Turns out that this road was the first highway built entirely with federal funds. The road was authorized by Congress in 1806 during the Jefferson Admin. Construction began in Cumberland, Maryland in 1811. The route closely paralleled the military road opened by George Washington and British General Braddock in 1754-55.
This road helped move goods between Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the Ohio River Valley. By 1818, the road had been completed to the Ohio River at Wheeling. Eventually the road was pushed through central Ohio and Indiana, reaching Vandalia, Illinois in the 1830's.
Similar to Hwy.250 in Ohio, it's towns had many interesting buildings and homes. This had to be a tough road to travel in these early days! So many ups and downs! .. foothills leading up to the Allegheny Mountain Range.
This abandoned home was in Briarhill.
I stopped at .. Fort Necessity, site of the first battlefield in the French & Indian War, in 1754. I watched a 20-min. film. Very interesting. A young (22) George Washington was very lucky to have survived.
I also stopped at Fort Frederick, another colonial fortification, run as a Maryland State Park. British engineers designed the fort for the Colony of Maryland. The design was similar to European forts. Built in 1756.
I decided to try to visit .. Harper's Ferry National Historical Park prior to battling late Friday afternoon Wash.DC traffic! It was well worth the effort! I had read so much about John Brown's raid that I needed to physically visit this site. It was a significant town and army industrial complex, stategically located at the junction of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. Here's a few pic's :
Later, it was also the site of Civil war battles :
A great visit for a hobby-historian! The National Park Service does an excellent job in showcasing it. Afterwards, it was time to push on to the nation's capitol. Friday night rush hour! Yikes! 2-1/2 hours to go 70-miles.
I met one of my airbnb hosts. She showed me how everything works and helped move my luggage and bike into my space. She oriented me with the surrounding neighborhood and pointed out several restaurants. She and her husband will cook breakfast each morning. What a treat!
I made it! 5-1/2 days of fun motoring! It's now time for (more) museums and college lacrosse .. IN PERSON! (Jessie&Marty&I DID watch DU vs Georgetown!) Tomorrow I travel to historic Annapolis, to sightsee and watch :
The 'roads-less-traveled' but 'discovered-by-Joe' have now culminated in a destination achieved. It's now time to stay put for a while and give RavRover a well deserved rest. Time to bike and hike and discover more. I will continue to post nightly and hope to show more interesting stuff.
start odometer : 109787
4/12 odometer : 110101
day miles : 314
trip total : 3192
Love that, rediscovering these historic roads... I wonder how much the toll was in 1835. Straight from historical sights into big city rush hour 😳😀
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