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

put up overnight at the wagon houses
a financial viewpoint, the passenger bust
on the railroads today, was only a frac-
limestone rock made possible the con-
struction of the Lancaster Pike, the
first crushed-stone road in America.
Baltimore, in 1896, had begun to build
the Fredeick Turnpike westward to-
ward Cumberland AS late as 1905,
however, Virginia had done little to
connect Richmond with the North
west.
When Ohio applied for admission
into the Union in 1902, it was feared
that this new State would sell the un-
paid-for Government land for taxes.
To prevent this, Congress, in 1903,
agreed to a plan whereby 'two per
cent fund.-" derived from the sale of
public land in Ohio, was to be used for
the construction of roads to and thru
the new state. The Cumberland Road
resulted from this Compact" between
the State of Ohio and the Federal
Government.
United States Government Lays Out
And Builds The Cumberland Road
OS06-1S24). - The commissioners
chosen by President Thomas Jefferson
to locate the route selected the old
portage road, between Cumberland, on
the Potomac River, and Brownsville,
(Red Stone Old Fort) in Pennsylvania,
on the Monongahela River, as the
most practicable Embarrassing con-
Meeting the watersheds to the east
and west of the Allegheny noun
tains. Two commissioners were int1u-
enced also largely in their selection
of the route by the growing trade of
Baltimore with the West. The fact
that Maryland owned no territory ex-
tending over the mountains made Fed
eral aid necessary to continue the road
westward.
Congress passed the act for laying
out and building the road from Cum
berland, Maryland, to the State Of
Ohio, on March 20, 1906. The route
recommended by the commissioners
and modified by presidential action
was adopted to pass through Browns
Vile, Washington and West AleXan-
dria, to Wheeling on the Ohio River.
By 1903, the right-of-way had been
cleared one-half width from Cumber-
land to Brownsville. The first con-
struction contract was let on May 8,
1911. The partially completed road
east of the Ohio River was opened to
traffic as far as Wheeling, then IN
Virginia, in 1918.
Indiana was admitted as State IN
1916 and Illinois in 1918. The United
States entered into compact" with
these states similar to the agreement
made with Ohio. In 1920 an appropria-
ton was made for locating a continu-
ance of the road through Ohio, lndl-
ana and Illinois, to point on the Mis-
sissippi River between st. Louis and
the mouth of the Illinois River. In
1925, when Congress made an appro-
priation for completing the survey to
the capital of Missouri, at Jefferson
City, the road was located as far west
as Columbus, in Ohio. One year later
direct location was continued to In
dianapolis. In 1928 the route was
adopted from Richmond, Indiana, to
indianapolis and Terra Haute. In the
same year the commissioners exam
med the route to St. Louis and, IN
1929, to jefferson City, Missouri. The
road was located between Terra
Haute, Indianapolis and Vandalia,
then the State capital of Illinois, in
1880.
Then began struggle which lasted
for eighteen years between Missouri,
which wanted the St. Louis crossing
of the Mississippi River, and Illinois,
which favored the crossing at Alton.
In 1847 bill was introduced in Con
gress favoring the Alton crossing but
the question never came to vote. The
Cumberland Road was never located
beyond Vandalia, because other more
satisfactory methods of Transports
ton gained the ascendancy while the
dispute over the crossing was in prog
ress.
National Pike Yields First Place to
The Canal and The Railroad 1S25-
1837).-Opened to travel in 1925, the
Erie Canal across New York State
stimulated trade and travel into the
Northwest to such an extent that both
Philadelphia and Baltimore, confront
ed with dwindling revenues were
forced to cast about for more efficient
methods of transportation. Prior to