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The Historic National Road Historical Markers
“The Road that Built the Nation.” The first (1811) federally funded road in the U.S. ran from Baltimore, Maryland to Vandalia, Illinois.
By Jason Voigt, January 3, 2020
Greenville Marker
GEOGRAPHIC SORT
| | Imagine a world without books--a frontier where print is a luxury, often out of reach. It's the world you would have known in 1815, when George Davidson settled the bluff overlooking Little Shoal Creek, just a short walk from where you stand. . . . — — Map (db m144131) HM |
| | Illinois Confederacy Indians roamed this prairie land, rich in game, which became Illinois County of Virginia. Ceded in 1784 to the United States it was successively included in the Northwest, Indiana; and in 1809, Illinois Territory. Formed in . . . — — Map (db m34169) HM |
| | Built in 1918, this site was headquarters for Wells Judd Tire Sales, a Goodyear Tire Dealer for over 50 years. Managed by Earl Wildermann, it served the local tire and battery trade, as well as customers traveling on the National Trail. Restored in . . . — — Map (db m144108) HM |
| | In the 1820s, not far from where you stand, passengers could board a stagecoach traveling west to Alton, Ill., or east to the Illinois Capitol at Vandalia.
According to local lore, if passengers at the town tavern were waiting for a coach, the . . . — — Map (db m144132) HM |
| | The village square may be quiet today, but from the mid-1800s through the early 1900s, the ring of hammers bending iron and shaping steel echoed down these streets.
Northwest of where you stand, blacksmiths shaped horseshoes, linked chains, . . . — — Map (db m144110) HM |
| | It's a story often told on the National Road. Two towns, both poised to prosper, grow up within walking distance of one another. One thrives. The other fades into the footnotes of history.
In the 1830s, Ewing Chancellor settled land along an . . . — — Map (db m152559) HM |
| | With the opening of the National Road through this area, small communities began to the established along the route, one of which was Casey. The first settler was John Lang, a native of Scotland. Lang and family arrived from Ohio in 1838 and bought . . . — — Map (db m152488) HM |
| | Built at the intersection of Illinois' first state road and America's first federal highway, Marshall was a gateway community for immigrants traveling west. It was founded in 1835 by Illinois Gov. Joseph Duncan and Col. William B. Archer. . . . — — Map (db m152562) HM |
| | This Bridge was completed by Army Engineers sometime between 1834 and 1837 as part of the Old National Road, between Cumberland, Maryland and Vandalia, Illinois, was authorized by the enabling act of 1803 and was the Nation's first federally . . . — — Map (db m71127) HM |
| | This structure was erected in 1841 by Col. Wm. B. Archer, founder of Marshall, and John Bartlett and has been in continuous use as a hotel. It was an important stage coach stop on the early Cumberland Road where many prominent people, including . . . — — Map (db m152564) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m152560) HM |
| |
The Linn Family
The ancestors of the Linn Family immigrated from Ireland in 1809. They eventually settled in Parker Township in Clark County Illinois, near Westfield in 1864. Walter Linn and his family moved to Martinsville in the late . . . — — Map (db m153192) HM |
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[column 1:]
"History of The National Road"
Settlers had been moving west since the early 1700's. By 1802, so many farms and towns had been settled in the Ohio Valley that people living in the territory were calling for . . . — — Map (db m155631) HM |
| |
Historic Bridge Re-Created
177 years after the original Jackson Covered Bridge was constructed on this site a new bridge now spans the Embarass River. This structure re-creates as an original covered timber bridge that once stood on this . . . — — Map (db m152477) HM |
| | He was a man of vision. When William C. Greenup co-founded this village in 1834, the land around it was wilderness. But as Illinois Superintendent of the National Road, Greenup saw tremendous potential in the area adjacent to America's highway. . . . — — Map (db m152532) HM |
| | [column 1:]
1830 - Original Jackson Truss Bridge
Excerpts from inspection report made in 1833:
[Doc. No. 117] 23d Congress, 1st Session, HO. Of Reps. War Dept.
May 14, 1834
"Inspection Cumberland Road and its . . . — — Map (db m155370) HM |
| |
Site of Barbour
Inn 1831, on Old
National Trail,
town established
in 1836, by W.C.
Greenup
— — Map (db m152786) HM |
| | From 1871 to 2007, this courthouse was the heart of Effingham County government. For many cities on the National Road, a courthouse promised growth and prosperity. For others, it stood as silent testimony that fortunes change, and promises aren't . . . — — Map (db m152529) HM |
| | In 1870, the St. Louis, Vandalia and Terre Haute rail line replaced the National Road as the fastest, most reliable route across Illinois. Drummers, or traveling salesmen, rode the rails from one town to the next.
At the depot, the drummers' . . . — — Map (db m152531) HM |
| | They traveled West by horse and wagon, oxen and Conestoga, and by foot. They represented a staggering assortment of crafts, talents and trades. They emigrated from Germany in search of affordable land, economic opportunity, and political and . . . — — Map (db m152530) HM |
| | Nearly 100 years before Brownstown businesses offered fuel, food, and lodging to motorists following US 40 across America, there was Ezra Griffith and Twin Pumps.
A New York native, Griffith followed the National Road to Fayette County, Ill., . . . — — Map (db m144228) HM |
| | St. Elmo's history is rooted in the dust of a settlement named Howard's Point. Hamlets like Howard's Point relied on the National Road to sustain their businesses.
Some of these small settlements grew into cities. Others faded as their . . . — — Map (db m144229) HM |
| | Vandalia was the western terminus of the Cumberland or National Road which extended eighty feet wide for 591 miles from Cumberland, Maryland through Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. Illinois construction by the Federal Government began in 1811 and . . . — — Map (db m42345) HM |
| | N·S·D·A·R Memorial
to the
Pioneer Mothers
of the
Covered Wagon Days
The Cumberland Road.
Built by
the Federal Government.
Was authorized by Congress
and approved by
Thomas Jefferson in 1806.
Vandalia marks the . . . — — Map (db m42341) HM |
| | In 1828 Joseph Shriver surveyed the National Road from Indiana to the Illinois capital at Vandalia. Between the Wabash and Kaskaskia rivers, he found little more than wilderness.
By the mid-1830s, the National Road had spawned settlements in . . . — — Map (db m144226) HM |
| | Come inside and live the story of the Historic National Road, the road that built the nation. Just thirty years after declaring independence from the British, the young nation was feeling the growing pains of westward expansion. President Thomas . . . — — Map (db m144185) HM |
| | Born in Maryland. Clerk of First General Assembly of Illinois Territory, Kaskaskia 1812. Clerk of House of Representatives and of Legislative Council, 1815. Clerk of Constitutional Convention 1818. Secretary of Senate 1818-20. Chief Surveyor of . . . — — Map (db m42374) HM |
| | Imagine Main Street in the early 1900s. Horses pull supply wagons stocked with fruits, vegetables, and dry goods to shops facing the thoroughfare. Trolleys bounce and clang as they trundle down rails at the street's center. Bicyclists weave between . . . — — Map (db m144068) HM |
| | During the era of stagecoach travel, the building before you played an important role. It anchored a relay station.
Coach journeys were broken into stages of about 10 miles. At the end of each stage, drivers stopped at a relay station like . . . — — Map (db m144107) HM |
| | In the mid 1800s, roughly a quarter-mile east of where you stand, Madison County residents carved a settlement from farm fields, prairie grass, broken forests, and the National Road.
Here, the National Road was little more than a scraped-earth . . . — — Map (db m144106) HM |
| | "It looks like home." That's what Frederick Mersinger might say if he could see the cabin in this park. The building was reconstructed from photos of a log home purchased by Mersinger in 1859. Generations of Mersingers grew up in the house, south of . . . — — Map (db m144083) HM |
| |
In 1806, President Thomas Jefferson signed legislation creating America's first federal highway. The National Road would join the bustling cities of the East to the resource-rich wilderness of the West, connecting state capitals, county seats, . . . — — Map (db m144040) HM |
| | Information on the Move
Information always travels by the best available technology. In the 19th century, the National Road (Main Street) along which you now stand, represented the latest in state-of-the-art communications.
Today many of . . . — — Map (db m130948) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m139247) HM |
| | You are standing on Washington Street—the route of the Historic National Road in Indiana. In the early 19th century, this broad street had no sidewalks and was lined with log buildings and frame taverns that crowded near the newly constructed . . . — — Map (db m132794) HM |
| | Cumberland M.D. to Terre Haute Ind. 1806 - 1839 — — Map (db m99992) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m8925) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m63949) HM |
| |
(Side One)
Historic National Road
The Road That Built The Nation
Pike Towns
The National Road--along which you now stand—arrived here in Centerville in 1832. Centerville was an early "pike town". Regularly . . . — — Map (db m69309) HM |
| | Side A
An Important Road
The National Road is a true American icon, conceived by George Washington,
authorized by Thomas Jefferson, and traveled by Abraham Lincoln.
In 1806 construction of the National Road was approved by the US . . . — — Map (db m139348) HM |
| | (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 . . . — — Map (db m244) HM |
| | The Madonna of the Trail statue, commissioned by the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, was designed and sculpted by August Leimbach of St. Louis, Missouri. It symbolizes the courage, faith, and spirit of the pioneer mothers who . . . — — Map (db m138880) HM |
| | This tablet marks the site of the first toll gate in the state of Indiana erected about 1850. — — Map (db m288) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m147744) HM |
| | A log chapel dedicated to St. Mary was built on this site in 1791. The first parishioners were mostly English Catholics from Southern Maryland. A brick church replaced the log building in 1939. Cumberland became a major center of transportation and . . . — — Map (db m134394) HM |
| |
About this sign
The outline drawing above represents the heritage-themed mural to your right. The mural is organized chronologically into sections. Each section is described here, with accompanying historic images..
. . . — — Map (db m140048) HM |
| | Downtown Cumberland
The Flood of March 29, 1924 inflicted almost $5 million worth of destruction in the City of Cumberland. Telephone, telegraph, roads and electric wires were washed away. Though not as bad, another flood occurred on May 12th . . . — — Map (db m139111) HM |
| | In 1749 Christopher Gist, an agent for the Ohio Company, arrived at the junction of the Wills Creek and the North Branch of the Potomac River to erect a trading post. In anticipation of the French and Indian War a fort was constructed in 1754 upon . . . — — Map (db m139113) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m17783) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m4926) HM |
| | “. . . 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, . . . — — Map (db m67479) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m18728) HM |
| |
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 . . . — — Map (db m17716) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m4922) HM |
| | “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 . . . — — Map (db m5013) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m3551) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m3553) HM |
| | Contrary to popular belief that it was named for its frigid winter weather, Frostburg can trace its history back to 1800 when the community was known as Mt. Pleasant. By the time the National Road (authorized by Congress in 1806) opened through in . . . — — Map (db m67475) HM |
| | 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) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m443) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m444) HM |
| | 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. . . . — — Map (db m20986) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m5700) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m4940) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m6140) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m114592) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m5705) HM |
| | “. . . 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, . . . — — Map (db m5703) HM |
| | The lofty, triple-arched Baltimore Street Bridge was built here in 1932 to provide better access across the Gwynns Falls Valley to the city's rapidly developing west side. Earlier, the Frederick Turnpike crossed farther south on a relatively short, . . . — — Map (db m6351) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m39347) HM |
| |
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 . . . — — Map (db m4910) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m5500) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m5536) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m128248) HM |
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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 . . . — — Map (db m4933) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m2247) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m2748) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m104243) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m2805) HM |
| | 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: . . . — — Map (db m2706) HM |
| | 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. . . . — — Map (db m2321) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m136898) HM |
| | “. . . 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, . . . — — Map (db m2753) HM |
| | As the Civil War approached, the citizens of Middletown read about the coming conflict in the town newspaper, The Valley Register. Some attended patriotic rallies, while others found it safer to conceal their allegiances. Soldiers from many . . . — — Map (db m143918) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m415) HM |
| | This view of downtown Middletown was taken from the towering steeple of the Zion Lutheran Church across the street behind you. This remarkable image highlights the historic National Road—dirt at the time—running eastward toward . . . — — Map (db m143919) HM |
| | After Confederate Gen. Robert e. Lee's stunning victory at Chancellorsville in May 1863, he led the Army of Northern Virginia west to the Shenandoah Valley, then north through central Maryland and across the Mason-Dixon Line into . . . — — Map (db m143920) HM |
| | The Historic National Road — "The Road that Built the Nation" — parallels Interstate 70, connecting western settlements across the Appalachian Mountains with eastern ports since 1806. — — Map (db m116490) HM |
| | “. . . 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, . . . — — Map (db m5921) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m5404) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m132498) HM |
| |
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 . . . — — Map (db m1600) HM |
| |
“. . . 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, . . . — — Map (db m83628) HM |
| |
the land occupied by Wilderness Voyageurs was once the site of the livery stable for the Riverside Hotel. The house pictured above was the home of Captain Elijah Monroe Friend, grandson of Gabriel Friend, son of John Friend the first white . . . — — Map (db m153156) HM |
| | As they climbed into the mountains west of Frostburg, travelers entered the longest straightaway on the National Road between Cumberland and Wheeling, West Virginia. They marveled at this long ribbon of road and christened it the "Long Stretch." . . . — — Map (db m134376) HM |
| | 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) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m360) HM |
| | 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 . . . — — Map (db m477) HM |
| | “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 . . . — — Map (db m431) HM |
| | (Logo for Mountain Maryland Gateway to the West, Garrett County)
(7 small color images of structures and landscapes. 1 large color image of the Cassleman River Bridge.)
Transportation
Transportation features include Garrett . . . — — Map (db m135716) HM |
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