The National Road Historical Marker - Springfield, Ohio
N 39° 55.544 W 083° 49.940
17S E 257953 N 4423355
An Ohio Historical Marker detailing the significance of the National Road. The reverse side describes the adjacent Pennsylvania House, a tavern an inn on the National Road.
Waymark Code: WMYFD4
Location: Ohio, United States
Date Posted: 06/09/2018
Views: 3
Side B: Authorized by Congress in 1806, the National Road was the nation's first federally funded interstate highway. National leaders desired an all-weather road across the Allegheny Mountains in order to develop closer political and economic ties between the east and west. Considered to be a significant engineering feat, the Road opened Ohio and much of the Old Northwest Territory to settlement, provided access for Ohio goods to reach eastern markets, and enabled Ohio citizens to play important roles in the affairs of the new nation. The National Road was renowned for the number of quality inns and taverns during the heyday of the stagecoach. The Road declined after 1850 as railroads became the preferred method of travel. The automobile, however, brought new life to the Road. Reborn as U.S. 40, it became a busy twenty-four-hour-a-day artery, with truck stops, motor courts, and diners until superseded by the interstate highways in the 1960s.
Side A: David Snively built the Federal-style Pennsylvania House in 1839 along the newly constructed National Road. This tavern and inn was an important stopover for livestock drovers and pioneers traveling by foot, on horseback, or in Conestoga wagons during the westward expansion of the United States in the nineteenth century. Dr. Isaac K. Funk, of Funk & Wagnalls fame, lived in the house in the 1840s while his father served as its tavern keeper. Closed as an inn after the Civil War, it then served as a doctor's clinic, boarding house, and secondhand shop before falling into total disrepair. The Lagonda Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution saved it from demolition and has owned and operated it as a museum since 1941. The Pennsylvania House was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
Americana: Other
Significant Interest: Road Sign
Milestone / Marker: Not listed
Web Address: Not listed
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