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Help Document The Original Cumberland/national Road


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Hello!

My name is Steve Colby and I am the editor of the Cumberland Road Project. The CRP is a collaborative effort to document the history of the towns, cities, businesses and families that grew up along the Cumberland Road / National Highway from 1811 to the 1950s.

It is hoped the CRP will become a valuable resource for those traveling and/or studying the Road as well as help to document preserve historic Road sites.

 

We're looking for both vintage and new photographs and written material. Those wishing to join our efforts can contact me at: Editor

 

The website URL is: Cumberland Road Project and the newsletter/blog is: CRP Blog

 

Here are some photos from the website:

 

Little Shade Run Bridge - West of Grantsville, MD, Nov. 2009 - This is a photo of the south side of the bridge built circa 1813. Approximately 75% of the bridge has collapsed on the north side.

little-shades-bridge4_lrg.jpg

 

----------------------------

 

The next three photos are of a section of the old Road that parallels I-68 (On right in photo) just east of Cumberland, MD. This section is on private property.

The restaurant in the postcard is the Green Grill, probably circa 1930-40s. The concrete foundation in the final photo is, what I believe, that of the Green Grill.

 

old-road-cumb2_lrg.jpg

Old Route 40 looking east

 

green-grill-cumberland_lrg.jpg

The Green Grill

 

old-road-cumb1_lrg.jpg

-----

 

Additional photos can be found at: CRP Photo Gallery

 

~ Steve Colby

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Steve,

 

First, WELCOME to the forum.

 

What a terrific project. I wish I lived anywhere near the old Cumberland Road, because I’d be out with camera, GPS and notebook to help. As it is (I live near the Puget Sound), it is a bit of a drive.

 

I was reading a first hand description (on the web) of travel on the road in the 1830’s just two nights ago. It was a terrific description which you have probably read. The writer described how it was to ride over roots and stumps in a wagon suspended on chains. I’ll see if I can find it again and post it here so others can enjoy it.

 

I have a sizable old roads collection, but it is focused on the early 20th century, the time I refer to as the auto trails era (ca. 1912-1927) and it has a western leaning. None the less, my Automobile Blue Books, for example, might help with charting the turn by turn directions in that period…if they are of interest.

 

In any event, welcome again!

 

Dave

 

Keep the show on the Road!

 

 

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Thanks for the warm welcome and offers for information! I'll take you up on them. :D

 

Mondays and Tuesdays are my days off so I try to shoot pictures at least one of them. It was kind of a crappy day today but we found some interesting sites on Negro Mtn. west of Grantsville, MD.

 

cr-negro-mtn1_lrg.jpg

I believe this is an original section of the Cumberland/National Road. You can still see the stone base. (Map It)

 

auto-camp-negro1_lrg.jpg

The remains of an old auto camp a short distance up the road from the realigned road section above. (This is one of a few cabins.)

 

roadside-park-top-negro1_lrg.jpg

Roadside park near the summit of Negro Mtn. The tables are new but the stone fireplaces may date from the 1930s-40s.

 

~ Steve

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Garrett Co. is probably the most interesting along the road in MD, except perhaps for the portion of the original road that goes over Polish Mountain. I tell you, I could probably spend a week or more just driving the bank road from Balt to Cumberland, and then the NR to the PA line, exploring and photographing! I hope to do that one day. I'm in Indianapolis (about 6 miles north of the NR) so a trip to MD is not trivial.

 

Have you seen Christopher Busta-Peck's excellent (aborted) blog about the NR out east? http://nationalpike.blogspot.com/.

 

jim

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Garrett Co. is probably the most interesting along the road in MD, except perhaps for the portion of the original road that goes over Polish Mountain. I tell you, I could probably spend a week or more just driving the bank road from Balt to Cumberland, and then the NR to the PA line, exploring and photographing! I hope to do that one day. I'm in Indianapolis (about 6 miles north of the NR) so a trip to MD is not trivial.

 

Have you seen Christopher Busta-Peck's excellent (aborted) blog about the NR out east? http://nationalpike.blogspot.com/.

 

jim

 

Jim,

I've corresponded with Christopher a few times in the recent past. He has done a great job documenting mileage markers, road realignments and historic structures. He previously worked at the Enoch Pratt library in Baltimore and had access to State Hwy Admin. photos and documents stored there. In addition, he had family in Western MD he would visit regularly. He has since moved to Ohio and on to new interests. He has given me permission to use his photo collection as needed.

 

Steve

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I've done a ton of exploring of the NR in Indiana and Illinois. It's my second favorite road haunt. (My favorite is the Michigan Road, Indiana' pioneer highway connecting the Ohio River to Lake Michigan.)

 

Although Indiana's US 40 was widened to 4 lanes, divided in most places, in the 1930s, some old alignments of the road remain. No stone bridges remain, although I've heard of an 1800s steel or iron truss bridge that used to cross the NR but was relocated to a nearby county road when a concrete-arch bridge was built in about 1925. Need to go see the older bridge one day.

 

Many miles of original concrete and brick NR remain, abandoned, in Illinois. The bridges and culverts were all removed, sadly. One stone bridge remains, that I know of, in Illinois, on the west end of the town of Marshall.

 

I've blogged quite a bit about all of this. All of my NR blog entries are indexed here:

 

http://jimgrey.wordpress.com/tag/national-road/

 

(You will notice that I call the "bank road" between Balt and Cumberland the NR. I know it's wrong, but it's a popular misconception and so I just roll with it.)

 

I've also taken a ton of photos, all geotagged on Flickr.

 

Indiana: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/sets...57601898391525/

Illinois: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/sets...57622142269220/

 

jim

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I've done a ton of exploring of the NR in Indiana and Illinois. It's my second favorite road haunt. (My favorite is the Michigan Road, Indiana' pioneer highway connecting the Ohio River to Lake Michigan.)

 

Although Indiana's US 40 was widened to 4 lanes, divided in most places, in the 1930s, some old alignments of the road remain. No stone bridges remain, although I've heard of an 1800s steel or iron truss bridge that used to cross the NR but was relocated to a nearby county road when a concrete-arch bridge was built in about 1925. Need to go see the older bridge one day.

 

Many miles of original concrete and brick NR remain, abandoned, in Illinois. The bridges and culverts were all removed, sadly. One stone bridge remains, that I know of, in Illinois, on the west end of the town of Marshall.

 

I've blogged quite a bit about all of this. All of my NR blog entries are indexed here:

 

http://jimgrey.wordpress.com/tag/national-road/

 

(You will notice that I call the "bank road" between Balt and Cumberland the NR. I know it's wrong, but it's a popular misconception and so I just roll with it.)

 

I've also taken a ton of photos, all geotagged on Flickr.

 

Indiana: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/sets...57601898391525/

Illinois: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/sets...57622142269220/

 

jim

 

 

Jim,

I enjoyed reading your blog last night. Some great photos and information. I'll add it to the CRP online reference section shortly.

 

Steve

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Steve,

 

Excellent site!! I took one look at it and bookmarked it immediately. I will be visiting often to check for new developments. I particularly appreciate the parts about the original road east of Cumberland. For the less observant, the road just seems to disappear into thin air. But you've found traces of it right along the path of I-68. Are these places easily accessible, or did someone have to "forgive you your tresspasses"?

 

(One tiny editorial point about your writing: watch out for writing "it's" when you mean "its")

 

On my last visit to the Cumberland area I found one misleading "earlier alignment" that most likely isn't, but it got me sidetracked for a while. At one point just east of Exit 47 on I-68, if you drive on Md. 144 the road is closely paralleled by a road marked "Old Mt. Pleasant Rd." in a way that suggests an earlier/later alignment relationship. Old Mt. Pleasant Rd. dead-ends before the I-68 overpass is reached, but if you take it in the other direction it takes you way out in the back country in a place that had nothing to do with the National Road. Perhaps the National Road joined Mt. Pleasant Rd. at some earlier time in its history?

 

 

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Steve,

 

First, WELCOME to the forum.

 

What a terrific project. I wish I lived anywhere near the old Cumberland Road, because I’d be out with camera, GPS and notebook to help. As it is (I live near the Puget Sound), it is a bit of a drive.

 

I was reading a first hand description (on the web) of travel on the road in the 1830’s just two nights ago. It was a terrific description which you have probably read. The writer described how it was to ride over roots and stumps in a wagon suspended on chains. I’ll see if I can find it again and post it here so others can enjoy it.

 

I have a sizable old roads collection, but it is focused on the early 20th century, the time I refer to as the auto trails era (ca. 1912-1927) and it has a western leaning. None the less, my Automobile Blue Books, for example, might help with charting the turn by turn directions in that period…if they are of interest.

 

In any event, welcome again!

 

Dave

 

Keep the show on the Road!

 

 

Dave,

Does the Blue book have the route from Funkstown, MD through Hagerstown and then west to Williamsport or Clear Spring?

 

Steve

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Dave,

Does the Blue book have the route from Funkstown, MD through Hagerstown and then west to Williamsport or Clear Spring?

 

Steve

 

Steve,

 

I'm out taking family to appointments, and I am "borrowing" the wifi signal with my acer while I wait in the car. I'll check this evening.

 

Dave

 

Keep the show on the road!

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Dave,

Does the Blue book have the route from Funkstown, MD through Hagerstown and then west to Williamsport or Clear Spring?

 

Steve

This question puzzled me at first since routes such as the National Old Trails Road and the "Bank Road" didn't go through Williamsport. But I'm thinking that the question may come from HS Tanner's Baltimore to Wheeling route (from The American Traveller) that you show on your site and which your excellent set of references got me to in no time. His next stop after Williamsport is Big Spring and he may have meant Clear Spring or he may have really meant the place south of Clear Spring reached via Big Spring Road. This is much closer to the Potomac and (at least eventually) the C&O Canal. The date of Tanner's book is 1836 so it seems possible that the canal was open through that area but I really don't know. More dates and such are needed but could it be that Tanner left the Bank Road turnpikes in Hagerstown to catch a new high-tech high-speed canal at Williamsport? You'd kind of expect him to mention a switch from horse to boat but maybe not. Between Hancock and Cumberland, he goes through something called Prattsville which I haven't been able to place at all. Maybe knowing where that was would help. Thoughts?

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Steve,

 

These directions are from the 1911 Automobile Club of America Tour Book. The symbols are mostly self explanatory, with the possible exceptions of the “follow trolly line” which looks like a rail line with cross ties, but only one rail...and SO which means "straight on."

 

It is possible that later editions, which I didn’t look at yet, have additional info, and since the directions are given for both “going” and “coming,” the reverse of these descriptions might provide an added perspective.

 

Let’s use these as a start, and if they show promise, and you want me to look a bit deeper, just ask. Happy to help.

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road

 

 

ARNRFunks1911.jpg

 

 

ARNRHag1911.jpg

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This question puzzled me at first since routes such as the National Old Trails Road and the "Bank Road" didn't go through Williamsport. But I'm thinking that the question may come from HS Tanner's Baltimore to Wheeling route (from The American Traveller) that you show on your site and which your excellent set of references got me to in no time. His next stop after Williamsport is Big Spring and he may have meant Clear Spring or he may have really meant the place south of Clear Spring reached via Big Spring Road. This is much closer to the Potomac and (at least eventually) the C&O Canal. The date of Tanner's book is 1836 so it seems possible that the canal was open through that area but I really don't know. More dates and such are needed but could it be that Tanner left the Bank Road turnpikes in Hagerstown to catch a new high-tech high-speed canal at Williamsport? You'd kind of expect him to mention a switch from horse to boat but maybe not. Between Hancock and Cumberland, he goes through something called Prattsville which I haven't been able to place at all. Maybe knowing where that was would help. Thoughts?

 

 

Denny,

I have been studying the question of the Road from Hagerstown to Clear Spring for the last day or so and have come up with an answer. The first problem centered around the fact there are (2) Conococheague Bridges - One in Williamsport and one near Wilson's Store on old Route 40. Early turnpike legislation (1804) specified the road was to run from Boonsborough (Boonsboro) to Williamsport. (Williamsport was on the Wagon Road from Philadelphia to North Carolina.)

Later MD legislation specifies the Frederick Road with run from Boonsboro, to Hagerstown, and then to the west side of the Conococheague Bridge.

 

MD Gov. Goldsborough's report of 1818 provides the answer to the confusion. (I hope to have the complete article on MD Turnpikes online shortly.):

 

...the Frederick Road, after passing through Frederick, crosses the Blue Ridge, and terminates at Boonsborough, in the Conococheague valley. The latter road was originally intended to be made eleven miles farther, to Williamsport, on the Potomac, with a view of affording a good conveyance to Baltimore, ... It failed, however, in consequence, it is believed, of the expenditure of the sum of 56,000 dollars upon the bridge over the Monocacy ; which the company was not obliged by law, to make, but assumed it voluntarily, in the belief that the legislature Would grant them a special toll to meet the special expense. In consequence, however, of the refusal of the legislature to do so, their capital was exhausted and themselves discouraged from the prosecution of the road.

 

It appears from the reports herewith transmitted, that the Frederick road company have completed the whole distance to Boonsborough, which is west of the Blue Ridge, and 60 miles from Baltimore. From lBoonsborough they propose to meet the bank turnpike at Hager's-Town (distance ten miles or so) intersect the said road near the 7th or 8th mile, west from Conococheague creek, making as is asserted, a distance of 20 miles from Boonsborough through Williams-Port to the above intersection.

 

Another company, however, propose to make a road from the 29th mile-stone of the Reister'sTown road (a mile and a half above the Town of Westminster) to Hager's-Town, passing the Blue Ridge at Harman's gap. Of this road little is known. A return was made to the executive on the 28th day of December, 1816, that 6 1-2 miles were completed, and license to erect a toll-gate was granted. The distance to Hager's-Town, from the said 29th mile-stone cannot be stated, no answer having been returned by the company to the application for information ; but the direct distance in a straight line from Westminster to Hager's-Town, measured on the maps, is about 40 miles. This road is believed to be at a stand for want of funds.

 

From Hager's-Town, provision is already made to turnpike the whole distance to Cumberland ; from the town to the Conococheague creek (a distance of 7 miles and some perches) by a company incorporated for the purpose, and who have also erected a large and permanent bridge over the creek. This part of the road, it is believed, is now very nearly finished. From the Conococheague creek to Cumberland, a distance of fifty-eight miles, the road undertaken to be made by the banks, will be completed by the month of December, 1820, as more fully appears from the report of the president of that road herewith transmitted.

 

It appears then that there is a gap in the communication to Cumberland not provided for, and which it is proposed to fill up in one of three ways : ist, By finishing the road from Westminster through Harman's Gap to Hager's-Town.— 3d. By turnpiking from Boonsborough to Hager'sTown. And 3dly, By turnpiking from Boonsborough, through Williams-Port, to interesect the bank road somewhere at the 7th or 8th mile ofthat road, west of the Conococheague creek.

 

The advantages and disadvantages of these routes are so differently stated by their respective advocates, that it would be difficult in a general report of this nature to enter into an examination of them, particularly as the surveys on each route have been made by persons interested therein, and who were consequently exposed (no matter how honest and upright their intentions,) to a secret partiality in favor of one or the other of them. It is, however, satisfactory to know, that each route is not only practicable, but requires, compared with what has been already done, only a trifling expense and 'a small effort.

 

To sum it up, Goldsborough noted the various options available to connect the road from Boonsboro to the west side of the Conococheague (east of Clear Spring) and left it up to the Assembly choose.

-----

 

The Boonsborugh to Hagerstown Turnpike Act of 1821 provides the answer to the route the Legislature chose:

 

Whereas, it is to the interest of the state that a turnpike road should be made leading from Boonsborough to Hagerstown in Washington county, and it is represented to the legislature that the banks herein after mentioned are willing to make the same if an extension of their several charters be granted to them as they were heretofore extended by an act entitled, a supplement to the act, entitled, an act to incorporate a company to make a turnpike road leading to Cumberland, and for the extension of the charters of the several banks in the city of Baltimore, and for other purposes, passed at December session, eighteen hundred and thirteen, chapter one hundred and twenty-two ;

 

This route follows the Boonsboro, through Funkstown and Hagerstown, to Clear Spring road of today. (Hagerstown was also on the Great Wagon Trail so Williamsport was left "to twist in the wind".)

***

 

This 1856 Map of Maryland should answer your question about Prattsville:

 

hancock-to-flintstone-1856.jpg

 

 

Steve

 

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Steve,

 

These directions are from the 1911 Automobile Club of America Tour Book. The symbols are mostly self explanatory, with the possible exceptions of the “follow trolly line” which looks like a rail line with cross ties, but only one rail...and SO which means "straight on."

 

It is possible that later editions, which I didn’t look at yet, have additional info, and since the directions are given for both “going” and “coming,” the reverse of these descriptions might provide an added perspective.

 

Let’s use these as a start, and if they show promise, and you want me to look a bit deeper, just ask. Happy to help.

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road

 

 

ARNRFunks1911.jpg

 

 

ARNRHag1911.jpg

 

 

Thanks, Dave. That answers my question.

For an additional commentary on the Hagerstown-West route, see Robert Bruce's The National road; most historic thoroughfare in the United States (1916) beginning on page 26.

 

Bruce also provides maps showing the towns between Hancock and Flintstone.

 

Steve

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I was blissfully unaware of the early proposals involving Williamsport but now see that the town had been a legitimate contender. Even so, it's a bit curious that Tanner listed the Williamsport route as late as 1836. Thanks for locating Prattsville.

 

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I was blissfully unaware of the early proposals involving Williamsport but now see that the town had been a legitimate contender. Even so, it's a bit curious that Tanner listed the Williamsport route as late as 1836. Thanks for locating Prattsville.

 

 

Denny,

I haven't researched this any further than to look up the law but...

 

CHAPTER 125.

An act incorporating a Company to make a Turnpike Roadfrom Williamsport to Hagerstown.

Passed Mar.2, 1833

 

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That a company be and the same is hereby incorporated, for making a turnpike road, to be commenced at the eastern limits of the town of Williamsport, in Washington county, and continued thence by the nearest and best route, to the town of Hagerstown in said county.

****

If the road was newly completed, it would most likely been in better shape then the National Road.

 

Conococheague Bridge - over Conococheague Creek:

This four-arch span was built in 1829 at Williamsport by Charles Wilson & Co., agents of the Lloyds of Pennsylvania. It has survived two major remodeling projects-entailing addition of cantilevered concrete aprons to widen its roadbed-but still rests as soundly on its original arches as when it was first built. (Source)

 

Photo

 

Steve

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"This route is in atrocious condition and cannot be recommended." That cracks me up!

 

Well, I suppose it wouldn't crack me up if I lived 100 years ago and needed to get from Cumberland to Wheeling.

 

Yah, Jim, that was the "best part" for me too. And for a road to be atrocious in 1911, it had to be really bad.

 

Did you note the "waterbars?" You no doubt know what these were, but for those who don't, I think they were bumps like speed bumps today, but at an angle, to run the water on the road into the ditch or side of the road to limit erosion? Right?

 

They could make climbing a grade tough because they bounced the car and it lost traction...at least that is my understanding. I see them noted in hill climbing contests. Anyone want to elaborate or correct me?

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

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Did you note the "waterbars?" You no doubt know what these were, but for those who don't, I think they were bumps like speed bumps today, but at an angle, to run the water on the road into the ditch or side of the road to limit erosion? Right?

 

I did notice, but I didn't know what the word meant! Thanks for filling in the blanks!

 

jim

 

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