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:''For the road in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, see National Road No. 2.''

The 'National Road' or 'Cumberland Road' was one of the first major improved highways in the United States, built by the Federal Government. Construction began in 1811 at Cumberland, Maryland, on the Potomac River, and the road reached Wheeling, West Virginia, on the Ohio River in 1818. Plans were made to continue through St. Louis, Missouri, on the Mississippi River to Jefferson City, Missouri, but funding ran out and construction stopped at Vandalia, Illinois in 1839.
A chain of turnpikes connecting Baltimore, Maryland, to the National Road at Cumberland was completed in 1824, forming what is somewhat erroneously referred to as an eastern extension of the National Road. In 1835 the road east of Wheeling was turned over to the states for operation as a turnpike, and came to be known as the 'National Pike', a name also applied to the Baltimore extension.
The approximately 620-mile (1000 km) road provided a portage between the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and a gateway to the West for thousands of settlers. It was the first road in the U.S. to use the new macadam road surfacing. Today the alignment is followed by U.S. Highway 40 with only minor realignments. The full road, as well as its extensions east to Baltimore and west to St. Louis, was designated "The 'Historic National Road'", an All-American Road, by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta in 2002. [1]

Contents

History

See also

References

External links

History

The Braddock Road had been opened by the Ohio Company in 1751 between Cumberland, Maryland, the limit of navigation on the Potomac River, and the forks of the Ohio River (a site that would later become Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). It received its name during the French and Indian War when it was used in the Braddock expedition, an attempt to assault the French Fort Duquesne by General Braddock and George Washington.
Construction of the Cumberland Road (National Road) was authorized on March 29, 1806 by President Thomas Jefferson. The Cumberland Road would replace the Braddock Road for travel between the Potomac and Ohio Rivers, following roughly the same alignment until east of Uniontown, Pennsylvania. From there, where the Braddock Road turned north to Pittsburgh, the Cumberland Road would continue west to Wheeling, West Virginia (then part of Virginia), also on the Ohio River.
Construction of the new Macadam road began on November 20, 1811 at Cumberland, and the road reached Wheeling on August 1, 1818. On May 15, 1820 Congress authorized an extension to St. Louis, Missouri, connecting it directly to the Mississippi River, and on March 3, 1825 to Jefferson City, Missouri. Work on the extension utilized the pre-existing Zane's Trace between Wheeling and Zanesville, Ohio, and was completed to Columbus, Ohio, in 1833 and Springfield, Ohio, in 1838.
On April 1, 1835 the section east of Wheeling was transferred to the states, which made it a turnpike. The last Congressional appropriation was made May 25, 1838, and in 1840 Congress voted against completing the road, with the deciding vote cast by Henry Clay. By that time railroads were proving a better method of transportation; the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was being built for the same purpose - connecting Baltimore via Cumberland to Wheeling. Construction stopped in 1839, and much of the road through Indiana and Illinois remained unfinished, later transferred to the states.
In 1912 the National Road was chosen to become part of the National Old Trails Road, which would extend further east to New York City and west to San Francisco, California. Five Madonna of the Trail monuments were erected on the old National Road. In 1927 the road was designated part of U.S. Highway 40, which still follows the National Road with only minor realignments. Most of the road has been bypassed for through travel by Interstate 70, but between Hancock in western Maryland, and Washington, Pennsylvania, I-70 takes a more northerly path to reach the Pennsylvania Turnpike at Breezewood. The later Interstate 68 follows the old road from Hancock west to Keysers Ridge, Maryland, where the National Road and US 40 turn northwest into Pennsylvania. The whole of I-68 in Maryland has been designated the National Freeway.
One of the original toll houses is preserved in La Vale, Maryland, and another in Addison, Pennsylvania. Many of the old arch bridges also remain on former alignments. Notable among these is the Casselman River Bridge near Grantsville, Maryland; built in 1813-1814 it was the longest single span stone arch bridge in the world at the time. The Wheeling Suspension Bridge across the Ohio River, opened in 1849, also stands along the old road.
The following structures associated with the National Road are listed on the National Register of Historic Places:

★ Several milestones in Maryland on former Maryland Route 44 and Maryland Route 165, US 40, Alternate US 40, and Scenic US 40

★ Inns on the National Road in Cumberland, Maryland and Grantsville, Maryland

★ Casselman's Bridge, National Road in Grantsville, Maryland

★ Petersburg Tollhouse in Addison, Pennsylvania

★ Searights Tollhouse, National Road in Uniontown, Pennsylvania

★ Mile markers 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, and 14 in West Virginia

★ National Road Corridor Historic District in Wheeling, West Virginia

★ Wheeling Suspension Bridge in Wheeling, West Virginia

★ S Bridge, National Road near Old Washington, Ohio

★ A segment in Cambridge, Ohio

★ Old Stone Arch, National Road near Marshall, Illinois^[1]

See also

★ National Old Trails Highway

★ National Freeway (Interstate 68)

References

★ The National Old Trails Road Part 1: The Quest for a National Road

★ Maryland's Bank Road (Baltimore to Cumberland)

★ PRR Chronology

External links

★ The Historic National Road, from the America's Byways website of the Federal Highway Administration

★ The National Old Trails Road Photo Gallery

★ States promote America's Main Street, a September 2005 Associated Press article, via CNN

★ Casselman River Bridge, the state of Maryland site for the bridge and its surrounding park

★ National Register of Historic Places nomination form - Pennsylvania

★ National Register of Historic Places nomination form - West Virginia
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★ National Road Association of Illinois - National Road in Illinois

★ Indiana National Road Association - National Road in Indiana

★ Ohio National Road Association - National Road in Ohio

★ National Road Alliance of West Virginia - National Road in West Virginia

★ National Road Heritage Corridor - National Road in Pennsylvania

★ Maryland State Highway Administration - National Road in Maryland