Steve_Colby

Jim, Thanks for the compliment! Re, bad links... If you run into them and have the time, please shoot me an email with the specifics. I try to make sure they all work but sometimes miss a few. Thanks! ~ Steve

New Additions to the Illustrated 1925 Mohawk-Hobbs Guide: Wheeling, WV to Uniontown, PA Uniontown, Pa to Cumberland, MD (Part 1) Hagerstown, MD to Baltimore, MD ~ Steve

Nice card, Jim. Thanks for the heads up! ~ Steve

I ran across this site today while doing some research... Pennsylvania in Old Road Atlases 1926 - 1930 (There are earlier and later date ranges also...) ~ Steve

I ran across these photos the other day on the Library of Congress website: Laying brick, Route 40, central Ohio. Summer of 1938 See more images ... The rest of the story... (From the LOC) "These pictures taken immediately preceding Ohio Democratic primaries. Incumbent governor Martin Davey set thousands of people to work on the roads for the several weeks preceding primaries. They were laid off immediately after, but anyway the tactics failed. Davey defeated." ~ Steve

Hi All! I've posted some new Postcard & Photo sections on CPR. Wheeling, WV Belmont County, OH Cambridge, OH and the Ohio WPA Tour Guide, circa 1940, of the National Road from Bridgeport, OH to the OH/IN Line. Main St. Wheeling Salt Fork Bridge near Cambridge, OH ~ Steve

Mark, You are correct! It is the same building. ~ Steve

I ran across this online book today while researching MD State Auto Camps. It looks like fun! It can be read online or downloaded for free. Motor Camping (1923) ~ Steve

Dave, The height of the Spring is a puzzlement for now... You have to climb a couple of sets of stairs the owner has built to get to the spring. The construction of I-68 radically changed the landscape with both cutting and filling. According to David Fisher (owner), the spring was, in fact, damaged by the construction of I-68. If you see a square in the satellite photo, it is, most likely, the small I-68 drain which sits about 10 feet behind the the inscribed stone in the photo. The old Road did climb the hill toward the spring but I haven't had a chance to see where it ends. Once the snow melts and I pick up the info from David, I should know more. Here's a 1908 USGS map of the area. Notice how the road climbs the hill and then levels off. I believe the spring is just a bit west of the small jog in the road. (SWAG). ~ Steve

Dave, From what I've heard, the spring was called the Lion (Or Lyon?) Spring. The owner has a fair amount of information on the spring including a 1930 newspaper article. I can, hopefully, pick the info up in a week or two. When Spring thaw comes (if ever), I'm going out to document as mush of the old pavement as I can find. BTW, there is no mention of the Spring in Hobbs. Here's a Google Map I put together of some of the realignments I've found or will be checking once I can see the ground again. ~ Steve

As the new Ice Age dons in the Appalachians, the need to escape the confines of the cabin on one's day off is strong... That said, we traveled the snowy environs of Allegany and Garrett County this week in Search of the Lost Road (Well, at least parts we've missed on previous sojourns.) Our efforts were rewarded with some new photos and/or discoveries: A tip led me to a spring and an old Road alignment west of LaVale, MD. (The owner is putting together a packet of historical information for me.) Sections of the old concrete road can still be found on the property and, what's left of a stone bridge. According to David Fisher of Fisher's Auto Body (owner), the SHA pulled down what was left of the bridge about six years ago. The spring, nestled next to the embankment of I-68, has a carved inscription as seen below. (For more photos go to Clarysville, MD) A 1965 photo of a truck wreck and a 1908 Lacock/Weller postcard of a tavern stand at Two-Mile Run (Shades of Death) shed some new light on the area. The house Lacock identifies as the Tavern Stand still stands on the south side of the old Road just east of Two-Mile Run. In a seeming contradiction, Thomas Searight, in 1898, says a tavern, owned by a man named Recknor, stood on the north side of the road. The 1898 USGS Topo Map shows two houses, one on each side of the Road. A former owner of the house in the postcard is going to research the mystery farther. (See more photos.) Just down the hill from the tavern stand is Two-Mile Run. The 1965 wreck photo shows the walls of a stone bridge/culvert. (Over which, the unfortunate driver traveled.) Only remains of the culvert still exist but an original wall is still evident. (See more photos) While searching for evidence of the Meadow Mountain Inn and Camp on the summit of Meadow Mtn., I found this monument (north side)... Finally, winter does have some advantage. I was able to venture (Somewhat) into the frozen swamp at Meadow Run and get this photo of the restored Stone Bridge/Culvert at Little Meadows. ~ Steve

Jim, Judging by the contrast and clarity, I'm guessing the kids in the road may have been the focus of the original photo. The toll house keeper with the wagon looks pretty good but the contrast is darker than the area around it and the wagon wheels have a hard edge. The trolley has no tracks and the scale and clarity don't match the original. And... The guys on the toll house porch must be leprechauns. <g> Here's a MD SHA photo I added to the Upper LaVale section yesterday of the National Road east of the Six-Mile House (in the distance) and Toll House (at Winchester Rd.) I believe it's circa early 1930s. Steve

Jim, Thanks for sharing your postcards! A couple of comments... The Gilbert card with the airplane originally had me stumped. I'm quite familiar with that section of road east of Hancock, MD and have traveled it often. Most maps I've seen shows the Road to the north of the Railroad... Like Robert Bruce's map of 1916. The postcard show the Road between the railroad and the canal. The 1901 USGS Hancock Quad solved the confusion. It shows the Nat'l Road running between the railroad and the Canal from Millstone (East of Hancock) to Parkhead Station. Who knew? As for Gilbert "dubbing" items into a scene, check out this 1907 gem of the LaVale Toll House... Steve Do you think the guy on the fence is waiting for the trolley?<g>

Jim, An even better source for maps with early road alignments is MyTopo:Historical Topographic Maps. I used the 1900 Paw Paw (WV) NorthEast Quad to research the original road route for this article: OLD BEAR CREEK BRIDGE - WEST SIDE of SIDELING HILL MTN. ~ Steve

Now available on CRP, all of the ROAD MAPS from Robert Bruce's book The National Road; most historic thoroughfare in the United States, and strategic eastern link in the National old trails ocean-to-ocean highway. Baltimore and Washington to Frederick, Hagerstown, Cumberland and Frostburg, Maryland; Uniontown, Brownsville and Washington, Pennsylvania, and Wheeling, West Virginia, including a series of detailed maps,showing topography and principal points of historic interest. Published in 1916. ~ Steve

Dave, The road shown as the Cumberland Turnpike over Sideling Hill Mountain on the 1900 USGS map, on the west side, is Hixson Rd. today. (At least a quarter or so of the way up.) (Here's a better copy of the map.) Hixson Rd. kind of parallels Scenic Rt. 40 up the west side of the mountain but most of it has been abandoned. (Just just past the sharp left hairpin turn.) If you look at the close-up satellite, you can see the path of the road in the trees. Question....? Do you have a legend for the letter codes in the M-H Guide (ie, W-T-S-C...) I got water, toilets and camping but some are eluding me. ~ Steve

Jim, I was checking Christopher Busta-Peck's route map for the west side of Sideling and he shows the driveway along Hixson's Feed as an old alignment. I find it somewhat problematic as the little jag/driveway travels up a hill and then back down. Update: I reviewed the 1898 USGS Map of the area and the jog is not show. ~ Steve

Dave, Your 1928M-H Guide lists (3) roadside facilities between Bellegrove State Camp (which I'm still looking for) and the summit of Sideling: 28.3 - 36.3: Garage and store; camping space (W-C) 29.6 - 35.0: Gas and lunch; limited camping space (W-C-S) 30.7 - 33.9: Sideling Hill Mountain summit; lunch stand; water 10c a bucket. West side is the steepest; think it is the hardest pull on the highway; very, very few make it in high gear. Stop for fine view of the valley below. The facility in the Sideling summit photo, on CPR, looks like it has gas pumps (on left). M-H notes two gas stations before the summit. It's conceivable Hixson's Feed was one of them. The Cities Service side is before Hixson's so it could refer to Hixson's or the gas station at the summit. (Or, maybe, something on the abandoned section of Hixson Rd/old Rt.40. I believe the Cider/Fruit stand is in the immediate vicinity of the Sideling summit facility in the picture. ~ Steve

JIm, I don't believe the driveway by Hixson's Feed is anything more than a driveway. A little farther up the road, Hixson Rd. now makes a hard left turn but there is no doubt the road once traveled straight and paralleled the later US 40. (The chain over the road and the ribbon of asphalt continuing up the mountain is hard to miss. <g>) On the east side of Sideling, part way down the mountain, you can see the old alignment veer away from the new where it eventually meets Western Pike near Exline Rd. There is an 1800's wagon stand and inn at the juncture. Steve

We had a great day today traveling old sections of the National road from the west of Sideling Hill to Millstone. Here's some highlights: Old Road Sign on Hixson Rd. (Old Nat'l Pike) on west side of Sideling. I couldn't make out what the sign says but the shape looks familiar. Any suggestions? I figured it out. It's an old Cities Service sign. Hixson Feed on Hixson Road. This place looks like a typical roadside establishment. There's even a hand-painted sign on the front of the building pointing to a water spigot. Hixson Feed's facility for the Ladies. The Gents was equally appealing. Old Fruit and Cider Stand at the top of Sideling Hill. (On the 1950s US 40 road) This road usually sees only local traffic since the opening of I-68. Old Garage in Millstone (East of Hancock) on the old road. Millstone was completely bypassed by I-70. It's just a "bump" on the road map now. ~ Steve

Dave, Thanks for the maps! (And the compliment.) The problem with the images are that most are low res downloads of old postcards. I can pull them off the Internet and clean them up some. (To own them all would cost way more money than I have... <g>) Some of the PA images are from original Curtech photos for postcards but they are usually high contrast for some reason. (The colors of some of the buildings are written on the back so the colorists can add the color by hand later.) Most of the new stuff I'm uploading is about 7.5" wide at 75 dpi. Thanks again for the maps. Steve

M-H Guide: Page 19 - Uniontown, PA to Cumberland, MD is finished. Please let me know if you spot any errors. Thanks! Steve

Alex, Now I get the "Hudsonly"...<g> Thanks for your postcards and the kind comments. Steve

Thanks, Dave. I couldn't have done it without your Guide. Steve

I wasn't happy with the Photo Illustrated 1925 M-H Nat'l Old Trails/Nat'l Road Guide so I reformatted it. It's more labor intensive due to the amount of time spent transcribing the text from the original guide to the new... But I like the way it looks. What do youse guys think? Photo Guide p. 20 Steve