I frequently create Google Maps to mark the locations of sites I write about and photograph.
Here is a link to my directory of maps:
Cumberland Road Project Google Maps
~ Steve
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A speaker at a recent Symposium repeated the commonly held notion that construction on the Cumberland / National Road was suspended during the War of 1812 (June, 1812 – March, 1815). I’ve seen the same misinformation on a number of online “reference” websites… And they’re all wrong. The proof is in David Shriver, Jr.’s (Superintendent of the Cumberland Road) Reports to Congress, circa 1812 to 1816, on the progress of construction on the Road. List of contract dates and contractors. Your comments are welcome! ~ Steve While researching Tittle’s Tavern, a stop on the Braddock Road circa 1771 to 1789, I stumbled on a mystery… Gen. Braddock’s troops made their 2nd camp at a location known as Martin’s Plantation, just south of today’s Frostburg, MD. The mystery…? Nobody has been able to locate Martin’s Plantation. It’s thought Braddock’s camp was located near the confluence of Georges Creek and Sand Spring Run, but there is no evidence of property owned by a Martin. For more clues and to join in the hunt for Martin’s Plantation, go to the Western MD History Forum. ~ Steve A mysterious malady has limited my posting to the CRP but I have been adding photos to a new Facebook page called “Postcards From the National Road”. You can view the cards I’ve uploaded and add your own at: On the eve of the 200th Anniversary of the start of construction of the Cumberland/National Road, the Queen City Transportation Museum in Cumberland, MD, may be forced to close their doors. The Thrasher Carriage Collection, considered to be one of the top five carriage/wagon collections in the US, is housed in two buildings in Allegany County, MD. Due to recent cut-backs in county government funding, the Queen City Transportation Museum, home of the largest portion of the collection, may have to close it’s doors in May/June, 2010. The possible closing follows two years of volunteer work and thousands of dollars of expense to restore damage caused by age and previous improper storage. (If the museum is forced to close, the County-owned carriages will be returned to the same basic storage facility in which they were formerly housed.) A possible solution may be the purchase of the privately-owned building the collection now occupies. If you would like more information on the on the Thrasher Carriage Collection/Queen City Transportation Museum or would like to donate to the building fund, contact the Museum through their website, The Queen City Transportation Museum or via the Allegany County (MD) Historical Society (phone: 301-777-8678; e-mail: hhouse@allconet.org). Follow-Up: ~ Steve We had (mostly) good weather Tuesday, May 4 as we ventured further into Pennsylvania along the National Road. On the last few trips through Somerset County, near Addison, a few buildings and a cemetery had caught my eye so we stopped to investigate on this trip. The cemetery, on the west side of Addison on the current Route 40, is called Newbury Cemetery and is worth a stop. According to the sign, the cemetery dates to 1814 and the dates on the tombstones seem to corroborate the date. It was here we first noticed graves indicating the female interred was a “consort” of a named gentlemen.  Tombstone in Newbury Cemetery, just west of Addison, PA Perhaps someone will be kind enough to explain the definition of “consort” as used on tombstones. (The majority of tombstones only identify the woman with a first name as seen above.) Just west of the cemetery was a former gas station and what may have been a tourist cabin.  Former gas station, west of Addison, PA, on the old National Road. Following a delicious lunch at Titlow’s Tavern in Uniontown, we continued along the National Road to Brownsville, PA.  Former Brier Hill Post Office. Said to have been one of the smallest in the US. More to follow… We hit the Road on 04/27 to shoot a number of sites along the National Road east of Cumberland. The specific target west of Flintstone was to try to document the Donville Gas Station (in the postcard below) and Jesse Street’s Stone Tavern. Unfortunately, I was unable to do either due to heavy vegetation and/or No Trespassing signs. I going to try again when cold weather sets in.
We headed toward Hancock, via I-68, and had a great lunch at Weaver’s. Following lunch, we explored on sections of the National Road from Park Head to Wilson, MD. Photos from the day’s trip can be found at: Park Head to Fairview Mtn. – Clear Spring – Wilson The Conococheague Bridge at Wilson today: ~ Steve (April 25, 2010) We’ve spent the last couple of weeks exploring the National Road west of Addison, PA to just east of Brownsville, PA. Here’s a small taste of what we saw: Markleysburg-
Farmington-
Hopwood-
Uniontown-
Brier Hill -
To see more pictures and histories of some of the buildings, check out the Fayette Co. PA Photo Library and the PA State Index. Stop into the NationalRoadForum.org for the latest Pie a la Road stops. ~ Steve The balmy weather encouraged a fair amount of local travel on the National Road this week. We hit Hancock, MD, LaVale, MD, Eckhart Mines and points in between. First the “Pie a la Road” Report: We dined at Bunnie’s in LaVale, MD (In business 40 years) on Monday. Excellent food and good service… What more can you ask for? OK, they didn’t have pie but the cake was yummy.
Tuesday it was the Park & Dine in Hancock, MD (Open 1946). The food was good, the staff friendly and view of the Potomac River was great. The building is reminiscent of the classic Howard Johnson’s but the waitress said it’s always been privately owned.
The Flintstone Hotel in Flintstone, MD is in dire need of restoration. Read the article on the National Road Preservation website.
The LaVale, Hancock, Martin’s Mountain and Flintstone, MD Picture Galleries have been updated. I have uploaded new photos from Addison, PA on the old National Road. Here are a few samples…
 Former Hotel(?) west end of Addison. Note water trough. ~ Steve |
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