . . . — Map (db m2706) |
| Maryland (Frederick County), Frederick — Jug Bridge — An engineering marvel for early America |
| | In 1800, travelers expected to ford rivers or use ferries that were slow and often risky in bad weather. The Baltimore and Frederick-Town Turnpike Company, building the first leg of the National Road in 1805, set out to revolutionize American roads. One of the results was an amazing five-arch stone bridge across the Monocacy River. Leonard Harbaugh built the bridge in 1808 for a cost of $55,000. Mr. Harbaugh's signature was a distinctive stone "demijohn" placed on the bridge's east end, . . . — Map (db m2321) |
| Maryland (Frederick County), Frederick — Jug Bridge Monument |
| | The stone demijohn and memorial plaque, placed by the Sons of the American Revolution, were originally located on a bridge crossing the Monocacy River about 2 miles east of this site. The stone bridge of four arches and two 65-foot spans was constructed in 1808. It collapsed on March 3, 1942. The Francis Scott Key Memorial Foundation, Inc., provided funds for relocation of these monuments. When it was learned that French General Lafayette was planning to visit the United States in 1824, a . . . — Map (db m2324) |
| Maryland (Frederick County), Frederick — The National Road — The Road that Built the Nation |
| | “. . . so many happy people, restless in the midst of abundance.” —Alexis de Tocqueville, 1840.
Americans are an adventurous people. From
past to present, they have used feet, horses,
wagons, stagecoaches, canals, railroads,
bicycles, automobiles, trucks and buses to
“perpetually change their plans and abodes.”
Centuries ago, George Washington dreamed of
a highway joining east and west. In 1806,
Thomas Jefferson made that roadway a . . . — Map (db m2753) |
| Maryland (Frederick County), Middletown — Middletown — “Middle of What?” |
| | Noted for the tall white spire of the Zion Lutheran Church, Middletown has been framed by its picturesque valley for over two centuries. German Protestants, fleeing persecution in Europe, founded the community before the American Revolution. Michael Jesserong, who laid out the town, named it Middletown as he sold four lots to Conrad Crone in 1768. No one is sure what the name means. Perhaps it refers to the community as the center of its own Middletown Valley, midway between South Mountain and . . . — Map (db m415) |
| Maryland (Frederick County), Myersville — The National Road — The Road that Built the Nation |
| | “. . . so many happy people, restless in the midst of abundance.” —Alexis de Tocqueville, 1840.
Americans are an adventurous people. From
past to present, they have used feet, horses,
wagons, stagecoaches, canals, railroads,
bicycles, automobiles, trucks and buses to
“perpetually change their plans and abodes.”
Centuries ago, George Washington dreamed of
a highway joining east and west. In 1806,
Thomas Jefferson made that roadway a . . . — Map (db m5921) |
| Maryland (Frederick County), New Market — Mile Stones of the old National Pike |
| | Looking more like an ancient tombstone, the stone marker at the bottom of the hill before you, tucked inside the guardrail, was once used to denote mileage to Baltimore along the Baltimore and Frederick-Town Turnpike, also known as the old National Pike.
Long before automobiles sped along this corridor and synthetic materials were used for highway signs, mileage signs were literally carved in stone! Although it has worn away over time, handchiseled letters and numbers once read 35 M To B, . . . — Map (db m5404) |
| Maryland (Frederick County), New Market — New Market — A New Town for a New Road |
| | As Fredericktown was born in 1745, German farmers were already hauling their grain to the port of Baltimore. By the 1780s, new communities were springing up along
busy wagon routes. Two speculators, Nicholas Hall and William Plummer, competed to sell lots along a strip of road just a one-day wagon trip east of Frederick.
When Mr. Hall sold the first nineteen lots on June 1, 1793, the town of New Market was born.
New Market was soon a major stop on a public road. After 1805, the “all . . . — Map (db m5746) |
| Maryland (Garrett County), Granstville — Castleman’s River Bridge — (Formerly "Little Youghiogeny") |
| | Erected 1813 by David Shriver, Jr., Sup't of the "Cumberland Road" (The National Road). This 80 foot span was the largest stone arch in America at the time. It was continuously used from 1813 to 1933. — Map (db m100) |
| Maryland (Garrett County), Granstville — Early Inns |
| | The Casselman Inn. You are standing in front of the Casselman Inn, which was opened in 1842 by Solomon Sterner. This establishment has also been known as Sterner House, Drovers' Inn, Farmers' Hotel and Dorsey Hotel. There was a large outdoor corral here during the years when it was a major stop for cattle drovers.
Mile Marker. The white cast iron mile marker here is one of many that were installed in 1835 when the State of Maryland took over responsibility for the National Road from . . . — Map (db m360) |
| Maryland (Garrett County), Grantsville — Grantsville — A Heritage of Hospitality |
| | When the National Road came through here in 1815, this settlement was a half mile away along the old Braddock Road. This “New Grantsville” developed just west of the Casselman Bridge, completed a few years earlier. About a dozen buildings were moved from “Old Grantsville” to take advantage of the new road and the prosperity it would bring.
Entrepreneurs built several hotels, allowing weary travelers to rest. The National Hotel opened its doors right across the street, . . . — Map (db m477) |
| Maryland (Garrett County), Grantsville — Keyser’s Ridge — Living with Extreme Weather |
| | “I saw the wind blow so hard on Keyser’s Ridge, that it took six men to hold the hair on one man’s head.”
In the early days of the National Road, this stretch was often “snowed up” with drifts up to twenty feet deep. Stagecoaches and freight wagons were stopped here for days at a time. When they could travel, they sometimes left the blocked roadbeds and rolled across the nearby “skirting glades.”
Keyser’s Ridge is no place for the faint . . . — Map (db m514) |
| Maryland (Garrett County), Grantsville — Leo J. Beachy — Photographing the National Road |
| | “My camera lens does not lie. It took just what it saw, no more, no less.” –Leo Beachy
Leo J. Beachy (1874–1927) left us a special legacy. One of seven children raised on a farm named Mt. Nebo, he lived in these mountains all his life. He enjoyed drawing pictures and began his career as a teacher. At thirty-one, he found his real calling.
“What induced me to take up photography was that I wanted our home photographer to go to that old log school where . . . — Map (db m431) |
| Maryland (Garrett County), Grantsville — Negro Mountain — The Highest Point on the National Road |
| | You have reached the highest point on the National Road. Here, in the far western mountains of Maryland is the backbone of eastern America. In 1817, the National Road construction crew took on the challenge of crossing this tough terrain by laying a crushed stone road surface and building a stone bridge over nearby Puzzley Run.
By the 1930s, the National Road evolved into an asphalt and concrete ribbon. This improved road surface inspired a new generation of travelers to “hit the . . . — Map (db m5409) |
| Maryland (Garrett County), Grantsville — The Fuller-Baker House — A Rare Log Building with a Pedigree |
| | This humble log cabin is a rare survivor of a common dwelling built by early settlers on the Allegheny frontier. Built after 1813 as a two-story log building, its large size has led some to believe it was once used as a tavern, giving respite to travelers along the National Road. It would be the only log tavern to survive on the old National Road between Cumberland and Wheeling, West Virginia.
Henry Fuller came to the Grantsville area in 1837 to work as a stonemason. His talents with stone . . . — Map (db m4921) |
| Maryland (Garrett County), Grantsville — Traveling the National Road |
| | Granstville's Main Street, designated today as Alt. Route 40, was once part of the National Road, the country's first federally funded highway. Visit our Town Park to learn more about the history of the National Road.
Traffic on the National Road increased steadily as Americans traveled west. The road became crowded with horse-drawn stagecoaches, Conestoga wagons, freighters, and men on horseback. In addition to people travelling west, there were goods and livestock travelling east to . . . — Map (db m359) |
| Maryland (Garrett County), McHenry — The National Road — The Road that Built the Nation |
| | “. . . so many happy people, restless in the midst of abundance.” —Alexis de Tocqueville, 1840.
Americans are an adventurous people. From
past to present, they have used feet, horses,
wagons, stagecoaches, canals, railroads,
bicycles, automobiles, trucks and buses to
“perpetually change their plans and abodes.”
Centuries ago, George Washington dreamed of
a highway joining east and west. In 1806,
Thomas Jefferson made that roadway a . . . — Map (db m2171) |
| Maryland (Howard County), Ellicott City — Road Versus Rails — The Rivalry Begins |
| | Ellicott City’s Main Street is the National
Pike, part of the road system that moved
Americans west. Only two decades after the
road was constructed, a new transportation
rival appeared. In 1831, America’s first
railroad, the Baltimore & Ohio, introduced
steam engines to the Patapsco River Valley.
The rivalry between the road and the
railroad came together here.
Noisy, dirty, and at first, unreliable, the
railroad soon gained the upper hand. By 1840,
a stage coach trip to . . . — Map (db m720) |
| Maryland (Howard County), Ellicott City — The National Road |
| | This marker stands on a part of the right of way of the historic and fabled National, or Cumberland Road. Commencing in 1806 it was built in segments by city, state, federal, and private means and was the first great commercial and travel link from Baltimore to the west. — Map (db m131) |
| Maryland (Howard County), Lisbon — New Lisbon — Servicing Travelers on the National Pike |
| | “New Lisbon” was established by Quaker Caleb Pancoast in 1802, who saw both need and opportunity to service travelers along the length of the National Pike. He also welcomed all religious denominations into his home, and allowed it to be used as a meetinghouse. Shortened to “Lisbon” in 1805, the town thrived, and by 1835, there were eight daily stagecoaches stopping at the old Stage Coach House, where horses were exchanged and food and lodging were provided. A fare on . . . — Map (db m5744) |
| Maryland (Howard County), Poplar Springs — Poplar Springs — "From Drovers to Drivers" |
| | In the early 1800s, as settlers spread west from the Chesapeake Bay, the farming community of Poplar Springs grew up around the Baltimore and Frederick-Town Turnpike, part of the system of roads making up the National Road. An endless parade of drovers and teamsters were just a two-day ride from Baltimore, known at that time as the “Monument City.” They were driving their geese, sheep, cattle, pigs and freight wagons east and west, to and from the busy port on “a smooth . . . — Map (db m5024) |
| Maryland (Howard County), Poplar Springs — Simpson & Mount Gregory United Methodist Churches — Creating a Unified Community of Strength |
| | Methodist churches were a source and inspiration for the budding African-American community as people moved
westward along the Baltimore and Frederick-Town Turnpike, part of the National Road system. Both enslaved and free African-Americans worshipped, at
first, in white churches in the early 1800s. Forced into balconies away from the white congregations, they ultimately sought to create a unifying community of strength by building their own churches. Simpson Poplar Springs, the “Mother . . . — Map (db m5745) |
| Maryland (Howard County), West Friendship — Moving Goods on the National Road |
| | “Open a wide door, and make a smooth way for the produce of that Country to pass to our Markets.” George Washington, 1784
America’s founders looked west for the future success of the new country. The United States needed good roads and canals to open up frontier settlements. Baltimore was one of the first eastern cities to build a “smooth way” to the interior. Soon after 1800, this “Great Western Turnpike” became the first leg of a National . . . — Map (db m5742) |
| Maryland (Washington County), Big Pool — The National Road — The Road that Built the Nation |
| | “. . . so many happy people, restless in the midst of abundance.” —Alexis de Tocqueville, 1840.
Americans are an adventurous people. From
past to present, they have used feet, horses,
wagons, stagecoaches, canals, railroads,
bicycles, automobiles, trucks and buses to
“perpetually change their plans and abodes.”
Centuries ago, George Washington dreamed of
a highway joining east and west. In 1806,
Thomas Jefferson made that roadway a . . . — Map (db m820) |
| Maryland (Washington County), Boonsboro — The National Road — The Road that Built the Nation |
| | “. . . so many happy people, restless in the midst of abundance.” —Alexis de Tocqueville, 1840.
Americans are an adventurous people. From
past to present, they have used feet, horses,
wagons, stagecoaches, canals, railroads,
bicycles, automobiles, trucks and buses to
“perpetually change their plans and abodes.”
Centuries ago, George Washington dreamed of
a highway joining east and west. In 1806,
Thomas Jefferson made that roadway a . . . — Map (db m1911) |
| Maryland (Washington County), Boonsboro — Town of Boonsboro — Maryland uses Macadam to Complete the National Road |
| | The National Road from Baltimore to Cumberland was comprised of a series of privately funded turnpikes. By 1822, the road was complete except for the ten miles between Boonsboro and Hagerstown. In August of the year, under pressure from the state legislature, Boonsboro and Hagerstown bank directors formed the Boonsboro Turnpike Company to complete the final section. The National Road, from Baltimore to Cumberland, was often called the “Bank Road,” because the state government . . . — Map (db m1162) |
| Maryland (Washington County), Clear Spring — “The Bank Road” — The Cumberland Turnpike Road |
| | The portion of this highway from the west end of the Conococheague bridge to Cumberland (40 miles) was built between 1816 and 1821. The banks of Maryland financed it by purchase of the stock. — Map (db m699) |
| Maryland (Washington County), Clear Spring — A Road Nurtures A Vision — The Historic National Road and Clear Spring |
| | “The citizens at all times aim to be surpassed by no other town in the County.” –Martin Lehr, Clear Spring historian, 1890’s.
In 1821, Martin Myers chose a site that straddled a “clear spring” at the foot of Fairview Mountain to lay out a village he called “Myersville.” Fifteen years later the town was called “Clear Spring” and its 700 thriving inhabitants provided services for travelers on the National Road. As many as . . . — Map (db m694) |
| Maryland (Washington County), Clear Springs — Wilson’s Store — Store of Three Wonders |
| | "You wonder if we have it. We wonder where it is. You wonder how we found it!” That is how Janice Keefer remembered her father’s store during the 42 years that Dorsey Martin conducted business here. Originally opened by Rufus Wilson in 1850, the store remained in continuous operation for National Road travelers until it closed in 1975. In 1983, Frances and Lewis Horst rescued the Wilson store and school house, and have restored them to their heyday splendor. (Sidebar): The Last . . . — Map (db m4932) |
| Maryland (Washington County), Funkstown — Baltimore Street — Funkstown’s Link to the Chesapeake |
| | When the National Road was completed through Funkstown in 1823, a rush of “stagecoaches and wagon teams, droves of cattle, teamsters and travelers” flooded through the town. Although Baltimore was seventy miles to the east, the Funkstown city founders named their main street “Baltimore,” pointing out their role as a link between the shores of the Chesapeake, the Great Valley of Virgnia and the mountains to the west. Originally named “Jerusalem” by German . . . — Map (db m2007) |
| Maryland (Washington County), Funkstown — Building the Funkstown Bridge |
| | “The turnpike bridge at Funkstown is the only one...which seems to belong to a town” —Helen Ashe Hays, The Antietam and its Bridges
This bridge, finished in 1823, is perhaps the oldest one over Antietam Creek. Irish immigrant laborers made up the construction crew. Many worked on the road to pay off the cost of their passage from the old country, what they called “working to pay off the dead horse.” The “great brigade” of Irish . . . — Map (db m2010) |
| Maryland (Washington County), Hagerstown — Hagerstown — Bringing Farm Products to Maryland's Great Valley |
| | Following Jonathan Hager’s arrival in 1739, German and Scots-Irish immigrants settled in Maryland’s Great Valley, developing prosperous farms. By the mid 1790’s,
agriculture was booming and the region needed a way to get its products to market. Community leaders proposed construction of a good road from Hagerstown to Baltimore.
Almost thirty years later, a new “National Road” reached Hagerstown. The town expanded as a freight center and stagecoach destination. An endless stream . . . — Map (db m6532) |
| Maryland (Washington County), Hagerstown — Wilson Bridge — Link Between East and West |
| | Built in 1819, this five-arch structure, named for nearby village, was first stone bridge in Washington County. Erected by Silas Harry at cost of $12,000, it was a major improvement to road system between Baltimore and Cumberland, providing continuous smooth surface from Eastern Seaboard to western wilderness. It is one of two oldest bridges remaining on the National Pike (first federally financed road in the U.S.). Wilson Bridge carried traffic until seriously damaged by storm flooding in . . . — Map (db m697) |
| Maryland (Washington County), Hagerstown — Wilson Bridge — Standing the Test of Time |
| | “Keep these bridges in proper repair and they will last as long as any. They have stood many hard knocks for a long time.” —Elmer E. Piper, Washington County Surveyor, 1920s.
This graceful, five-arch structure, spanning historic Conococheague Creek, is the oldest stone bridge in Washington County. The Army Corps of Engineers only required stone piers with a wooden superstructure, but the local government insisted the bridge be constructed entirely of native . . . — Map (db m698) |
| Maryland (Washington County), Hancock — Hancock — The Busiest Village on the Road |
| | “After the exhilaration of a gallop down the mountain without breaks, what appetite would not be set on edge, what refinement of palate displeased by venison cutlets, or even ham and eggs?”
Harper’s Magazine, 1879
By 1840, Hancock was a major stop on the National Road. Here, travelers could prepare for the nearby mountains or rest after the long up and down ride from Cumberland.
As many as sixteen “gayly painted” coaches sporting names like the . . . — Map (db m5931) |
| Maryland (Washington County), Hancock — National Pike Toll House — Circa 1822 |
| | The significance of this structure lies both in its history and architecture. It is one of the few remaining “toll houses” along the old National Road. The National Road was chartered between Hancock and Cumberland in 1819 and completed in 1822, following an 18th century trail. A deed dated March 29, 1820, from Thomas C. Brent to the President, Managers and Company of the Cumberland Turnpike, records the purchase of ½ acre of land for $50.00 and refers to a “brick toll . . . — Map (db m5799) |
| Maryland (Washington County), Hancock — Sideling Hill and Town Hill Mountains |
| | Rainwater enters the outcropping sandstones of Sideling Hill and collects in what is termed an aquifer. In this highway cut, the water runs out at the bottom of the fractured sandstone layers because it cannot go through the dense claystone below. There are often continual water seeps or ice falls during winter in a cut like this.
The ridge to the west is Town Hill, a syncline like Sideling Hill. What looks like an end to the hill is a cut, eroded by a river which might have been bigger . . . — Map (db m5543) |
| Maryland (Washington County), Hancock — The Challenge of Sideling Hill |
| | “Our pleasure trips usually stopped at the top of the mountain because of the
hairpin turn to the right that dropped into a severely sharp curve.”
This route is an ancient one. Our traveling
ancestors pushed across, around and finally
through this mountain. Sideling Hill, always
a steep and dangerous climb, first showed
up on a 1755 map as “Side Long Hill.”
When frontiersman Thomas Cresap moved
up the Potomac Valley, he hired local
Indians to . . . — Map (db m825) |
| Maryland (Washington County), Hancock — The National Road — The Road that Built the Nation |
| | “. . . so many happy people, restless in the midst of abundance.” —Alexis de Tocqueville, 1840.
Americans are an adventurous people. From
past to present, they have used feet, horses,
wagons, stagecoaches, canals, railroads,
bicycles, automobiles, trucks and buses to
“perpetually change their plans and abodes.”
Centuries ago, George Washington dreamed of
a highway joining east and west. In 1806,
Thomas Jefferson made that roadway a . . . — Map (db m824) |
| Maryland (Washington County), Hancock — The National Road — The Road that Built a Nation |
| | “. . . so many happy people, restless in the midst of abundance.” —Alexis de Tocqueville, 1840.
Americans are an adventurous people. From
past to present, they have used feet, horses,
wagons, stagecoaches, canals, railroads,
bicycles, automobiles, trucks and buses to
“perpetually change their plans and abodes.”
Centuries ago, George Washington dreamed of
a highway joining east and west. In 1806,
Thomas Jefferson made that roadway a . . . — Map (db m830) |
| Maryland (Washington County), Myersville — The National Road — The Road that Built the Nation |
| | “. . . so many happy people, restless in the midst of abundance.” —Alexis de Tocqueville, 1840.
Americans are an adventurous people. From
past to present, they have used feet, horses,
wagons, stagecoaches, canals, railroads,
bicycles, automobiles, trucks and buses to
“perpetually change their plans and abodes.”
Centuries ago, George Washington dreamed of
a highway joining east and west. In 1806,
Thomas Jefferson made that roadway a . . . — Map (db m671) |
| Ohio (Belmont County), Blaine — 11-7 — Blaine Hill "S" Bridge / Blaine Hill Viaduct |
| | Blaine Hill "S" Bridge
The first Blaine Hill Bridge was constructed in 1828 as part of the National Road, the nation's first federally funded highway. This three-arch S-shaped structure, 345 feet in length, spans Wheeling Creek (a tributary of the Ohio River) and is the longest original "S" bridge in existence on the old National Road. At a gradient of approximately 6.3 percent from east to west, it significantly eased, for the first time, the arduous 500-foot western climb out of the . . . — Map (db m12618) |
| Ohio (Belmont County), Bridgeport — 4-7 — Historic Bridgeport |
| | Colonel Ebenezer Zane, one of the founders of Wheeling, laid out the village that became Bridgeport in 1806 on the site of Fort Kirkwood (1789). Originally named Canton, it acquired its present name after the bridge to Wheeling Island was built. The arrival of the National Road in 1818 made the growing town a major portal into the state of Ohio for westbound emigrants, adding to its importance as a port for Ohio River traffic. With the advent of railroads and, later, transcontinental highways, . . . — Map (db m515) |
| Ohio (Belmont County), Elizabethtown — 2-7 — Mile Marker |
| | The earliest highway signs along the National Road (Route 40) in Ohio were milestones located at one-mile intervals along the north side of the roadway. Each stone indicated the distance to Cumberland, Maryland, the eastern terminus of the National Road, and to the nearest cities and villages for both east and westbound travelers. — Map (db m21058) |
| Ohio (Belmont County), Morristown — 10-7 — Morristown |
| | Platted in 1802 by John Zane and William Chapline along the old Wheeling Road. Morristown was named for Duncan Morrison, an early settler, innkeeper, and Justice of the Peace. Older than the state itself. Morristown prospered into the mid-1800s, nurtured by trade along the National Road, the first federally funded highway project in the United States. The National Road was a major overland route to the West in the second quarter of the nineteenth century. Federal style brick and frame . . . — Map (db m287) |
| Ohio (Belmont County), St. Clairsville — Milestone Marks where Extension of National Road... |
| | Milestone marks where extension of National Road west of Ohio River was started July 4, 1825.
Stone relocated 1964 — Map (db m5027) |
| Ohio (Clark County), Springfield — Esplanade/Fountain Square |
| | Since 1826, the Esplanade has been the traditional center of Springfield and Clark County. The National Road passed within one block of “Market Square” as it was then called. Three city halls, several hotels, train stations, and numerous commercial interests were located here. It was the site of the Champion Reaper Plant, the company that made Springfield the “Champion City”, and Kelly's Springfield Arcade. The Esplanade has hosted scores of parades, community . . . — Map (db m13316) |
| Ohio (Clark County), Springfield — 4-12 — Pennsylvania House / The National Road |
| | Pennsylvania House
David Snively built the Federal-style Pennsylvania House in 1839 along the newly constructed National Road. This tavern and inn was an important stopover for livestock drovers and pioneers traveling by foot, on horseback, or in Conestoga wagons during the westward expansion of the United States in the nineteenth century. Dr. Isaac K. Funk, of Funk & Wagnalls fame, lived in the house in the 1840s while his father served as its tavern keeper. Closed as an inn after the . . . — Map (db m13278) |
| Ohio (Franklin County), Bexley — 58-25 — The National Road / The Interurban Electric Railway |
| | The National Road
To George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and others, a road to the Ohio Country was essential for the United States’ development. An overland route was the way west for settlers and goods, as well as a means to transport settlers’ produce to eastern markets. Construction of the National Road began at Cumberland, Maryland in 1811, reached Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia) in 1818, and entered Columbus at Main Street in 1833. The road turned north on High Street and . . . — Map (db m15785) |
| Ohio (Guernsey County), Cambridge — “S” Bridge |
| | Old National Road, Built about 1828. Where the road crossed a creek at an angle, a stone arch bridge was built as right angles to the stream flow. "S" shaped walls were then built to guide traffic around the job from the direction of travel across the bridge and back onto the road line. An arch parallel with the stream flow and in line with the road would have been more difficult and costly to build. — Map (db m284) |
| Ohio (Guernsey County), Salesville — “S” Bridge |
| | Old National Road, Built about 1828. Where the road crossed a creek at an angle, a stone arch bridge was built as right angles to the stream flow. "S" shaped walls were then built to guide traffic around the job from the direction of travel across the bridge and back onto the road line. An arch parallel with the stream flow and in line with the road would have been more difficult and costly to build. — Map (db m286) |
| Ohio (Licking County), Hebron — 1-45 — Hebron |
| | Located at the crossing of the Ohio and Erie Canal and the National Road, Hebron was a favored commercial and agricultural center for Licking County in the nineteenth century. Only four miles north of the city Governor DeWitt Clinton of New York turned the first spadeful of dirt for the Ohio and Erie canal on July 4, 1825. The canal was completed through Hebron in 1828. Nearby Buckeye Lake served as a reservoir and feeder for the canal until 1894 when it was set aside for park purposes. The National Road was completed through Hebron in 1834. — Map (db m13878) |
| Ohio (Licking County), Hebron — Hebron Milling Company |
| | The Hebron Milling Company building was built in 1880 where the National Trail (Route 40) and the Ohio Canal crossed in the village of Hebron. The building sat on the edge of the “turning basin” in the village, where canal boats docked to load or unload. In the Basin, the canal boats could turn around for a return trip.
Mr. William Bebout built the building and operated it as a flour and saw mill. Mr. Bebout took young Davie Geiger in as a partner in 1891. He was with the mill . . . — Map (db m13879) |
| Ohio (Licking County), Thornville — Eagle’s Nest |
| | Old National Road, built 1825, rebuilt 1914 through the efforts of James M. Cox, Governor of Ohio. Columbus 39 ms. Cumberland 720 ms. — Map (db m274) |
| Ohio (Muskingum County), New Concord — Findley Settlement |
| | Judge David Findley and his sons worked farms which extended from the site of Interstate 70 to the John Glenn High School. Here, on Findley Creek, the Judge erected log houses and built a carding and fulling mill and a tobacco warehouse.
Judge Findley laid out New Concord when the surveyors for the National Road planted stakes through his pasture to the east. You are standing at the star facing north. — Map (db m279) |
| Ohio (Muskingum County), New Concord — 2-60 — S-Bridge |
| | Coaches, Conestoga wagons, herds of livestock, pioneers on foot or horseback, peddlers, soldiers, beggers - these and many others have crossed this bridge on the National Road since 1830. Escaping slaves sought shelter beneath it. Like many others on the road, the bridge was built with well-cut stone and good mortar in the shape of an "S" because it was easier to erect than one thrown straight across an oblique stream. — Map (db m13350) |
| Ohio (Muskingum County), New Concord — 12-60 — Zane's Trace |
| | Side A Fulfilling President George Washington's desire to “open wide the gates of the West,” in 1796 Congress authorized the Zane brothers of Fort Henry (at present day Wheeling) to clear a path through the dense woods of Appalachian Ohio. Zane's Trace cut through the forests of eleven counties, reaching the Ohio River at Aberdeen, across from Limestone (now Maysville), Kentucky. The trail roughly follows the routes of U.S. 22 and 40 to Lancaster, S. R. 159 to Chillicothe, U.S. 50 . . . — Map (db m13351) |
| Ohio (Muskingum County), Norwich — 15-60 — First Traffic Fatality in Ohio/The National Road |
| | First Traffic Fatality in Ohio
As he traveled the National Road on August 20, 1835, the last diary entry by Christopher C. Baldwin, librarian for the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts, was, “Start by stage on the Cumberland Road for Zanesville.” Baldwin never reached Zanesville or his ultimate destination, which was to investigate prehistoric mounds in southern Ohio on behalf of the Antiquarian Society. On that day, near this site, he was killed in what . . . — Map (db m13348) |
| Ohio (Muskingum County), Zanesville — 5-60 — Y-Bridge — 1902 |
| |
World famous part of the Old National Road.
Maintained by Muskingum County Marker by Ohio Society of Professional Engineers Approved by the Ohio Historical Society — Map (db m8518) |
| Ohio (Muskingum County), Zanesville — 3-60 — Y-Bridge — 1902 |
| |
World famous part of the Old National Road.
Maintained by Muskingum County. Marker by Ohio Society of Professional Engineers. Approved by the Ohio Historical Society. — Map (db m9555) |
| Ohio (Muskingum County), Zanesville — 4-60 — Y-Bridge — 1902 |
| |
World famous part of the Old National Road.
Maintained by Muskingum County. Marker by Ohio Society of Professional Engineers. Approved by the Ohio Historical Society. — Map (db m9559) |
| Pennsylvania (Fayette County), Brownsville — Brownsville - Route 40 Bridge |
| | ASM International has designated Brownsville - Route 40 Bridge an historical landmark. This bridge, designed by and built under the supervision of Capt. Richard Delafield in 1839 to improve the "National Road", is the first cast iron bridge to be built west of the Allegheny Mountains. — Map (db m252) |
| Pennsylvania (Fayette County), Brownsville — Dunlap’s Creek Bridge |
| | An integral part of the National Road, this was the first metal arch bridge in the United States, built 1836-39. Replacing several earlier bridges on this site, including an 1809 Finley suspension bridge, this 80-foot span was built of cast iron by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Capt. Richard Delafield and Lieut. George W. Cass oversaw construction. — Map (db m251) |
| Pennsylvania (Fayette County), Brownsville — The First Cast Iron Bridge |
| | The first cast iron bridge built in the United States, was built in 1836-1839 over Dunlap's Creek at this point. — Map (db m253) |
| Pennsylvania (Fayette County), Farmington — Mount Washington Tavern |
| | This tavern once bustled with activity. Judge Nathaniel Ewing of Uniontown built it about 1830, then sold in in 1840 to James Sampey, who ran the tavern with his family. Mount Washington Tavern was a stage stop for the Good Intent Stage Line, one of many stage lines using the National Road. This was one of the finer taverns along the road, catering to stagecoach passengers.
Once inside, travelers cleaned up from their long day's trip, then ate a hot meal in the dining room. Later, the women . . . — Map (db m347) |
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