You Are Here

You Are Here. Historic National Road, also, Make History, Drive It. Brazil, just like her sister US 40 communities, prospered due to its location on the National Road. With the 1926 designation of the National Road as US 40, Brazil instantly became linked with the rest of the nation. Almost every raw material, natural resource, and manufactured good in the nation could be found along this route. Baltimore's shipyards, Kansas City's stockyards, and California's vineyards were linked to each other and to Brazil via this vital economic corridor. , The Road to Prosperity , Brazil's brick and coal industries fueled much of its growth in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the early 20th century, when brick was a preferred pavement, most of the bricks used to pave the National Road across Indiana were manufactured here in Brazil. If you look closely, you can still see remnants of the original brick beneath the surface of the road. , Before the construction of Interstate 70, Brazil, like hundreds of smaller cities and towns across Indiana and the United States, benefited from its location along this important commercial artery. Whether traveling from Atlantic City to San Francisco or Terre Haute to Richmond, if you were driving on US 40 you had to pass through Brazil. And for Brazil this fostered a vibrant economy and a thriving downtown. , (photo captions:), Brazil Clay Company , Brazil grew from a sleepy stage line relay station to become the county seat of Clay County, taking over from Bowling Green, which had the misfortune to be situated too far from the National Road to continue to prosper., Easy Access , US 40 brought manufactured goods from across the nation to Indiana and provided Indiana companies, like Clabber Girl, easy access to the nation's markets., Vroom-Vroom , Brazil's bricks paved the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Originally constructed in 1909, the "Brickyard" served as a test track to measure the endurance and speed of the modern automobile. Some 3.2 million bricks from Brazil were pounded as drivers set new records in the exciting early days of automobile innovation. The bricks were paved over with asphalt in 1939. In 1961 a small stretch of the Speedway was restored with over 500 1909-vintage bricks. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is designated a National Historic Landmark., (reverse:), The Auto Age , The automobile revived the National Road in the 1920s. As cars and trucks took to the road, the federal government established a nationwide network of paved, all-weather highways. The old National Road was one of the first routes designated under the new federal highway numbering system in 1926, US Route 40, a transcontinental highway from Atlantic City, NJ, to San Francisco, CA. Once again, the road gave rise to new opportunities. Like the blacksmith shops and taverns of the past, gas stations, diners, and motels ushered in a new era of prosperity. Until the 1970s, with the completion of Interstate 70, US 40 was one of the country's primary east-west routes. , The Modern Road , The National Road has played a significant role in the development of the United States. To honor this distinction, in 2002 the US Secretary of Transportation designated the Historic National Road from Maryland to Illinois an All-American Road. Indiana is actively working to preserve its segment of the road, structures, and landscapes along this historic corridor. Today the road continues to beckon travelers like you as it has for more than 200 years. Welcome to Indiana!, New and Improved , Soon after the turn of the 20th century, Americans abandoned their horses, carts, and interurban rail cars for the independence afforded by the automobile. Old rutted roads like the National Road were paved, new services established, and the modern transportation era began., Where Service Never Stops , The modern National Road, US Route 40, provided essential services for travelers around the clock. , National Road Landmark , Restored by Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, the 1841 Huddleston Farmhouse in Cambridge City, a popular stopping place for supplies on the old road, continues to welcome visitors along the National Road., The Modern Conestoga Wagon , The H&C Studebaker blacksmith shop became the Studebaker Manufacturing Company in 1868. Indiana-based Studebaker would eventually become the largest wagon manufacturer in the world. Studebaker introduced an electric car in 1902 and a gasoline powered car in 1904, becoming the only manufacturer to successfully make the transition from horse-drawn to gasoline-powered vehicles.