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US History Companion:

National Road

The National Road (later called the Cumberland Road) was the first major federal response to the growing demand in the early nineteenth century for surfaced roads to facilitate westward travel. It ultimately ran from Baltimore, Maryland, through Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, and Indiana, to Illinois. In 1806 Congress approved the route for the first section, largely along an Indian trail; it ran westward from the end of the Baltimore Turnpike in Cumberland, Maryland, to Wheeling, in western Virginia, where travelers could board ships on the Ohio River. Planning began in 1806, but contracts were not granted until 1811, and because of delays associated with the War of 1812, construction did not begin until 1815. The road reached Wheeling in 1818.

Sectional feelings on national road building ran high. Easterners had no particular interest in facilitating travel to and from the West, and the southern states were increasingly committed to state rather than federal action. But westerners pressed for improvements no single state could finance. Henry Clay of Kentucky became their champion in 1824 when he proposed the American System--a combination of protective tariffs and internal improvements intended to build a strong domestic network of industry and trade. Largely through Clay's efforts, the National Road was extended to Columbus, Ohio, in 1833.

From the start, some questioned whether federal involvement in such projects was constitutional. President James Monroe, who believed it was not, vetoed an 1822 bill to establish tolls and use the funds for repairs. President Andrew Jackson dealt with this controversy by turning the completed sections of the road over to the states, permitting them to finance repairs through tolls.

In 1850 the National Road reached Vandalia, Illinois, but before it could reach St. Louis, railroad construction had become the new national priority. In the years that followed, the road lost importance, until automobile travel brought it back into use as part of U.S. Route 40. Then in 1940, with the opening of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Route 40, too, became less significant.

See also Transportation Revolution.


 
 
Columbia Encyclopedia: National Road,
U.S. highway built in the early 19th cent. At the time of its construction, the National Road was the most ambitious road-building project ever undertaken in the United States. It finally extended from Cumberland, Md., to St. Louis and was the great highway of Western migration. Agitation for a road to the West began c.1800. Congress approved the route and appointed a committee to plan details in 1806. Contracts were given in 1811, but the War of 1812 intervened, and construction did not begin until 1815. The first section (called the Cumberland Road) was built of crushed stone. Opened in 1818, it ran from Cumberland to Wheeling, W.Va., following in part the Native American trail known as Nemacolin's Path. Largely through the efforts of Henry Clay it was continued (1825–33) westward through Ohio, using part of the road built by Ebenezer Zane. By this time the older part of the road was badly in need of repair. Control of the road was therefore turned over to the states through which it passed, where tolls for maintenance were collected. It was carried on to Vandalia, Ill., and finally to St. Louis. The old route became part of U.S. Highway 40. At points on the road copies of a statue called the Madonna of the Trail have been erected to honor the pioneer women who went West over the National Road.

Bibliography

See P. D. Jordan, The National Road (1948).

 
Wikipedia: National Road
For the road in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, see National Road No. 2.
Map showing the route of the National Road at its greatest completion in 1839, with historical state boundaries.
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Map showing the route of the National Road at its greatest completion in 1839, with historical state boundaries.
The National Road is now included as part of U.S. Highway 40.
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The National Road is now included as part of U.S. Highway 40.

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, Virginia (now 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]

History

Mile markers can still be found along the National Road; this one is located in Columbus, Ohio.
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Mile markers can still be found along the National Road; this one is located in Columbus, Ohio.
Another mile marker west of Columbus.
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Another mile marker west of Columbus.

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:

See also

References

  1. ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2006-03-15).

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

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Copyrights:

US History Companion. The Reader's Companion to American History, Eric Foner and John A. Garraty, Editors, published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "National Road".  Read more

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