Description: United States Road handbill, 1819. The notice is a request for bids from contractors interested in working on the National Road (also called the Cumberland Road or the U.S. Road), the first federally sponsored roadway. The notice states that David Shriver, Jr., superintendent of the National Road, is accepting bids for construction of the road segment that would link Uniontown and Washington, Pennsylvania. 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 attracted travelers and business shipping away from the National Road, and the project was abandoned. A century later the advent of the automobile made the National Road popular once again. The National Road bisected Ohio along what is now U.S. 40. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05817
Subjects: Cumberland Road--History; Transportation--Ohio--History; Roads--United States--History; Shriver, David, 1769-1852; Handbills, Advertising
Places: Cumberland (Maryland); Allegany County (Maryland);
 

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);
 

Description: This map shows the number of automobiles per day that traveled Ohio's roadways. 1932-1933. More heavily-traveled roads are represented as thicker lines and less-traveled roads as thinner lines. This traffic volume is an indicator of the growing urbanization of Ohio, and also shows how Ohioans were beginning to turn to the automobile as their primary form of transportation. The full title of the map is "Map of Ohio Showing the Volume and Character of Motor Traffic on the State Highway System, 1932-1933." Insets are provided showing the cities of Cincinnati, Dayton, Springfield, Columbus, Toledo, Canton, Cleveland, Youngstown, Akron and their vicinities. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: MAPVFM0107_2
Subjects: Transportation--Ohio--History; Ohio Economy--Transportation and Development; Roads--United States--History; Express highways; Traffic
Places: Ohio
 

Description: This map of the state of Ohio shows "a System of State Highways for Military Motor Movements and the Cities and Towns Co-operating with the State Highway Patrol to Co-ordinate Civilian and Military Movements." It provides a view of the transportation system of Ohio just before the building of the interstate highway system. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: MAPVFM0094_4
Subjects: Transportation--Ohio--History; Ohio Economy--Transportation and Development; Ohio State Highway Patrol; Roads--United States--History; Express highways
Places: Ohio
 

Description: This image shows the Oldest Concrete Street in America in Bellefontaine, Ohio. In 1891, Bellefontaine city engineer J.C. Wonders decided to pave the street surrounding the courthouse square with Portland cement concrete. As a result of this innovation, Wonders became known as the father of concrete paving. Concrete was a smooth surface that was very durable. An automobile ride on concrete was much less bumpy than previous rides on dirt roads or even on brick. Wonders' idea led the state of Ohio to appoint him as State Highway Commissioner in 1907. He was only the second commissioner in Ohio's history. In the years that followed, the state began to pave a number of its roads. It would still be a long time before the majority of roads were paved, as the process took time and was expensive. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06512
Subjects: Roads--United States--History; Ohio State Highway Patrol; Transportation--Canal--Railroad--Roads
Places: Bellefontaine (Ohio); Logan County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image depicts a coach on the National Road, as it runs with Broad Street in Columbus, Ohio. The National Road was the first federally funded highway, starting at Cumberland, Maryland and was to extend to the St. Louis. Funding ran out in 1837 in the financial panic. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06430
Subjects: National Road; Roads--United States--History;
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: One of the few remaining covered bridges in southwestern Ohio and the only one in Butler County on its original site, this bridge was built in 1868-1869 to give access to a saw and grist mill owned by James B. Pugh on Four Mile (Tallawanda) Creek. The wooden frame three-story mill had a 16-foot overshot water wheel to power it. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07521
Subjects: Covered bridges--Ohio; National Register of Historic Places; Bridges--Ohio; Bridges; Roads--United States--History
Places: Oxford (Ohio); Butler County (Ohio)
 

Description: An unidentified covered bridge in Ashtabula County, Ohio. One of many found in Ohio, a covered bridge is a timber-truss structure with a roof and siding; often of historic value. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07522
Subjects: Covered bridges--Ohio; Ashtabula County (Ohio); Bridges; Roads--United States--History
Places: Ashtabula County (Ohio); Ashtabula (Ohio)
 

Description: Constructed in 1865, restored in 1963, the Germantown Covered Bridge on East Center Street, spanning Little Twin Creek, was 93 years old and is reputed to be the only existing covered bridge of its kind in the world. For 41 years this unique inverted bow string truss covered bridge spanned Little Twin Creek on the Dayton Pike in Germantown, Ohio. In 1911 it was removed to its present location where it has been restored and beautified as a link with Ohio's early history. It is a symbol of individual initiative in America's early history. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07523
Subjects: Covered bridges--Ohio; Bridges--Ohio; Bridges; Roads--United States--History
Places: Germantown (Ohio); Montgomery County (Ohio)
 

Description: This covered bridge is one of the oldest in Ohio and one of the six double barreled covered bridges still remaining in the United States. It was built across Seven Mile Creek on the Old Camden Road in 1829-30 by Orlistus Roberts and J.L. Campbell. Due to arson in 1986, it was rebuilt (1991) and relocated to South Beach St. in Eaton. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07524
Subjects: Covered bridges--Ohio; Bridges--Ohio; Bridges; National Register of Historic Places; Roads--United States--History; Preble County (Ohio)
Places: Eaton (Ohio); Preble County (Ohio)
 

Description: Covered bridge over Old OH-348 over Scioto Brush Creek in Otway, Ohio. One of many found in Ohio, a covered bridge is a timber-truss structure with a roof and siding, often of historic value. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07525
Subjects: Covered bridges--Ohio; Bridges--Ohio; Roads--United States--History;
Places: Otway (Ohio); Scioto County (Ohio)
 

Description: During the War of 1812, General William Hull ordered the construction of a road connecting his troops at Detroit with supply bases located in Ohio. Beginning in Dayton and passing through Urbana on its way to Detroit, Hull's Road helped advance settlement in the northwestern corner of Ohio. Many soldiers who served under Hull also returned following the War of 1812 to claim the choicest parcels of land and territory that they had first laid eyes upon while marching to Detroit along Hull's Road. The image is taken from "Tales from Ohio History for Home and School," by William Henry Venable. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03977
Subjects: United States--History--War of 1812; Ohio History--Settlement and Early Statehood; Roads;
Places: Dayton (Ohio); Montgomery County (Ohio); Detroit (Michigan)