The National Road
The Road that Built the Nation
Americans are an adventurous people. From past to present, they have used feet, horses, wagons, stagecoaches, canals, railroads, bicycles, automobiles, trucks and buses to "perpetually change their plans and abodes."
Centuries ago, George Washington dreamed of a highway joining east and west. In 1806, Thomas Jefferson made that roadway a reality when he risked his Presidency by authorizing, "an Act to regulate the laying out and making [of] a road from Cumberland in the State of Maryland to the State of Ohio."
The next generation built that "United States Road," a thirty-foot wide, crushed stone thoroughfare that spanned rivers, traversed mountains and opened up America's western frontier to the Mississippi. Merchants, traders and families from all over the world journeyed along this route in their quest to claim land, expand markets and form new lives.
Today, you can trace that same path along the Historic National Road. Discover the places, events and stories that shaped this nation. To have your own adventure, visit marylandnationalroad.org where you can download a free mobile app or stop by any Welcome Center or local visitor center to pick up a Historic National Road map-guide.