national road
Written by David Titmus | Photos by David Pinchot
Lost Highway
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Old-style mile-markers like this still line parts of Route 40.Old-style mile-markers like this still line parts of Route 40.
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Once a vital national thoroughfare – and part of the Underground Railroad – Route 40 fell out of favor with the expansion of the railroad system. Today, the road has found a new life as a scenic tourist destination. This summer’s National Road Festival will celebrate the route’s rich history.
Around every bend and along each mile of Route 40, a new story unfolds and another piece of Pennsylvania history is waiting to be discovered.
The scenic highway is dotted with small towns similar in size and appearance, many with century-style homes along the curving roadway that runs up and down Southwestern Pennsylvania’s rural hillsides.
Markers and placards stand along the berm of the two-lane thoroughfare noting the area’s past and significance as a gateway to the West.
Though it goes by different monikers — Route 40, the National Pike, America’s Main Street –- it’s most commonly known as the National Road. But more than that, it’s the road that built a nation.
“The country grew up along the National Road,” says Donna Holdorf, director of the National Road Heritage Corridor, a non-profit group working to preserve Pennsylvania’s stretch of the road and develop the corridor as a tourist destination.
“I don’t think a lot of people realize the history,” Holdorf says. “There are so many opportunities to see our heritage.”
The National Road runs across the southwestern corner of the state, stretching from West Alexander near the West Virginia border to Addison near the Maryland line.
It crosses through 81 townships, 74 boroughs and four cities, including the city of Washington.
A well-traveled road today, the National Road also was an important part of the region’s past as it defined the original western frontier.
Construction of the road — the first federally funded multi-state project in American history — began in 1811. Within a decade, the road was completed from Cumberland, Md., through Pennsylvania and on to the Ohio River, near present-day Wheeling, W.Va.
And it didn’t take too much longer for the National Road to become a thriving thoroughfare. Within a few years, horses, wagons and stagecoaches carried farmers, businessmen and politicians along the road. A handful of presidents – James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, James Polk, Zachary Taylor, James Buchanan and Abraham Lincoln — passed along through the corridor.
The 1840s are regarded as the peak years for travel along the National Road, and as more people used the road, more businesses and industry sprung up along its passage.
The towns along the National Road also prospered. Uniontown was the headquarters for three major stagecoach lines, and Brownsville, located along the Monongahela River, was a center for steamboat building and river hauling.
Smaller towns like Hopwood, Centerville, Beallsville, Scenery Hill and Claysville also thrived and were homes to blacksmith shops, wagon repair stations, inns and livestock stables.
But it was taverns, not surprisingly, that became some of the most common businesses along the road.
More than 30 early stone taverns still line the route, but many of those have been converted to private residences. Some, however, like the historic Stone Restaurant in Farmington and the Century Inn in Scenery Hill still cater to travelers.
Thirteen of these early taverns are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Food, clothing, whiskey and gunpowder were carried along the corridor. And more precious cargo traveled along the road, too.
Portions of the road were used as routes along the Underground Railroad — a series of safe hiding places for runaway slaves seeking freedoms in the North.
The heart of the Underground Railroad in Washington County was the City of Washington and one important stop along the clandestine passage was the LeMoyne House. The house, located at 49 East Maiden St., bears the distinction of being the first national historic landmark of the Underground Railroad.
A stone and pillar structure, the LeMoyne House fits nicely along the historic route. John Julius LeMoyne built the house in 1812, but it was his son, Francis LeMoyne, who took a stand against slavery and opened the home and property to runaway slaves.
LeMoyne is believed to have sheltered as many as 35 runaways at a time in his home. From Washington, many slaves made their way to Pittsburgh via Canonsburg, Finleyville or Hickory, along Route 50.
The house now is the home of the Washington County Historical Society.
“There’s so much history here,” says Charlotte Davidson, administrative assistant for the society. “We offer tours and a research library... I don’t think a lot of people who grew up in Washington realize what’s here.”
Less than 100 yards from the LeMoyne House is the one-time home of David Bradford, a local attorney and community leader, who played a role in the Whiskey Rebellion.
Bradford led area farmers against the tax on whiskey passed in 1791. The rebellion was quelled when Federal troops were sent to Washington and Allegheny counties. The home, located at 175 South Main St., is open for tours during the summer.
Both buildings carry markers from the state historical and museum commission.
Davidson says the LeMoyne House is an attraction for visitors looking to learn a little more about the area’s beginnings and the family who owned the home.
“Being a stop on the Underground Railroad is something we promote.”
More traditional railroads, however, also played important roles along the National Road.
Pennsylvania’s stretch of the National Road lost its distinction as a major transportation corridor in the 1850s when the Pennsylvania Railroad arrived in Pittsburgh and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad reached Wheeling.
The dip in traffic was so severe that coach lines went out of business, inns and taverns were closed and industry declined. During this time, many states no longer wanted the responsibility of maintaining the roadway and upkeep duties were passed to the counties.
It wasn’t until the early 20th century — when automobile touring became a favorite pastime — that the public rediscovered the National Road.
A new generation of travel and entertainment facilities appeared along the road as wagons gave way to tractor-trailers, coaches were replaced by buses, and the only horses on the road at this time were those found under the hood. Diners, motels and gas stations gradually replaced the road’s taverns, inns and stables.
“It became a touring road,” Holdorf says. “I think folks just wanted to get out of the city and get out to those green rolling hills. They still do that today.”
Though all its artifacts, buildings and history help shape the National Road’s story, the real star in this show is the road itself.
The road’s original base was made of stone, topped with a gravel and sand surface.
Though that original workmanship largely has been lost to modern road-building materials, a little of that design still is visible in one of the road’s original bridges.
The restored S-Bridge, located near Claysville, some 13 miles west of Washington, is an example of the stone masonry of the road’s early period. The curved bridge — bending at the corners like the letter “S” — has a double arch design and carried traffic over a small creek.
Most recently, the road has opened a new chapter in its life – that of a scenic route.
The National Road was realigned in the 1920s and a portion of it became Route 40, part of one of the first new interstate highway systems. When interstates 70 and 68 were built in the 1950s and bumped Route 40 as a primary route, the highway became more of a weekend drive for motorists. •
