Historic National Road , Maryland
Rating :
Difficulty :
Flickr Images
Welcome Guest! Login
Description
About Historic National Road :
Length: 170.0 mi / 273.6 km
Time to Allow: 6-8 hours to drive or 2 days to visit the byway.
The Historic National Road stands for adventure, freedom and exploration. A ribbon of roadway from the Chesapeake Bay to the mighty Allegheny Mountains, it is the road that built the nation. Today, you can experience more than 300 years of American culture, including inns, tollhouses, taverns, theaters, parks, and shops along the byway.
Driving the Byway
Baltimore
* You will start your tour at the Inner Harbor, the beginning or end of many journeys along the Historic National Pike.
* Follow Lombard Street (return on Pratt Street) past the old Bromo Seltzer Tower and the University of Maryland Hospital complex.
* Cross Martin Luther King Boulevard, and continue through several well-preserved historic neighborhoods. One of these, settled by European immigrants, grew up around Hollins Market. More recent residents have made this an artistic community, which contributed to the existence of the neighborhood's many coffeehouses, small restaurants, and cafes.
* A little farther west is Union Square, one of several such squar
Wikipedia Description
About Historic National Road :
The National Road or Cumberland Road was one of the first major improved highways in the United States, built by the federal government. Construction began in 1811 at Cumberland, Maryland, on the Potomac River. It then crossed the Allegheny Mountains and southwestern Pennsylvania, reaching Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia) on the Ohio River in 1818. Plans were made to continue through St. Louis, Missouri, on the Mississippi River to Jefferson City, Missouri, but funding ran out and construction stopped at Vandalia, Illinois in 1839.
A chain of turnpikes connecting Baltimore, Maryland, to the National Road at Cumberland was completed in 1824, forming what is referred to as an eastern extension of the National Road. In 1835 the road east of Wheeling was turned over to the states for operation as a turnpike. It came to be known as the National Pike, a name also applied to the Baltimore extension.
The approximately 620-mile (1000 km) road provided a connection between the Potoma
Top Tour Providers
Reviews
