The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1947-05-15

The larger types of the wagons
were called freighters or mountain
ships" Many of them travelled the
whole length of the road-from Cum
berland, Md, to Jacksontown, and
by 1888, when the road was finished
to Columbus in 1888 and to Spring
field in 1888.
In 1888 Daniel Barcus, of Cumber-
land, who owned one of the freight
ers, stopped at Jacksontown and re-
lated that he had delivered an g.
300-pound load of merchandise at Mt.
Vernon and picked up 1900 pounds of
tobacco there for the return trip. He
got S4.25 per hundred pounds for
hauling merchandise and $2.75 per
hundredweight for the tobacco.
397 Miles in 30 Days
Tt had taken Barcus thirty days to
make the trip from Baltimore to
Jacksontown-397 miles. A side trip
of 32 miles had been necessary to
reacn MS destination.
The wagons were pulled by six
horse teams and often carried four
to five tons of freight. In the 1840's
the National Road was one long pro-
cession of snch freighters, driven by
sweating, swearing men.
The wagoners were in class of
their own. They felt a bit above the
stagecoach drivers and they made
more money. They did not lodge at
the taverns frequented by the stage
coach men, but at places catering ex-
clusively to them-"wagon houses" !"
Sumptuous Meals 1914 Cents
The wagon houses were taverns
with large yards where the wagoners
fed their teams or rested them over
night. There the drivers swapped
jokes and told tall tales, ate sumptu-
Gus meals that cost 1215 cents and
drank Scent whiskey. They unrolled
their own bedding, spread it on the
floor and there slept with a score or
more other drivers in one great room.
Such wagon houses lined the Nation
al Road from end to end.
One of them, Headley Inn, few
miles west of GAINESVILLE, has prog
ressed during the past 100 years from
haven for the hungry, boistrous
wagoners, to a tearoom.
The wagoners, and sometimes be-
lated travellers and coach drivers, put
up at the inn in 1835-when the west
ern terminus of the Old National
Road was Columbus.
Tavern Business Prospers
The National Road brought the
landlord, u. Headley, so much busi-
ness that he built two-story addition
to the original structure. Where he
got the name nobody ever figured
out, but the "U" in the landlords
name stood for Usual"
Headley built the tavern in 1902
when he first married. 1t was grey,
red and yellow sandstone blocks two
to-three feet long, 1S inches wide
and foot thick. The addition was of
the same material. Inside are heavy
ceiling beams and stone fireplace.
Its life, as a tavern and wagon house
ended in 1865. Today it is a tearoom.
The National Road was the first
improved highway in the state. There
were taverns every few miles along
its length and every 10 or Is miles,
relay stations where stagecoach lines
exchanged for fresh horses. Often as
many as 20 four-horse coaches were
in line at one time, and the six-horse
frelghters could be seen all day long
at every point. Besides these, millions
of cattle, hogs and sheep We're driven
over it in herds and flocks.
The road was authorized by Cong
ress in 1906 to extend from Cumber-
land to Wheeling, and by 1918 had
reached the Ohio River. In 1925 Cong
ress authorized its extension into
Ohio and by 1926 it had reached
GAINESVILLE; 1888, Columbus; 1888,
Springfield and as fast as it could be
built, on into Indiana. Later it was
extended into Illinois and now reach
es from Atlantic City to San Fran
cisco.
Until the railroads came it was a
common sight to see dozen or more
competitive four-horse stagecoaches
leave Wheeling at the same time and
dash on into Ohio. Though the lines
all had independent relay stations,
some of the stations on the National
Road were "Union stations" and were
used by all the stagecoach lines.
Ten miles an hour was the usual
stagecoach speed. However, the busi-
ness was competitive and some driv-
ers made faster time. An expert
driver, Homer Westover, delivered a
Presidents message to all the towns
along a 222-mile section of the
National Road in about % hours.
The largest line on the road was
the National Road Stage Co., of
Uniontown, Pa. It's Ohio headquarters
was at Columbus. Another smaller
line was Neil, Moore & Co., Column
bus. The large line finally absorbed
all the others and thus secured a
monopoly.
Coach Carried 10 Passengers