Transportation ; Roads ; Economic development

Charles Gerena

English

Research Papers in Economics

Trade Trailblazer
ECONOMICHISTORY
A
green truck sits on the sloping dirt
shoulder of State Route 144 in
western Maryland. It’s filled with
fresh produce for sale, advertised by a
wooden sign sitting in the truck bed. This
agricultural entrepreneur hopes to take
advantage of the automobiles whizzing by.
Nearly two centuries ago, a differ-
ent type of traffic occupied this route
and several others that led to the
National Road, the nation’s first multi-
state thoroughfare. Farmers loaded
their wagons with flour, tobacco, and
other commodities, then journeyed for
days in the blazing sun to reach mer-
chants in Baltimore. They shared the
road with freight wagons loaded with
finished goods heading west, stage-
coaches, and herds of livestock
prodded along by drovers.
When its last stones were laid in
1839, the National Road stretched from
Cumberland, Md., to Vandalia, Ill. The
600-mile roadway was complicated and
expensive to build, but its economic
benefits were undeniable. It helped
goods and people flow between estab-
lished eastern cities like Baltimore and
expanding communities on the western
side of the Appalachian Mountains. It
also stimulated economic growth along
the way, from small towns like New
Market, Md., to bigger cities like
Wheeling, W.Va., providing a glimpse
at how interstates would alter 20th
century America. 
“If you’re looking for the heart of
American history, it’s transportation,”
says Joseph Weaver, a history profes-
sor at Allegany College of Maryland.
“You aren’t going to get any economic
development unless you can get from
here to there.”
T
he Atlantic Ocean facilitated most
trade during colonial times —
goods flowed between Europe and
port towns like Baltimore. Some colonies
also traded with each other, using dirt roads
and navigable rivers. 
Afew adventurous souls settled the
fertile lands west of the Appalachians,
but the remoteness of the region and
fear of attacks from Native Americans
kept most settlers away. Others decided
to venture westward when England
ceded control over the Northwest Ter-
ritory at the end of the Revolution in
1783. Millions of acres that encom-
passed the future states of Ohio,
Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin,
and the upper portion of Minnesota
eventually came under control of the
newly formed American government.
With few sources of revenue, officials
eagerly sold this land to boost federal
coffers, according to geographer Karl
Raitz at the University of Kentucky. 
By the early 1800s, says Raitz, farmers
lived in the Scioto River Valley in central
Ohio. Little towns also formed along the
Ohio River north of Wheeling. 
Western settlers felt safer from
36 Region Focus • Fall 2003
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The National Road
helped travelers
negotiate mountainous
terrain before the
advent of railroads.
The National 
Road Linked
Communities and
Helped Expand
America’s Western
Frontier
BY CHARLES GERENAFall 2003 • Region Focus 37
Indian attacks, but trade with the
eastern seaboard was still difficult.
Only a few narrow dirt trails were avail-
able for land-based travel, and they
turned treacherous in bad weather. 
Instead, it was easier for goods to
head south from the Northwest Terri-
tory. Schooners traveled downstream
on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to
the port of New Orleans in Louisiana,
which France sold to the United States
in 1803. This North-South trade raised
concerns that “French merchants in
New Orleans were going to make all
the money, not the people in East
Coast cities,” notes Raitz.
P
olitical pressure from eastern
merchants intensified to facilitate
commerce across the Appalachians.
Settlers in the future state of Ohio also
clamored for better transportation access.
With the support of President Thomas
Jefferson, Treasury Secretary Albert
Gallatin devised a plan for a nationwide
system of canals and roads, including a key
roadway between America’s eastern
seaboard and western frontier.
But some Congressmen opposed
spending money on transportation
improvements. They worried that
federal involvement in road building —
which had typically been done by
private turnpike companies under state
charter — would set a precedent for
Washington to intervene in other local
matters. At the time, “how much power
the government had and how much the
states had was still very much up in the
air,” notes Joseph Weaver. 
Opponents also argued that the gov-
ernment wasn’t authorized to finance
roads and canals. They believed the U.S.
Constitution allowed for federal funds
to further only the “general welfare” of
the nation. “Back then, people con-
ceived of roads as going from town to
town or from a river port to town,” says
Raitz. Consequently, roads were seen as
benefiting only individual communities.
Jefferson and other supporters of
Gallatin’s plan countered that it was in
the national interest to build trans-
portation links because they would
help keep the United States united.
After a tax on whiskey led to an infa-
mous rebellion in Pennsylvania’s
western counties, it was thought that
an east-west roadway would enable gov-
ernment troops to quell future upris-
ings, as well as defend the frontier from
domestic or foreign enemies. 
Moreover, farmers contended that
settlement of the Northwest Territory
couldn’t continue unless there was
better access to eastern markets. Jef-
ferson and others envisioned the
United States as an agrarian society, so
facilitating agricultural development on
new soil was important to them. Plus,
land sales generated revenue for the
federal government.
After much debate, Congress devel-
oped a funding mechanism for an east-
west roadway. When Ohio joined the
Union in 1802, language in the state-
hood bill set aside five percent of the
proceeds from federal land sales in the
state for road construction. The legis-
lation was later modified to designate
three-fifths of these funds for state
roads and the remainder for federal
roads to and through Ohio. Similar lan-
guage in the statehood bills for Indiana
and Illinois also earmarked revenue for
the National Road’s construction.
T
he only contentious question that
remained was where to put the
National Road. Gallatin thought
the road should connect a navigable body
of water that emptied into the Atlantic
Ocean with the Ohio River on the other
side of the Appalachians. But there were
a couple of routes that would meet this
goal, and several cities wanted to be part
of the solution. 
“Washington, D.C., leaders expected
that the proposed National Road
would begin in the nation’s capital,”
wrote historian Norris Schneider in his
1975 book, The National Road: Main
Street of America. “The merchants of
Richmond, Va., wanted the produce of
the western settlers to fill their ware-
houses. Philadelphia, already a supplier
of goods to the Ohio Valley through
Pittsburgh, took it for granted that the
new road would start in front of Inde-
pendence Hall.”
Instead, a growing city in western
Maryland named Cumberland was the
front-runner to become the National
Road’s starting point. Roads already
linked the city to Baltimore, which was
closer to the Ohio River than Philadel-
phia or Richmond. Maryland officials
agreed to upgrade these trails to
support traffic to and from the
National Road. Also, government offi-
cials planned to make the Potomac
River navigable to Cumberland, which
would create another route to the
National Road. 
Most importantly, Cumberland was
located where the Potomac and several
streams had carved a deep but narrow
gap through Wills Mountain. This
opening created “one of the few con-
venient passages through the
[Appalachians] between New York and
Alabama,” noted historian Billy Joe
Peyton of West Virginia University in
a 1996 compilation of essays on the
National Road edited by Karl Raitz.
In 1805, a Senate committee rec-
ommended that the National Road
Anatomy Of A Road
Congress and project superintendents outlined
detailed specifications for the National Road. Most
contractors followed these standards fairly closely,
but others may have fudged a little due to time
and budget constraints.
➤ The total width of the road was supposed to
be “four rods,” or about 66 feet. This is close to
the modern specification of 72 feet for a four-
lane, controlled access freeway.
➤ The roadbed was to measure 30 feet and have a
raised center. The side slopes were to be no
greater than 30 degrees.
➤ The grade of the road couldn’t exceed five
degrees above or below the horizon, even over
steep hills and through narrow valleys.
➤ The roadbed was to consist of two layers: the
base layer containing stones small enough to pass
through a 7-inch ring, and the top layer consisting
of soil mixed with rocks that could fit through a 3-
inch ring.
➤ Ditches were to be added, when necessary, to
carry off rainwater and melted snow.
—CHARLES GERENAbegin in Cumberland and end at a trib-
utary of the Ohio just below the city
of Wheeling. The Senate approved leg-
islation later that year to formalize the
road’s route and appropriate $30,000
for an initial survey.
However, it took the House until
March 1806 to approve the bill, and only
by a vote of 66 to 50. Pennsylvania’s rep-
resentatives voted 13 to 4 against the bill,
even though the National Road would
go through the southwestern corner of
the state, because Philadelphia wasn’t
the road’s eastern terminus. Virginia and
South Carolina representatives also were
against the measure. “The South was
antagonistic because it feared a western
road would drain off its population and
because Richmond was not included on
the route,” noted Philip Jordan in his
1948 book titled The National Road.
Despite the close vote, construction
of the nation’s first interstate highway
was finally able to move forward.
A
ctually, the federal government
didn’t award the first contracts for
the National Road until 1811. It
took that long to find road builders willing
to take on the project.
The scope of the National Road’s con-
struction was unprecedented. Workers
had to clear a 60-foot swath through
forests, dig drainage ditches on either side
of the road, break apart stone into various
sizes to form the roadbed, and erect
bridges to span creeks. And they had to
do it all with hand tools and no earth-
moving equipment.
Given these challenges and the dis-
tractions of the War of 1812, the
National Road didn’t reach Wheeling
until 1818. By then, its construction cost
soared to an average of $13,000 a mile,
more than double initial estimates.
Still, the National Road offered an
easier, faster route for commerce. This
helped increase the volume of trade
from western farmers to eastern mer-
chants. Ships carried agricultural goods
on the Ohio River and its tributaries
to Wheeling, where their cargo would
be offloaded onto Conestoga wagons
and sent to Baltimore and other
markets to the east. While this created
more competition for farmers in Penn-
sylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, man-
ufacturers of processed food and
finished goods in those states could
access markets to the west. 
Several stagecoach lines also tra-
versed the National Road. They accel-
erated communications — mail took
only 48 hours to travel from Baltimore
to Wheeling compared to eight to 10
days previously — in addition to car-
rying Americans and some immigrants
into the western frontier.
38 Region Focus • Fall 2003
East Meets West
It would take federal and state road
crews decades to piece together a
continuous route between Baltimore,
Md., and Vandalia, Ill. In the meantime,
people and goods began traveling on
segments of the National Road and
private turnpikes in Maryland before
they were open for traffic.
Western Expansions Of National
Road – 470 Miles
➤ Extension to Zanesville, Ohio, com-
pleted 1828-31
➤ Extension to Columbus, Ohio, fin-
ished in 1833
➤ Extensions through Indiana built
from 1829 to 1834
➤ Final extension to Vandalia, Ill.,
opened in 1839; roadway completely
finished by state government by 1850
Original National Road – 130 Miles
➤ Started at Cumberland in 1811 and
completed at Wheeling in 1818
Private Turnpikes – 140 Miles
➤ Baltimore and Frederick Turnpike,
Hagerstown and Boonsboro Turnpike,
Cumberland Turnpike, and Bank Road
built between Baltimore and
Cumberland from 1807 to 1823
Note: Dates and distances are approximateFall 2003 • Region Focus 39
Besides improving interstate travel,
the National Road increased local
property values as development sprung
up along its route. Taverns, blacksmith
shops, stagecoach stations, and livery
stables operated along the road to serve
travelers, providing the seeds for small
towns throughout western Maryland
and West Virginia’s northern panhan-
dle. At the same time, the road boosted
development in established communi-
ties like Cumberland and Wheeling.
Baltimore was a major beneficiary
of the National Road, especially after
turnpike companies completed four
roads that linked the port town and
Cumberland by 1823. Maryland officials
pressured state-chartered banks to
finance the work. 
“They told banks that they wouldn’t
renew their charter unless they came
up with the money to fix these roads,”
describes Weaver. Fortunately, the tolls
charged on these turnpikes were able
to cover expenses and generate a profit.
“It turned out to be one of the best
investments that the banks made.”
Other communities along the turn-
pikes also profited from National Road
traffic. Jim Higgs, vice president of the
New Market Historical Preservation
Society Inc., says additional inns and
shops opened in New Market to serve
westbound travelers who stopped in
town before traversing the last 20 miles
of the Baltimore-Frederick Turnpike. 
“It was a place to bed down,” says
Higgs, who owns a former tavern in
New Market. A wagoneer could also
obtain water for his horses and get their
shoes fixed at the blacksmith shop. All
of these services were available within
a block of either side of the turnpike.
E
ventually, the National Road and
its turnpikes became the “Main
Street” for many towns. But even
as the road supported trade and migration,
it began falling apart.
Congress appropriated money for
repairing the National Road, but it
couldn’t keep up with the continual wear
and tear on the road. Wagon wheels con-
stantly cut into the road’s surface, while
a succession of hooves pounded on it.
Some people even stole rocks from the
road for construction projects. 
As a result, the entire length of the
National Road was never in good con-
dition at one time. This was especially
true after workers began extending the
road west of Wheeling in 1825. By the
time the National Road crossed the mid-
sections of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois
and ended in the city of Vandalia in 1839,
its older sections were in terrible shape. 
Some Congressmen proposed enact-
ing tolls on the National Road to fund
maintenance costs. But others ques-
tioned the constitutionality of such
tolls since the road wasn’t built on fed-
erally owned land. Besides, there was
growing interest in building railroads
and canals, which were deemed supe-
rior to roads.
By 1831, Washington decided to get
out of the road business. As sections of
the National Road were overhauled for
the last time, they were turned over to
individual states. Lawmakers cut off
federal funding for the road after 1838
and transferred ownership of the road’s
last section to Illinois in 1856.
Since the states could collect tolls,
they immediately converted their sec-
tions of the National Road into turn-
pikes by setting up tollgates. Yet they
were restrained from charging tolls
high enough to cover maintenance
costs due to the availability of alterna-
tives, says Karl Raitz. Locals would
build “shunpikes” to bypass toll roads
that were considered expensive. By the
1870s, the states had relegated owner-
ship of the road to individual counties.
Still, people and goods continued to
travel between Wheeling and Balti-
more on the National Road through
the 1850s. Most of the road’s traffic
west of Wheeling was local, especially
between capital cities like Columbus,
Ohio, and Indianapolis, Ind.
Then, the construction of railroads
to the Ohio River made the National
Road obsolete. The most famous one
was the Baltimore and Ohio, which
connected Baltimore to Wheeling by
1852. “The travel time between Balti-
more and Wheeling was several weeks
by stagecoach. With the railroad, that
time was cut down dramatically,” says
Albert Feldstein, a regional planner for
the Maryland Department of Planning
who has written about the National
Road’s history. As a result, many people
took the train to Wheeling, then trans-
ferred to wagons and continued on the
National Road.
To make matters worse, the Chesa-
peake and Ohio Canal was completed
in 1850 along the Potomac River. While
most canal boats carried coal, they also
offered an alternative route for produce
between Cumberland and communities
on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and
Virginia.
The National Road became popular
again around the turn of the 20th
century as the railroads became con-
gested and automobile travel emerged.
Congress provided federal money in
the 1920s to incorporate parts of the
road and the turnpikes between Balti-
more and Cumberland into one of the
nation’s first new highways, U.S. Route
40. Once again, the road stimulated the
growth of restaurants and hotels. 
Today, parts of the National Road
are designated as scenic byways in
states like Maryland and West Virginia.
In June 2002, the Federal Highway
Administration named it an “All-Amer-
ican Road.” With these designations,
small communities like New Market
hope to take advantage of a new type
of traffic — tourists who want to take
a weekend drive or to catch a glimpse
of transportation history. 
“We have been hosting travelers for
200 years, and we’re still doing it,” says
Jim Higgs. RF
R EADINGS
Jordan, Philip D. The National Road.New York:
Bobbs-Merrill, 1948.
Raitz, Karl, ed. The National Road. Baltimore:
Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.
Roth, Gabriel. “ARoad Policy for the Future.”
Regulation,Spring 2003, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 54-59.
Schneider, Norris F. The National Road: Main
Street of America.Columbus, Ohio: Ohio
Historical Society, 1975.
Visit www.rich.frb.org/pubs/regionfocus for
links to relevant Web sites.

Economic history : Trade trailblazer : the National Road linked communities and helped expand America's western frontier

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Economic history : Trade trailblazer : the National Road linked communities and helped expand America's western frontier

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