The National Road: Highway to the Past
By Joe Volz
Take a leisurely travel into history. Known by some as the National Road and by others as U.S. Route 40, it was the nation’s first highway and the most heavily traveled road during the 1840's. It stretches 600 miles through five states. An abundance of accommodations existed for travelers--some of which can still be seen and visited today while traveling from Cumberland, Maryland to Vandalia, Illinois. It’s quite a trip, especially for those who like to motor into another era.
The Road’s Construction: 1811 to 1830
Under Jefferson’s Administration, the government, for the first time, provided federal funding for a road. The road would stretch between the Potomac and Ohio Rivers, and serve as a gateway to the Midwest for settlers. Laborers, both man and beast, pulled logs out of the forest and leveled the land.
By 1818, the highway reached the Ohio River at Wheeling, West Virginia and was extended into Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. There were plans to push it into Missouri, but funding ran out. The government used a percentage of every dollar of land sold in Ohio to pay for the road’s continued construction. However, by 1830, the railroad was chugging around the Allegheny Mountains and highway funding dried up. Wagons only covered 12 miles on a good day; a distance trains gobbled up in hours. Moreover, pioneer families didn’t usually ride in Conestoga wagons--they walked next to them. Only the well-to-do were lucky enough to journey in stagecoaches. And so the National Road would stop at Vandalia.
There are some very noteworthy places along the highway that are rich in history and worth stopping to see:
Cassleman Bridge
Visually, Cumberland is the most spectacular section of the road. The highway climbs up and down roller coaster landscape and across a breathtaking stone arch bridge called Cassleman Bridge, just west of Cumberland. The bridge crosses an area declared as Little Crossings in 1755 by George Washington who at that time was a young military aide on the staff of British Major General Edward Braddock.
Fort Necessity National Battlefield
The National Battlefield, 11 miles east of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, is a good place to learn about the history of the road. The road passed by Fort Necessity and bustled with traffic heading from port to plains and plains to port. The 900-acre national park includes a stagecoach museum.
The road closely parallels a path originally cut by the Delaware Indians, then opened by Washington and General Edward Braddock in 1754-55.
Mount Washington Tavern
The Mount Washington Tavern was one of many taverns located along the National Road. The Tavern, built around 1828, was in operation during the heyday of the National Road. The Mount Washington Tavern catered to the stagecoach clientele and was serviced by the Good Intent Stagecoach Line. This tavern owes its name to George Washington, who as a young man, fought a battle nearby. He returned 15 years later to purchase the land which he owned until his death in 1799.
Pennsylvania Town: Washington
George Washington owned 60,000 acres in the western Pennsylvania woods near a town now called Washington. He sent his men to claim the land after his military career ended. The father of our country chased the squatters off the land and is still remembered with animosity by the locals. The town was the center for the Whisky Rebellion of 1791. The Rebellion was due to a tax being imposed on whiskey distillation in the region.
Wheeling, West Virginia and Ohio: Dayton and Donnelsville
Rushing through Wheeling, you'll cross the Wheeling Suspension Bridge. It is the oldest suspension bridge in the world. It spans the East channel of the Ohio River at Wheeling, West Virginia. It was the largest suspension bridge in the world from 1849 until the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge opened in 1851.
Be sure to visit the Madonna of the Trail, a 20-foot high concrete statue of a pioneering mother proudly staring across the wilderness from underneath a bonnet.
The eastern edge of Ohio has rolling hills like West Virginia. By the time motorists reach Donnelsville, the city of five dams, the road soars over an overpass for miles. The highway briefly evens out with the land, and then crosses a river gorge on yet another overpass. By now, motorist might be perplexed enough to seek explanation at a bar and grill, named Quillen’s in Donnelsville.
The weather-beaten logs and low ceiling makes visitors wonder if Quillen’s was one of the taverns that sprang up along the road during the height of its prosperity. The bar and grill was once a coach stop. orses were stabled in the rear and travelers bedded down for the night upstairs. Log cabins with blacksmiths, wagon wheel parts, and other supplies, surrounded it.
Richmond, Indiana
Richmond boasts a museum for the Starr Piano Company. Starr founded a record company in Richmond that recorded great musicians like Jelly Roll Morton, the Wolverine Blues, the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, Louis Armstrong, and Gene Autry.
One more thing, the Taste of Love Bakery, which has been baking macaroons for decades, is a must stop.
Links
Fort Necessity National Battlefield
Maryand Scenic Byways: Central Region
National Road Heritage Corridor
The Historic National Road in West Virginia
Indiana National Road Association
National Road Association of Illinois
Books
Find these books online at Barnesandnoble.comThe Whiskey Rebellion
By William Hogeland, Simon & Schuster Trade, 2006.
Reading the Road
By Thomas J. Schlereth, University of Tennessee Press, 1997.
Guide to the National Road
By Karl B. Raitz, editor, University of Kentucky Press, 1996.
