Many people traveled the National Road from the time it was built in 1818. People were needed to run the taverns, build coaches and wagons, and take care of horses. Workers came west to do these jobs. People also used the National Road to go west and start their own farms. They could then use the road to send the crops they grew back east to be sold.
Towns were started and grew larger all along the National Road. Without this road, people would have had a hard time crossing the mountains. The National Road played an important role in helping America grow.
In 1853, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad reached Wheeling, Virginia. Now people could take the train. Trains were much faster, less expensive and more comfortable than traveling the National Road. So use of the National Road decreased.
In the early 1900’s, people began to use the newly invented automobiles. Good roads were needed for the cars. The National Road was repaired, and in 1926, it became part of U.S. Route 40. This highway ran across the entire United States. Today you can still travel U.S. Route 40 and see many of the sights people saw when they traveled the National Road in the 1800’s.
1. How would travel on the National Road today be like travel in the 1800's? How would it be different?
2. What events are most important in the National Road's history? Write a song
about that road's history. Sing it to the tune of Yankee Doodle, Hot Cross Buns,
or some other favorite song.
· Learn more about what happened to the National Road after 1850.