The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1938-06-16


means to build road which would
withstand the ravages of time.
The foregoing brief outline of its
claim to first place may help to show
why the Old Cumberland Road, which
constitutes the eastern section of what
is now known the United States Route
40, is recognized as the most impor-
tant portion of the main Street of
America" now extending across the
mid-section Of the country from At
lantic City, in New Jersey, to. San
Francisco, in California.
Let US follow the story of the rise,
fall, decay and reconstruction of this
romantic thoroughfare which, in the
two centuries following the English
settlements in the New World, meas
ured the westward expansion of our
national frontiers from the wave
washed shores of the Atlantic Ocean
to the muddy banks Of the broad Mis-
sissippi River. The facts in this story
fit together as neatly as the parts of a
picture puzzle. In the interest of con-
serving space, however, it will be nee
essary to sketch with bold strokes the
outline of our story. The narrative
naturally divides itself into seven
N, lin cao+iopc &c fnllOwC.
Location of the Early Trails Deter
mined by the Topography of the COun-
try (Period Prior to 1755)-For many
years after the landing of the Cava-
liers in Virginia, in 1907, and the Pill
grim fathers in New England, in 1920,
the Atlantic Ocean and the rivers and
streams provided the only practica-
BILE highways for travel from place to
place Much of the seabord was COW
cred with dense forests almost to the
waters edge and among the sounds
which broke the stiffness were the
chop, chop, chop of the woodman's ak,
the cracking of a brushfire in clear
ing, the loud report of matchbox
musket and the ominous calls of wild
animals. The gentle wind signing thru
the trees, the scream of a pioneer Wo-
man in distress, the rustling leaves Of
the towering trees, the terrifying war
cry of the Indians, the ripping music
| r tI1,1
the rocks, the roaring breakers on the
seashore and the surf receding over
the sand back to the mother ocean,
added their tones to the symphony OF
the forest wilderness.
In primitive times, a canoe would
be propelled by it's Indian occupant as
far upstream as the depth of water
would permit, then the 1.-the woods
man would step ashore and carry the
light birch bark on his back across the
portage path, which perhaps led
across a mountain divide, to the water
shed of another river. Such as the way
in which developed the most impor-
tant portage path in America which
led from the headwaters of the Poto-
mac River across the Allegheny
mountains to the head of navigation
of the Monogahela River. This old
path, worn deep in the soil by the
tramp of unnumbered moccasined
feet, because of strategic Importance
in 1713, when, by the Treaty Of
Utrecht, the French acknowledged the
Five Nations of Iroquois Indians as
English subjects and gave the English
colonists the right to trade west of the
Allegheny mountain divide.
With the trade extending farther
and farther into the West, the Eng
lish, in 1744, paid the 1roquois In
dams 400 pounds for the lands be-
tween the mountains and the Missis-
sippi River. Five years later, the Eng
fish organized the Ohio Company and
granted to settlers large tracts OF
| land in the West in order to establish
commercial relations with the Indians
and hold the French in check. War be-
tween the two European nations was
the logical result of this policy. In the
same year (1749) that the Ohio Com
pany was formed, Christopher Gist, a
fearless pioneer, was employed by the
company to begin explorations at
Willis Creek, the site of the present
city of Cumberland, Maryland, the
head of navigation on the Potomac
River, to seek out the best route
across the mountains.
The route having been selected, Col
onel Cresap, one of the members OF
the company, in 1851, in company
with a friendly Delaware Indian chief
named Nemacolin, blazed the trail
over the Alleghanies into the new
country. Two years later, Governor
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