Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1906-12-21

straight as possible, in reasonable CON
| formity to the face of the country.
! But beyond the Ohio 1t was even more
| direct, Congress requiring that, except
for its touching the capitals Of the
| three States. Ohio, Indiana and Illi-
nois distance must be economical as
| much as possible. 1t crosses, there
fore, a great part of the rolling lands
| between the Ohio and the Mississippi,
| especially the prairies Of Indiana and
| Illinois, in an almost absolutely
| straight line.
States Proud of the Highway.
The width of the thoroughfare was
fixed by Congress at four rods and its
| greatest grade at five degrees. The
average cost per mile from the Poto-
mac to the Ohio was $4,000, far ex-
ceeding the estimate OF the commits
sioners, but through the comparatively
| level region beyond the latter river it
was less than half as much The road
was not fully constructed beyond Van
| dalia, III. The last appropriation was
made for it by Congress in 1888. The
railways had rapidly encroacbed upon
! its traffic until, two years before that,
| Congress had seriously debated Wheth-
er it would not be wiser to substitute
Il railway for it between Columbus,
! Ohio, and the Mississippi. 1t was the
original policy of Congress to turn the
! road over to the States in which it
!ay, on the condition that they repair
and maintain it, and this was carried
out. There was at the same time,
| however, Federal commission
charged with the supervision of the re-
pairs. The States took very great
pride in the highway and established
| toll houses for the collection of reve-
nue. to be used toward it's maintenance.
! These toll stations were at a greater
distance apart in Pennsylvania than
they were in the three Western States.
In the early days in Ohio the gate
keepers were considered of such i'm
portance that the Governor appointed
| them.
Immense Benefit to the Country.
The material benefit which the coun-
| try derived from this great national
! highway, however, was quite unmeas-
urable. A writer who is an authority
on the subject says that the construc-
ton of the Cumberland road was one
of Che most important steps in that
movement of national expansion which
followed the conquest Of the West. 1t
| iS ly 70
! fully what it meant to the West when
that vanguard of surveyors came down
| the slopes of The AlIeghenies, hewing a
| thOroughfare which should in one gen
GRAFTON bind distant and half-acquaint-
ed States together in bonds of common
| Interest, sympathy and ambition. I'm
til that day travellers spoke of going
into and coming out Of the West as
though it were a Mammoth Cave. The
| growth and prosperity of the West
was impossible until the dawning Of
such convictions as those which made
! the Cumberland road a reality"
The national highway was a con-
ception of the youthful Washington,
about the time when he was with
| Braddock's Inflated expedition against
the savages He adhered to that dream
! throughout his life; but it was not IN
| til seven years after his death, in the
administration of Jefferson, that any
practical step was taken toward its
realization.
| Bridges and MiIestones.
The old Cumberland read bears on
| its face its own character and individ-
uality and the evidence of its age
There is nothing like it," says HUI
| bert, "in the United States. Leaping
the Ohio at Wheeling, it throws itself
across the Ohio and Indiana straight
as an arrow, choppfng hills in twain
| at blow, traversing the lowlands on
high grades like a railroad bed, vault
ing river and stream on massive
bridges OF unparalleled size The tray
eler will notice still the miIeposts
| which mark the great roads successive
steps,
Full of romance is the old highway
| and its weather-beaten inns. With
may bends the road leads on and on.
Here is an arch that has welcomed
many a weary caravan. In the shad-
ow Of this old hostelry one may well
| ask. Where are the adventurous spir-
its that have sought lodging here on
their way to fortune?"