Description: This image is a photograph of an illustration showing a work crew spreading a macadam surface on the National Road. A caption under the image reads: "1906-Bituminous macadam experiments." A macadam surface consists of a layer or layers of crushed rock of a fairly uniform size laid over a leveled road bed. The rock layer is bound together by a crust that forms a driving surface and that also sheds water. In this image the driving surface is made of bitumin (also called asphalt). The National Road (also called the Cumberland Road or the U.S. Road) was the first federally sponsored roadway. The U.S. Congress commissioned the National Road in 1806 as a conduit to the West, linking the Potomac River and Cumberland, Maryland, to St. Louis, Missouri, and the Mississippi River. The road opened Ohio and the Northwest Territory to settlement and trade with the eastern U.S. By 1838 the Cumberland Road had reached Springfield, Ohio; three years later it reached Vandalia, Illiinois, where construction stopped due to a funding shortfall. By this time the railroads had attracted travelers and business shipping away from the National Road, and the project was abandoned. The National Road crossed the state of Ohio along what is now U.S. 40. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05822
Subjects: Cumberland Road--History; National Road; Transportation--Ohio--History; Roads; Macadam; Roads--Design and construction; Ohio Economy--Transportation and Development
 

Description: This photograph is a view of a horse-drawn buggy seen from the back. The buggy is traveling along a badly rutted section of the National Road. Ahead of the buggy, on the right, is a low building (or cluster of buildings). Telegraph poles and wire fencing line both sides of the land bordering the road. The National Road (also called the Cumberland Road or the U.S. Road) was the first federally sponsored roadway. The U.S. Congress commissioned the National Road in 1806 as a conduit to the West, linking the Potomac River and Cumberland, Maryland, to St. Louis, Missouri, and the Mississippi River. The road opened Ohio and the Northwest Territory to settlement and trade with the eastern U.S. By 1838 the Cumberland Road had reached Springfield, Ohio; three years later it reached Vandalia, Illiinois, where construction stopped due to a funding shortfall. By this time the railroads had attracted travelers and business shipping away from the National Road, and the project was abandoned. The National Road crossed the state of Ohio along what is now U.S. 40. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05820
Subjects: Cumberland Road--History; Toll roads--Pennsylvania--History; National Road; Transportation--Ohio--History; Ohio Economy--Transportation and Development
 

Description: This photograph shows a work crew crushing rock on the National Road. Six men are clearly visible; one appears to be a foreman because he's watching the others, his arms akimbo, and he's not holding any tools. Wire fencing and utility poles line the sides of the road. The National Road (also called the Cumberland Road or the U.S. Road) was the first federally sponsored roadway. The U.S. Congress commissioned the National Road in 1806 as a conduit to the West, linking the Potomac River and Cumberland, Maryland, to St. Louis, Missouri, and the Mississippi River. The road opened Ohio and the Northwest Territory to settlement and trade with the eastern U.S. By 1838 the Cumberland Road had reached Springfield, Ohio; three years later it reached Vandalia, Illiinois, where construction stopped due to a funding shortfall. By this time the railroads had attracted travelers and business shipping away from the National Road, and the project was abandoned. The National Road crossed the state of Ohio along what is now U.S. 40. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05821
Subjects: Cumberland Road--History; Toll roads--Pennsylvania--History; National Road; Transportation--Ohio--History; Ohio Economy--Transportation and Development
 

Description: This aerial view of the Y-Bridge in Zanesville, Ohio, shows its location at the confluence of the Muskingum and Licking rivers. The bridge, which connects Zanesville with Natchez and West Zanesville, is part of the historic National Road (Cumberland Road), the first federally planned and funded interstate highway. The National Road linked older eastern communities with the emerging frontier settlements of the Northwest Territory. From 1825 to 1838, the National Road was extended across Ohio. The first Y-Bridge was opened to the public in 1814 but collapsed into the river in 1818. A second, stronger bridge (1819-1832) was built on the same site, but it was condemned thirteen years later when twelve-inch-thick ice in the river weakened the superstructure. The third Y bridge (1832-1900) stood until 1900. On January 4, 1902, the fourth Y bridge (1902-1979) was opened for foot passengers. Ten days later, streetcars and wagons began to cross the bridge. In 1979, the fourth Y bridge was judged unsafe. A fifth bridge opened on November 9, 1984. The Y-Bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places. This image of the Y-Bridge was among the photographs produced by the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) between 1935 and 1943. One of the best-known WPA programs, the Federal Writers Project, published the American Guide Series, travel guides to the existing 48 states and for the District of Columbia. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06389
Subjects: Bridges--Ohio; Cumberland Road--History; Transportation--Ohio--History; Zanesville (Ohio); United States. Work Progress Administration; National Register of Historic Places
Places: Zanesville (Ohio); Muskingum County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated ca. 1930-1939, this photograph shows the Baldwin Memorial in Norwich, Ohio. The monument's inscription reads "In Memory of Christopher C. Baldwin, librarian of the American Antiquarian Society Worcester, Mass., killed on this curve Aug. 20, 1835, by the overturning of a stage coach. This being the first traffic accident on record in this state." Located on Old U.S. 40, East Pike, the monument was placed here 90 years after the accident in 1922 by a local Boy Scout troop. An Ohio Historical Marker was erected in 2006 at the intersection of Main Street and Lodge Street, in front of the Masonic Lodge, in Norwich. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B09F10_017_1
Subjects: Memorials--Ohio; Traffic accidents--Ohio; National Road (Cumberland Road); Baldwin, Christopher
Places: Norwich (Ohio); Muskingum County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image of the Y-Bridge in Zanesville, Ohio, shows a view of the bridge's Y-junction looking toward the northeast and the Muskingum River. The Y-Bridge is located at the confluence of the Muskingum and Licking rivers, connecting Zanesville with Natchez and West Zanesville. Here the historic National Road (Cumberland Road) crossed the confluence of the Licking and Muskingum Rivers. The first Y-Bridge was opened to the public in 1814 but collapsed into the river in 1818. A second, stronger bridge (1819-1832) was built on the same site, but it was condemned thirteen years later when twelve-inch-thick ice in the river weakened the superstructure. The third Y bridge (1832-1900) stood until 1900. On January 4, 1902, the fourth Y bridge (1902-1979) was opened for foot passengers. Ten days later, streetcars and wagons began to cross the bridge. In 1979, the fourth Y bridge was judged unsafe. A fifth bridge opened on November 9, 1984. The Y-Bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places. This image of the Y-Bridge was among the photographs produced by the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) between 1935 and 1943. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06388
Subjects: Bridges--Ohio; Cumberland Road--History; United States. Work Progress Administration; Transportation--Ohio--History; Zanesville (Ohio); Federal Writers' Project; American guide series; National Register of Historic Places
Places: Zanesville (Ohio); Muskingum County (Ohio)
 

Description: Postcard showing the bridge where the National Road crossed the White River in Indianapolis, Indiana. A history of the bridge is provided on the reverse side. The National Road was one of the first paved roads (constructed of compacted gravel) to cross the Appalachian Mountains. Congress authorized construction of the National Road in 1806, and in 1811, awarded contracts to private builders to begin construction. The War of 1812 prevented work from beginning until 1815, when construction began in Cumberland, Maryland, and the contractors completed the road to Wheeling, Virginia (modern-day West Virginia), in 1817. Eventually, the federal government extended the road to near St. Louis, Missouri. Modern-day U.S. Route 40 follows the National Road's original route. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV119_B01_F10_13
Subjects: National Road; Ohio Economy--Transportation and Development; Cumberland Road--History; Roads--United States--History; Bridges
Places: Indianapolis (Indiana);