Martinsville

Martinsville. The Merchants of Main Street. Imagine you're traveling the National Road in the late 1800s. Your wagon is one of many trundling toward town. The dirt road is rough and the ride uncomfortable, but you welcome the trip. It's a day to visit with friends, catch up on news, and trade cash and farm goods for supplies and services., Many merchants have shops on the National Road, known locally as Main Street. Before the day is done, you'll stop by the general store for groceries and a Sunday shirt, ask the blacksmith to edge your knives, see the milliner's about a new hat, and buy candy at the confectionary. , For you and other area residents, Martinsville's Main Street is more than a road. It's a corridor for commerce and community. , Trade Route, Early Martinsville merchants often relied on a system of barter and exchange to supplement cash transactions. Clark County residents offered farm goods such as eggs, poultry, fruits, and vegetables, in exchange for groceries, dry goods and services. Shopkeepers credited the difference in value to a customer's account., Martinsville shops also offered credit. Owners kept records of credits and debts in a ledger. Debts were kept "on the books" until a customer settled the account., Oil and Economy, In the early 1900s, Ohio Oil Company became Martinsville's largest employer. From 1906 to 1908, Ohio Oil constructed 225 oil tanks on 1,200 acres west of town. The oil boom spurred Martinsville's economy and attracted scores of construction workers. From 1900 to 1910, the town's population climbed from 1,000 to 1,500., (photo captions:), Blacksmith shops like this one sharpened blades, shaped horseshoes, made hardware for homes and businesses, and kept coaches and wagons moving on the National Road. , Alexander Linn and Arthur Rupp equipped homes, farms and businesses with hardware from Linn's store on Main Street., Edgar Rowe established a foundry on the National Road in 1898. It still operates today. This photo from 1912 shows Tinus Cunningham at work in Rowe Foundry., (aside:), A Road of Dirt, Rock, And Dreams, In 1806, President Thomas Jefferson signed legislation to provide federal funding for a National Road. Surveyed from Cumberland, Md., to the Mississippi River, the National Road was a highway for pioneers eager to settle the West., Today, as US 40, the National Road in Illinois spans 164 miles. From Indiana to East St. Louis, you can still see how the ambitions and accomplishments of early Illinois immigrants shaped our communities. You'll find their influence in our art and architecture, our industry and agriculture, and in our way of life. Enjoy your time on the Road.