Steve_Colby

Denny, I enjoyed the report and photos. It's interesting to note PA Route 30 (aka the Gen. Forbes Road) was in direct competition with the Cumberland/National Road to become the preferred route to the West. ~ Steve

Car repair the old way... I shot photos of this garage, general store tourist camp in Big Pool, MD Tuesday. According to a local resident, the garage closed about 30-35 years ago. Here's the garage... The outdoor repair pit... And the "facilities" for the fairer sex. See more pix at: Cumberland Road Project ~ Steve

Thanks, Dave! I've added a board to the NationalRoadForum and to Facebook called "Wish You Were Here... Postcards From the National Road." I'm hoping to introduce photography buffs to the joys of photographing the old Road. I working my way through both new and old photos and produced (3) new Deja Views. All three were pretty much happenstance as opposed to premeditated shots... The first is the old Mckenzie Inn on top of Polish Mountain east of Flintstone, MD. I believe the house on the right is the what's left of the McKenzie. I have no doubt the structures in the photos below are the same. Finally, this shot of Hancock's Main St. is close, and would be closer if I had the original postcard with me for reference. I added a lot of new photos in the Park Head to Fairview Photo section and the Clear Spring Photo section. In the Park Head section, you'll see, what I believe is evidence of the section of the National Road that ran between the WMD RR and the C&O Canal as seen in this postcard from Alex Burr. ~ Steve

I have lots of pix still unedited but it was a glorious day. Here's a link to some photos on Facebook. Abandoned road west of Flintstone, MD. (West Wilson)

Hey... Where's all the stone bridges and taverns? Beautiful shots of the coast. ~ Steve

Denny, It was pure luck... I left my postcard reference sheet in the car. The shot of the square was one of many I took during the few hours we were in town. Steve

Thanks, Jim! At the famous Water Trough east of Uniontown, on Uniontown Hill, one of the Traveling Dingleberries is both surprised and delighted to find the water trough still flowing: ~ Steve

The Traveling Dingleberries do Uniontown, PA and the National Road aforehand... Fountain Square (W. South & Morgantown Sts.) Deja View: MAP IT See more Uniontown, PA ~ Steve

Dave, The road is paved and has the requisite concrete shoulders found on many Maryland sections of the National Road, circa 1930s. I believe the road was in use until the current alignment was finished in the 1950's. Recent information I've come across notes Maryland embraced the Good Roads movement in the 1930s and improved many sections of the National Road during that period. (As seen in Christopher Busta-Peck's SHA photos of the era.) ~ Steve

Dave, I couldn't find a dead ringer either... Although the first floor on the 2-story building is similar. Unfortunately, the first floor is block and the gas station appears to be frame. There a number of small buildings scattered about this patch of property. I'm thinking it could have been a tourist camp also. ~ Steve

Dave, I don't know what happened... It should show the correct location now. ~ Steve

The current US 40 Alt. is to the left. (MAP IT) ~ Steve

I found this image of "Donville Grove - 10 miles east of Cumberland, MD" on eBay a few days ago... The location corresponds with the group of cabins I photographed a few week ago... ... And with the caption in the Mohawk-Hobbs Guide "10.6 -54: Gas at small garage" (From Cumberland) See more images. ~ Steve

As I looked at Dave's original photo, the early facade on building "E" reminded me of a building in Hagerstown, MD. The building had a pre-made cast-iron parapet. One of these days I'll go back and photograph it. ~ Steve

Dave, Vitrolite is glass tile. The tiles used for building exteriors were usually 16" x 16" and about 3/8" thick. For more info, go to the Vitrolite Specialist. Cumberland still has a fair amount of Vitrolite clad buildings downtown. BTW... The bathroom in my house, circa 1930, is tiled in Seafoam Green Vitrolite and was one of the features that attracted us to the house. The negative side of Vitrolite is that it is a bear to drill or cut, making bathroom upgrades a challenge. (Like hanging a towel bar...) ~ Steve

Dave, Great shot! You should post it at dejaviewing.org/forum Steve

Denny, Close inspection of Race Tenant House "B" on a previous trip revealed the walls to be made of solid stacked 2 x 6s. A most unusual way to build unless you have access to cheap lumber. (And even then more labor intensive than frame building.) It took a whole lot of neglect to bring this lady down. Steve

Jim, While driving a back road on Martin's summit (Sunset Orchard), I was fortunate to make contact with homeowner who had done significant research on his family's property. He was the one that clued me in to the location of Elliot's. I have passed that building on I-68 numerous times but would have probably never put it together with the postcard. (The cabins are hidden from the road.) In addition, he told me much of the original road on the top and west side of the mountain was destroyed when they built I-68 and Rocky Gap State Park and Golf Course. ~ Steve

Dave, I've often wondered why the National Road was so well documented through Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The only credible reason I can come up with is the Road was the lifeblood of these communities and they were chronicling their achievements in photos and postcards. As the importance of the Road declined, many of these same communities no longer had the money to update or replace their aging structures. As you drive the old Road now, it's not uncommon to see once magnificent structures wasting away... It's sad. The Race Tenant Farm House, Little Savage Mountain (Garrett Co. MD), circa 1974 (left) and today (right). ~ Steve

I got out both Monday and Tuesday this week. The weather felt like mid-summer. Shot lots of pix I'm still trying to edit and upload to the CRP. We ate at two different restaurants, Bunnie's in Lavale and the Park & Dine in Hancock. I got photos from Hancock, LaVale, Eckhart Mines, Clarysville, Wolfe's Mill, Elliot's Cabins, Flintstone and more. Here's a few samples: A kind of Deja View from Hancock, MD Deja View from Elliot's Cabins - West side of Martin's Mtn. (see more...) Old National Road stone bridge abutment Flintstone, MD (See more...) ~ Steve

Dave, I saw the little guy with red/blues glasses on maps in the Hancock, MD, Sideling Hill, Cumberland area this morning. I just assumed he was the new map logo... Steve

OK, so I can't type... A Couple of New Road Guides #The Automobile Official Blue Book, 1912, Vol. 3 - New Jersey, Pennsylvania and South East Free # The Automobile Blue Book, 1918, Vol. 3 - New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia, Northern Virginia and W. Virginia, Free ~ Steve

Denny, French & Indian War history is a popular topic in Cumberland. The Ohio Company store (Now Ridgely, WV) and King's Fort (now Cumberland) were the jumping off point for Gen. Braddock's ill-fated campaign against Fort Du Quesne. Fifty-plus years later, Braddock's (and G. Washington's) trail over Haystack Mtn. would mark the approximate path of the early Cumberland Road. According to local Braddock historian Bob Bantz, Braddock traveled up Haystack Mountain on a trail that would later become Camden Ave... The street I live on. In the woods at the top of the street, deep furrows still mark the pre-Road colonial road. Bob has found what he believes are pieces of the shattered British wagons described by Braddock's orderly. Wagon furrows on Haystack Mountain ~ Steve

We had a great day for exploring yesterday even through it was a bit windy and cool. We hit a few places in LaVale, MD where I discovered an stone culvert (probably circa 1830s) I had never seen before. It was on a widened section of road and the north side was concrete. I had never bothered to look at the other side until yesterday while investigating some stone walls a little farther up the creek. (Photos soon.) We then scooted up to Grantsville where a I shot a Deja View shot. I either going to have to get a wider lens or shoot from farther back. From Grantsville we traveled a mile or so the the Shades Run Stone Bridges to document their deterioration. I got some good shots but, unfortunately, bridges are in sad shape. I tried to find the old gas station in the picture of Keyser's Ridge but it appears to have vanished. We stopped at the MD-PA line an got a Deja View of the State Line. (My photo includes the Mason-Dixon marker so it was taken a little farther back than the original. The Road carries a a fair amount of truck traffic so I decided to shot photo from the shoulder.) I got some nice shots in Addison, PA including a couple of Deja Views. While re-shooting the Rush Hotel, I decided to check out the back. Immediately behind the Hotel is the Garage indicated by the sign in the early photo. I got some other good shoots of Addison I hope to post in the future. We had a good comfort food lunch at Glisans Restaurant (since the 1940s) and hit Fort Necessity (great exhibit), Washington Tavern, Braddock's Grave, the Stone House (see Deja View), the Summit Hotel and did a turn around in Uniontown. (We are definitely going to explore Uniontown on another trip.) ~ Steve

I kind of get a kick out of the name on the side of the tavern... "Red Brick of Yesterday". The gas station roof profile looks really familiar. Anyone remember who used the steep roofs on their stations? ~ Steve