The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1910-03-17

1t makes little Q1HeTe0CS W06IH-
er you call it Gist's Route, or Ne
macolin's Trail, or Washington S
Road, or Braddock's Road, or the
Old Pike. No matter what the
name, the old road that leads from
the junction of Wills Greek and
the Potomac River in Cumberland,
Maryland, on out Green Street and
up Wills Mountain, through San
dy Gap to the West, is an interest
ing old road. Yet nowadays only
a few people go over it: boys ofthe
town, seeking adventure; old resi-
dents, reviving early memories;
historians, tracing the paths Oh
their heroes, a few parties in search
of arbutus in the spring; an oCca-
sional picnic in the summer;
scattered hunter in The fall. Sew
enty-fve years ago a better route
was chosen for the Western travel
before the days of railroads. The
new road through the NarrOws
was little longer, but almost
level wagons could move over
the six miles of its gentle grade at
a trot, instead of toiling for four
miles up the mountain and down
again over the many curves of the
old road at a slow walk to where
the old and the new roads meet at
the Six Mile House. But, after
seventy-hve years Of neglect and
no repairs. the old road locally
called the Old Pike or Mount Ne
DO Road still shows how we'll it
was built.
Long before the coming of the
White Man, this was the main
trail used by the Indians in cross,
ing the Alleghenies from the Val
ley OF the Potomac (the River of
the Burning Pine, to the Ohio.
Countless moCCasined feet had
worn deep the path, over which
the Shawnees and the Delawares
travelled West away from the
White Man. 1t was the chief
route of traders The first record
of any white man crossing the
Alleghenies is found in the rude
journal of Christopher Gist, who,
in November, 1880, was commits
stoned by the Ohio Company to
journey from its store house at
Cai-uc tn cue wills Greek across
the mountains, to establish trading
posts with the Indians on the Com
pany's lands along the Ohio. This
Company had, the year before,
been chartered by the Crown, with
twenty stockholders, among whom
was Lawrence Washington, the
half brother of George Washing
ton. Gist followed the Indian
trail, almost the present route of
the Old Pike-crossing Wills
Mountain at Sandy Gap, which,
he says, is the nearest to Poto-
mack River of any in the Allegany
Mountains, and is accounted one
of the best, tho the Mountain is
very high. The Ascent is no
where very steep but rises gradu-
ally near 6 NJ. 1t is now very full
of old Trees & Stones, but with
some Pains might be made a good
Wagon Road. This Gap is di-
rectly in the Way to Mohongaly
(Monongahela RlVer)
A year later Col, Thomas Cresap
was commissioned by the Company
to lay out this road to the West.
He secured the aid of Nemacolin,
friendly Indian, and together
they blaZed out the trail known as
Nemacolin' Road. For over sixty
years this was the thoroughfare
over the Alleghenies. From the
crossroads, about a mile west of
Wills Creek, 1t ran il almost a
perfectly straight line to nearly
the top of Wills Mountain, in
volving a very heavy grade. i
Yet in many respects the road was
admirably chosen; it avoided the
ravines, so as to obviate the neces-
sity of bridges or culverts. until
the valley beyond was reached;
and much of the distance on the
higher part of the mountain was
~. (