Today the Mason-Dixon line is still a demarcation line for four U.S. states, and forms parts of borders for Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia (which was originally Virginia). While the line was formed to end the boundary dispute between the British colonies of Maryland and Pennsylvania/Delaware, its existence took on a different role after America declared independence. After Pennsylvania abolished slavery, it was the demarcation line for the legality of slavery. The line was useful unless you were beyond the Pennsylvania border, in Delaware or New Jersey, which were both North of the Line and remained slave states after Pennsylvania abolished slavery. In April of 1763, Mason and Dixon began to survey the line between Maryland and Pennsylvania. The plan was to run the line for a distance of five degrees of longitude west from the Delaware River, which would fix the western boundary of Pennsylvania. However, in 1767, at Dunkard Creek in Pennsylvania (roughly 244 miles west of the Delaware River) their Iroquois guides refused to go any further, having reached the border of their lands with the Lenape, with whom they were engaged in hostilities with. Masson and Dixon were forced to quit their surveying, and their final observations 233 miles from their starting point.

The Mason-Dixon Line, first employed to resolve a bitter land dispute, became a symbol of sectionalism and somewhat a notional division between the Northern and Southern states 

The Mason-Dixon Line is usually associated with the division between the northern (free) and southern (slave) states during the 1800s and American Civil War-era, but it was delineated in the mid-1700s to settle a property dispute. The line is named after the two surveyors who mapped it, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon.

Mason-Dixon Line Marker

Instructor

Interesting stops along US-40 from Wheeling to Hagerstown

After a rivalry between Pittsburgh and Wheeling to become the city to bridge the Ohio River, a charter was granted to the Wheeling and Belmont Bridge Company in 1816. This charter was to construct a bridge to extend the Cumberland Pike, which was to be completed in 1818, to Ohio. After some delays and opposition, a new bridge charter was obtained in 1847. Charles Ellet and John A. Roebling were invited to submit designs and estimates for a bridge over the east channel of the river to Wheeling Island. In doing so, the design was set as a suspension bridge, as Ellet and Roebling were the foremost authorities on the topic. Ellet received the contract award in 1847 and began the same year. The bridge was completed in 1849.<blockquote>"The firing of cannon continued for a great portion of the day, and the crowds along the Bridge sensibly increased until 3 o'clock, when the ladies assembled, and with their escorts passed over to the Island and returned. With them the hour seemed given up to enjoyment, friend met friend, and gaiety and good feeling reigned supreme. We had there the pleasure of meeting more lovely and happy faces than we have seen before for months. A continuous train of human beings moved along the work from 3 o'clock until dark.</blockquote><blockquote>At 6 o'clock, the thousand lamps, hung up on the wires, were lighted almost simultaneously and presented an elegant and graceful curve of fire, high above the river, that was never excelled in beauty. It forcibly reminded one of Mr. Clay's remarks, a few days since, when looking at the work from a distance, while his face glowed with pride and exultation — "Take that down! you might as well try to take down the rainbow."2 - The Daily Wheeling Gazette, Nov. 17, 1849</blockquote>The span of the bridge is 1010 feet, measured from the center of the two supporting towers – the longest clear-span bridge in the world at the time. All materials for the bridge, including the drawn iron wire used to create the cables, were produced locally. The main cables rest upon iron rollers at the summits of each tower. The rollers relieve the strain on the cables caused by expansion and contraction with changes in temperature. In 1854, high winds set up an oscillation in the deck structure that resulted in severe damage to the bridge. Once again, Pittsburgh rivaled Wheeling for the reconstruction of the bridge. The Wheeling Bridge Case went to the Supreme Court and lasted from 1854 to 1856 with a judgment in favor of Wheeling.  Under the supervision of Ellet, reconstruction work began almost immediately and the bridge was reopened in just three months. In 1867, the Citizen Railway Company was granted permission to lay tracks on the bridge to accommodate horse-drawn streetcars; a possibility indicated earlier by Ellet. In 1872, Washington Roebling, son of John Roebling, was commissioned to provide upgrades to the bridge which included the installation of the diagonal cable stays. The bridge remained essentially unchanged until 1956 when a new steel deck system was installed. The most recent work on the bridge was completed in 1999 with repairs to the stiffening truss and wire rope stays, complete inspection and re-wrapping of the cables, and the installation of new illumination. Today, the bridge stands as one of the finest examples of pre-Civil War engineering and is considered as one of the world’s most significant and historic bridges. Wheeling and the Suspension Bridge is home to one of the greatest engineering achievements in American History. The nearly 170-year-old Wheeling Suspension Bridge is the oldest operating suspension bridge in the world. The bridge was the first to span a main channel of the Ohio River. In 1836, a two-span covered bridge opened over the back channel of the Ohio in Wheeling. This bridge crossed at the site of an 1893 truss and modern day bridge that carries Route 40 over the back channel to this day.

One of the last construction projects associated with the National Road, Wheeling Suspension Bridge opened on November 15th, 1849. At that time, this was the only bridge across the Ohio River and the largest suspension bridge in the world. The bridge was designed by Charles Ellet Jr. and covers 1,010 feet from tower to tower. The east tower rests on the Wheeling shore, while the west tower is on Wheeling Island. The bridge provided a link between two sections of the National Road before the Civil War and while it only retained the title of the world's largest suspension bridge for two years, today it is the oldest suspension bridge approved for vehicular traffic. Given its importance to transportation, and its significance as a mid-19th-century engineering marvel, the bridge was designated a National Historic Landmark on May 15, 1975.

Wheeling Suspension Bridge

The Revolutionary War in the West looked very different from the way it did in the East. In the East, the war was fought in occupied cities who struggled to keep supplies, while the West was fought between the settlers and the Native Americans who were trying to prevent any movement beyond what had already been settled. The French and the British were trying to keep control of land and goods for economic reasons, while the Native Americans would raid the settlers to ensure their rightful territories stayed in their possession.  Lord Dunmore's War began in 1774, after the land of the Shawnee was slowly being taken away from them. The massacre of the Logan family, a Mingo group living and trading with settlers at the mouth of Yellow Creek near Steubenville, Ohio, was the tipping point for the Shawnee. The issues at stake in the conflict on the frontier from 1774 to 1795 were ones of land ownership and control of trade routes. Lord Dunmore's War worried the settlers, and they built Fort Henry for protection.  The first attack on Fort Henry started on September 1st, 1777, and lasted for three days and three nights. Fort Henry was defended by 60 men, and almost half of them were lured out of the fort and killed by the 200 Wyandots and Mingos. The Native Americans burned nearby cabins and buildings, and eventually retreated across the Ohio.  The most famous attack on Fort Henry occurred on September 10th, 1782. Once again, 200 Wyandots and Mingos attacked the fort, but this time they were accompanied by British troops. Supplies quickly dwindled and the settlers were losing hope. Betty Zane, the sister of Fort Henry founder, Ebenezer Zane, volunteered to leave the fort to retrieve more supplies. Betty volunteered herself because she believed the Native Americans would not shoot her because she was a woman, and she was right. On her way to retreive supplies, the Native Americans held their fire. However, when Betty was returned to the fort, and the Native Americans saw that she had gunpowder stuffed in her dress, they were not so kind. Betty made it back to Fort Henry unharmed and with gunpowder; her heroism is known for the survival of Fort Henry during this attack. Following this courageous feat, Betty Zane came to be called the Heroine of Fort Henry. She went on to marry twice and give birth to nine children. She died on August 23, 1823 and is buried in Martins Ferry, Ohio.There are no photographs or sketches of Fort Henry, and it is no longer standing. No one knows exactly what the fort may have looked like, and there have been historical disputes on it's appearance and even location. Several forts that were also built in the same time frame, have been excavated and all of them have been made of upright logs, sometimes with brush, planks, or other objects filling the spaces to stop bullets. All of the forts had lean-to sheds, log blockhouses, and stores and residences for the officers. With first hand accounts, it is believed that the fort sat on a one-half to three-quarter acre lot and sitting on a bluff. The fort itself would have been around 85' by 50' and since the fort was only used in times of attacks, it could have easily supported the early settlers.  The fort was very active for about nine years, seeing four notable attacks: February 1777, September 1777, September 1781, and September 1782. After the last attack, the fort was abandoned. Some sections of it still remained standing until 1808.

Fort Henry, first named Fort Fincastle, was built out of necessity; it was not built with specific plans or designs, but was built like one of the many forts in the area to protect settlers in the 1770s.  In the Spring of 1774, military authorities at Fort Pitt (now Pittsburgh, PA) wrote residents telling them they needed to build a fort to protect themselves. Settlers Ebenezer Zane and John Caldwell began the fort and completed it with the help of Captain William Crawford, Colonel Angus McDonald, and 400 militia and regulars from Fort Pitt. The fort was finished in the summer of 1774, in time for the beginning of Dunmore's War.

Fort Henry

The Mingo statue was revealed in 1928, prior to the construction of I-70. At the time, National Road was the only major road going through the area, and the statue was a welcoming figure. The Wheeling Chapter of the Kiwanis Club and George W. Lutz commissioned the statue. Artist Henry Beu of North Wheeling Pottery cast the statue out of bronze, and it was dedicated on January 21, 1928. The statue is of a Native American man with his right arm stretched out to greet visitors. A group of vandals broke the statue at the ankles and removed it from the pedestal in 1982. After it was recovered, the statue was mended by the Mull Foundry and was rededicated in April of 1983.The Mingos were an independent group in the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. The group was largely made of Senecas and Cayugas. The Mingos migrated to the Ohio Country in the mid-eighteenth century, as part of a movement of multiple Native American tribes to the region which had been an unpopulated Iroquois hunting ground for decades. The Mingos were not technically considered a tribe, as there was no official Mingo language or culture. Mingos were heavily involved in battles against white settlers during the late 1700s. Like their Shawnee and Delaware neighbors, and most Mingos relocated west after the collapse of native resistance in the 1790s. Today, the descendants of the Mingos can be found in Oklahoma and are known as Seneca-Cayugas.

The Mingo statue was built in 1928 to honor the Mingos, a group of Native Americans who inhabited the Ohio River Valley in the Wheeling area until the early 1800s. The statue welcomes visitors traveling over Wheeling Hill and represents the Native American history of the area. The Native American figure in the statue stretches his right hand out to greet travelers. 

Mingo Indian

Lord Dunmore's War began in 1774, after the land of the Shawnee was slowly being taken away from them. The massacre of the Logan family, a Mingo group living and trading with settlers at the mouth of Yellow Creek near Steubenville, Ohio, was the tipping point for the Shawnee.&nbsp;The issues at stake in the conflict on the frontier from 1774 to&nbsp;1795 were ones of land ownership&nbsp;and control of trade routes. Lord Dunmore's War worried the settlers, and they built Fort Henry for protection.&nbsp;The first attack on Fort Henry started on&nbsp;September 1st, 1777, and lasted for three days and three nights. Fort Henry was defended by 60 men, and almost half of them were lured out of the fort and killed by the 200&nbsp;Wyandots and Mingos. Messengers were sent out to local forts and militias to request aid during this time, and McCulloch and his men went as soon as they received&nbsp;word.&nbsp; On September 2nd, 1777, as McCulloch and his men were in route to Fort Henry, McCulloch was cut off by Native Americans and separated from his men. McCulloch was well known by the Native Americans for his heavy involvement in battles, and for killing many of their own. Once McCulloch was cut off, he directed his horse towards Wheeling Hill, as it was his only means of escape. Two other groups of Native Americans cut him off, and McCulloch's only route of escape was to jump over a one hundred and fifty foot ledge that led to Wheeling Creek.&nbsp; <blockquote>"McCulloch still bore his rifle, which he had retained, in his right hand, and carefully gathering up the bridle in his left, he urged his noble animal forward, encouraging him by his voice, until they reached the edge of the bank, when, dashing his heels against his sides, they made the fearful leap into the air."1</blockquote>McCulloch and his horse slid and scrambled down the ledge of the hill, and landed at the river bank with extremely minor injuries. He then rushed to his home fort, gathered a force of 40 men, and returned to Fort Henry only to find that the Native Americans had already retreated across the Ohio River.&nbsp;However, the truth about McCulloch's Leap has been heavily disputed among historians. There is little documentation of Samual McCulloch prior to 1777, and most documented information. though sparse, is only about his leap.&nbsp;<blockquote>This deed is, unfortunately, not recorded in any documented report of the attack, or in accounts later related to historians. Nor does anyone record whether the leap took place at this time. Layman C. Draper believed that the leap occurred, but not as part of this siege. The leap is part of the history of this area, and, with the information we have about McColloch, seems to fit with recorded statements of his bravery. But, more factual information is not extant.2</blockquote>Whether or not McCulloch's leap was as dramatic or extravagant as folklore leads us to believe, it gives insight to battle tactics of both sides from the war. McCulloch later lost his arm in a hunting accident, and later died at the hands of Native Americans in 1782. There is a monument dedicated to his bravery and escape from the Native Americans on September 2nd, 1777.&nbsp;

Samuel McCulloch and his family moved from New Jersey to the area that is now Wheeling, WV in 1770. He went on to become the commander of Van Meter’s Fort, a member of the Virginia Legislature, and a major in the local militia. McCulloch rushed to help Fort Henry when it was under attack on September 2nd, 1777, but was cut off by Native Americans. To escape the Native Americans, it is said that McCulloch and his horse leaped from the ledge on the top of Wheeling Hill, and survived. 

McCulloch's Leap

&nbsp; &nbsp;After they moved to the Wheeling area in 1913 at the request of Bishop Patrick Donahue, planning was started to house a group of Discalced Carmelite Sisters. As members of the Order of the Discalced Carmelites, the sisters believed in a lifestyle of seclusion and piety. Many sisters remained in the Mt. Carmel Monastery for the remainder of their lives with little contact with the outside world.

&nbsp; &nbsp;The Mt. Carmel Monastery was named for the Carmelite Sisters for whom it was built. Designed by notable Wheeling architect Frederick Faris, the structure was completed and dedicated in 1917. The style of the monastery was unusual for the area and Faris. In honor of the Teresa de Ahumada, founder of the Discalced Carmelite Order, Faris designed the monastery in a Spanish style. St. Teresa created the Order in 1593 and began thirty-two monasteries in Spain.

&nbsp; &nbsp;For many years the only section of the monastery accessible to outsiders was the public chapel. The remainder was dedicated to the nuns and secluded to ensure their privacy. The nun’s cells were plain, and their beds were made of plywood without mattresses. Though they would not interact directly with their neighbors, the nuns were known to write prayer cards for them and their own newspaper which locals were welcome to read.

&nbsp; &nbsp;Though initially a very strict order with little room for deviation, by the 1960s the order was in decline and began to relax its policies on seclusion. The sisters were gradually allowed to interact more with the community and were even allowed outside of the monastery. As many of the sisters of the order were old and dying and the order was not obtaining new members, the sisters left the monastery in 1974. The surviving members of the order made arrangements to be relocated at other Carmelite monasteries.

&nbsp; &nbsp;The building was purchased by a developer in 1974 and converted to apartments. The building's current state reflects the age of the building and the expense of maintaining an aging historic structure. Despite crumbling banisters and cracked facades, Mt. Carmel Apartments clearly reflects the building's history as a former monastery.&nbsp;

Constructed in 1917 to house sisters of the Order of the Discalced Carmelites, Mount Carmel Monastery was named in honor of the order’s founder, St. Teresa of Avila. The monastery's Spanish style architecture recalls the origins of the order and is a unique structure in Wheeling. The founding of the monastery reflected the growth of the Catholic community in Wheeling in the early 20th century. At the height of the monastery's time in Wheeling, the sisters were isolated and had almost no contact with the outside world aside from a newsletter and selling handmade products. The monastery was in operation until 1974, when the last residents moved to another monastery and the building was sold to a real estate developer. Though the structure is now a crumbling apartment building, it was once the iconic home to the extremely secluded Carmelite Sisters. 

Mt. Carmel Monastery (1917-1974)

Jesse Lee Reno was born on April 20, 1823 in Wheeling, Virginia. In 1830, the family moved to Franklin in northwest Pennsylvania. Reno secured a spot at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and he graduated a lieutenant in the Class of 1846 alongside many future Civil War generals, including George B. McClellan and another western Virginian, Thomas J. Jackson. Lieutenant Reno fought in the Mexican-American War as an artillery officer. He was promoted to first lieutenant following the Battle of Cerro Gordo. He was wounded at the Battle of Chapultepec in 1847 and was subsequently promoted to captain. Following the war, he married Mary Cross Reno in 1853, and the pair had five children. (Their son, Jesse W. Reno, invented the first working escalator in 1891.) As the secession crisis gripped the nation in the winter of 1861, Captain Reno commanded the Mount Vernon Arsenal just north of Mobile, Alabama. The arsenal held 20,000 firearms, 150,000 pounds of gunpowder, artillery, and other valuable stores. Unbeknownst to Reno, Alabama's Governor Andrew B. Moore coveted these military stores, and though Alabama had yet to officially secede, Gov. Moore knew the importance of securing the Federal supplies at Mount Vernon. On the morning of January 4, 1861, select members of local Mobile militia quietly scaled the 14-foot walls of the arsenal and quickly overwhelmed Captain Reno, the 17-man garrison, and their families. Similar attacks were carried out across the South throughout the winter and spring, and these captured military stores helped equip the first Confederate volunteers at the start of the Civil War. Briefly stationed in Kansas as the war erupted, Jesse Reno was promoted to brigadier general and commanded a brigade during Ambrose Burnside's successful coastal expedition into North Carolina in 1862. In the autumn of 1862, Reno commanded a division in the Army of the Potomac and earned another promotion to major general. His division fought in the ill-fated Second Manassas campaign. Throughout these campaigns, Reno developed a reputation as a "soldier's soldier," well-liked by his soldiers and peers alike. As his good friend and fellow General Alpheus Williams wrote of Reno, "Of all the major generals he was my beau ideal of a soldier...His frankness, absence of pomp and parade, his cheerfulness under all circumstances--that indescribable something in manner, had made me love him at first sight."[6] Major General Jesse Reno's final battle came on September 14, 1862, in the opening phases of the Antietam campaign. Commanding the 9th Corps of the Army of the Potomac, Reno was tasked with pushing the enemy from their strong defensive position along Fox's Gap and thereby allow the army to pursue Robert E. Lee's forces. Hoping to personally lead a final, decisive push around dusk, Reno reconnoitered ahead of his own lines. When a firefight broke out among the skirmish lines, Reno was shot in the chest. (There's some debate as to whether Reno was a victim of friendly fire). Taken to the rear on a stretcher, he passed fellow General Samuel Sturgis. Reno cried out, "Hallo, Sam, I'm dead!" Sturgis, taking Reno's statement as a jovial sign, replied, "Oh, no, General, not so bad as that, I hope." Reno simply returned, "Yes, Yes, I'm dead--good by!"[5] He died shortly thereafter, the killing bullet reportedly piercing a small picture of Reno's wife Mary he kept around his neck. He is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. Reno's legacy is remembered in a variety of ways and in a variety of places. A number of towns are named for him, most notably Reno, Nevada. A memorial to Reno stands near the site of his wounding at South Mountain State Battlefield in Maryland. Reno was the highest ranking officer killed from West Virginia, and a state historical marker near Wheeling acknowledges Reno's connection to the Mountain State.

Born in Wheeling in 1823, Major General Jesse Reno enjoyed a successful military career in the United States Army before his untimely death at the Battle of South Mountain in September 1862. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in the Class of 1846 (alongside fellow western Virginian Thomas J. Jackson). He served with distinction in the Mexican War, twice promoted and wounded once. In command of the Mount Vernon Arsenal near Mobile, Alabama in 1861, he was forced to surrender the facility to Southern militia. He fought both in North Carolina and with the Army of the Potomac in 1862, developing a reputation as a well-liked "soldier's soldier." He was mortally wounded while commanding the 9th Corps at the Battle of South Mountain. A number of towns are named for him, most notably Reno, Nevada. Buried in Washington, D.C., a monument stands at the site of his wounding and a historical marker in Wheeling acknowledges his connection to West Virginia.

Jesse Lee Reno Historical Marker

With more and more Model T's rolling off the assembly line, people began to fear that society may forget about the old trails that so many people traveled. In the 1920s, a band of women petitioned their state representative, William P. Borland, to pass a bill that designated all historic trails as the National Old Trails Road.  The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), a separate entity from the group in Missouri, wanted the current National Road that only covered the length of Cumberland, Maryland to Vandalia, Illinois to expand westward to San Francisco California. The members of the DAR set out with red, white, and blue paint with which they began to designate historical trails by painting telephone poles and fence posts. The newly established National Old Trail Road Association assisted them with this task. The bylaws of this organization stated: "the object of the Association shall be to assist the Daughters of the American Revolution in marking Old Trails and to promote the construction of an Ocean-to-Ocean Highway of modern type worthy of its memorial character." At the 1914 Annual American Road Congress, the DAR made the pioneer woman gazing over yonder to the National Road  their symbol and resolved to begin the process of erecting an appropriate memorial. However,  World War I (WWI) halted their progress for nine years. After WWI ended, future president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, was actually President of the National Old Trail Road Association. Truman had an intense interest in cars and road systems; in fact, while serving in France in WWI, he was fascinated by their infrastructure for the automobile and sold memberships to Kansas City Automobile, until he was appointed a sit on the bench as a Missouri judge for Jackson County in 1926.  Partnered with DAR chair Arlene Moss, Truman and Moss decided to forgo the idea of planting iron markers along the National Trail in 1924. Three years later, the DAR made a decision they would have a statue: Madonna of the Trail.  Moss was inspired by a Sacajawea statue that she had seen while traveling in Portland, Oregon. Moss picked twelve spots along the National Road to plant statues over the next two years, 1928-1929. The locations of the statues are: Springfield, Ohio; Wheeling, West Virginia; Council Grove, Kansas; Lexington, Missouri; Lamar, Colorado; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Springerville, Arizona; Vandalia, Illinois; Richmond, Indiana; Washington County, Pennsylvania; Upland, California; and finally, Bethesda, Maryland.Otto Schneck, the chairman of the Wheeling Park Commission, accepted the statue on behalf of the city, and according to the minutes from the Commission's February 10, 1928 meeting, the Commission signed a contract with the National Old Trails Association and authorized a payment of $500 for the statue. Apparently, the commission faced a dilemma in choosing the inscriptions for the base of the statue, because member George W. Lutz suggested a contest for students at Wheeling Park High School to pick two inscriptions for the base of the monument. Two winners would each be awarded $15 in gold donated by Lutz, but nothing of this came to fruition. Eventually, the inscriptions for all sides of the base were decided upon. The East Face reads: "THE NATIONAL OLD TRAILS ROAD" and the West face reads: "MADONNA OF THE TRAIL N.S.D.A.R.MEMORIAL TO THE PIONEER MOTHERS OF THE COVERED WAGON DAYS.” The North Face's inscription is: "BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND CHIEFLY THROUGH THE STATESMANSHIP OF HENRY CLAY. THIS ROAD WAS MADE POSSIBLE IN 1806” The South Face reads: "TO THE PIONEER MOTHERS OF OUR MOUNTAIN STATE WHOSE COURAGE, OPTIMISM, LOVE AND SACRIFICE MADE POSSIBLE THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY THAT UNITED THE EAST AND WEST.” The statue was constructed from a Missouri granite, called an algonite stone that contains a mixture of granite, lead, marble, stone, and cement. The statue weighs around twelve tons. Since the Madonna of the Trail Statue was dedicated, the DAR has ensured that a spotlight shines upon her at all times. In 2013, the statue went through a $30,000 repair and restoration with funds raised by the Wheeling Chapter of the DAR. Moss had begun to grow on the statue, there were cracks from weathering, and missing corners. Madonna of the Trail was repaired and rededicated in August 2013.

Standing ten feet tall, clutching a baby to her breast, and holding a rifle in the opposite hand, Madonna of the Trail is a strikingly resolute monument. A bonnet rests atop the figure’s head and hiking boots cover her feet. A young boy tugs at her skirts. One of twelve Madonna of the Trail statues erected along U.S. Route 40, these monuments are a celebration of and pay tribute to the tenacity of pioneer women and their contribution to American colonialism. The National Society of the Daughters of the Revolution commissioned sculptor August Leimbach to design the statues. This statue located at the edge of Wheeling Park was the second of the twelve created. It was dedicated on July 7, 1928.

Madonna of the Trail (Wheeling, WV)

The construction of the National Road between Cumberland, MD and Wheeling, WV necessitated the construction of several bridges to cross Little Wheeling Creek and Wheeling Creek. Several bridges were built in 1817-1818 and were typically stone arch bridges built with local stone, with the exception of one wooden bridge that was built on Main Street in Wheeling. The 1817 Elm Grove Stone Arch Bridge is the only remaining bridge from this period of construction, and it is the oldest bridge still in use in the state. The bridge is limestone and is a three-span stone arch bridge, build with ellipse instead of circular arches to prevent the bridge from being too high in the middle. The span is 208 feet and it was widened in 1931 to its width of 48 feet. It is one of two remaining bridges connected to the National Road, the other being the Wheeling Suspension Bridge. Until the National Road crossings over creeks and rivers were largely nonexistent, so the construction of these bridges in 1817-1818 were significant in increasing mobility in the Wheeling area. The construction of the Elm Grove Stone Arch Bridge was due to the influence of Moses and Lydia Shepard, who lived in Shepherd Hall (today the Osiris Shrine Temple). Moses Shepherd was the builder of this unique bridge. Historians believe that Moses got his start in Wheeling, West Virginia when he was around eight years of age. His father, David Shepherd, planted his roots right in the middle of the Little Wheeling Creek. Growing up in Wheeling, a rural part at the time, was very beneficial to Moses. He began to become a very skilled woodworker and hunter. After he built the bridge, he became a very successful congressman. The couple’s friendship with Henry Clay helped secure the route of the National Road to Wheeling. The Shepards wanted the new road to pass by their estate and their influence caused the National Road’s route to be altered slightly to do to. This required the construction of two bridges, one at Triadelphia (which no longer stands) and the Elm Grove Stone Arch Bridge. Moses Shepherd received the contract to construct both bridges. To honor Henry Clay and his role in securing the National Road to Wheeling, the Shepherd’s erected a monument to Clay on their estate in 1820 (the monument no longer stands). Thus, Shepherd Hall was also known as Monument Place and the Elm Grove Stone Arch Bridge as Monument Place Bridge.  Today the bridge is still being traveled and used everyday. A flaw that the bridge had was in 1958 people were beginning to notice cracks in the bridges foundation. With this being a famous bridge people wanted to do the best they could in order to preserve it. With that being said in the later seasons of 1958 the bridge was sprayed with gunnite not only to preserve the bridge, but to also strengthen it.

The Elm Grove Stone Arch Bridge is a very significant and popular bridge in West Virginia. It is also known as the Monument Place Bridge. It was built in 1817 and is the oldest extant bridge in West Virginia. The bridge connects US Route 40 over Little Wheeling Creek in Elm Grove, part of the construction of the National Road from Cumberland, MD to Wheeling, WV. It is one of two bridges that remain from the National Road and it was was later placed on the National Register for Historic Places in 1981.

Elm Grove Stone Arch Bridge

In the period after the Revolutionary War, Americans wanted to rapidly spread into the land west of the Appalachian Mountains. White exploration and settlement of that region had been occurring for some time, but access was usually through the network of trails and pathways used by Native Americans, limiting the opportunity for large-scale settlement and economic development. Shortly after the Revolution political leaders such as George Washington, Albert Gallatin, Thomas Jefferson, and Henry Clay advocated for the construction of new roads and canals to connect the states in the east to economic opportunities in the Ohio Valley and further to the Mississippi. This expansion of transportation and economic opportunity for the new nation became a primary goal for Thomas Jefferson during his presidency. After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Congress authorized the construction of a roadway to connect the Potomac to the Ohio River in 1806. This first section of what would become the National Road was called the Cumberland Road, which connected Cumberland, MD and Wheeling, WV. Much of the route followed the earlier Braddock Road, opened in 1751 between Fort Cumberland and Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh). The new road would follow the Braddock Road until around Uniontown, PA where it would turn west to Wheeling instead of continuing north to Pittsburgh. Construction of the Cumberland Road was completed between 1811 and 1818, with the road reaching Wheeling in August of that year. Additional extensions connected the National Road east to Baltimore by 1824 and west to Illinois in the 1830s. Congress planned to extend the National Road all the way to Jefferson City, MO (they authorized this in 1820 and the extension into Illinois was part of this plan), but construction largely ended in 1839 and the road did not reach the Mississippi.  Heavy traffic quickly wore down the original road and in 1825 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers took over management of the road and repaired and rebuild the roadway. After this the federal government passed management of the road to the individual states for upkeep (federal attention was moving towards new canal and railroad projects). Once the Baltimore &amp; Ohio (B &amp; O) Railroad extended to Wheeling in the 1850s, the National Road saw a period of decline as rail travel became more popular. In the 1900s when travel by car overtook rail travel, the National Road saw a new resurgence and it was incorporated into U.S. 40 which extends cross-country from Atlantic City to San Francisco. It remains a popular scenic route for travelers, although nearby Interstate 68 has largely replaced it as the main route for east-west travel. Mile markers were placed every mile along the National Road to orient travelers. As mentioned in the description from the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, the markers include the distance to Wheeling on the east side and the distance to Cumberland on the other side. These markers are cast iron, painted white with Black lettering and give the mileage to Cumberland and Wheeling. Markers in other states oriented travelers to different cities, such as Baltimore, Frostburg, or Washington. The markers in West Virginia were cast by the Snowden Foundry in Brownsville, PA and placed in the 1830s.

This is one of the mile markers originally placed along the National Road in the 1830s. The National Road (now part of U.S. 40) was constructed in the early 1800s to connect Cumberland to Wheeling, and allow for better mobility from the east to western areas in the newly formed United States. Mile markers were placed every mile and the six that remain in their original locations are located between Mt. Echo and Triadelphia. The markers that are still in their original positions are nos. 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, and 14. Four other original markers exist, but have been relocated from their original locations.

National Road Mile Marker 11

During the American Revolution, the Pennsylvania and Virginia backcountry simmered with violence between white settlers and Native Americans. Ohio Valley tribes such as the Shawnee, Delaware, and Mingo wanted to prevent white expansion west of the Ohio River, and with the material support of the British, they waged war on frontier settlements and blockhouses. In September 1782, over 200 Indians and a small contigent of British besieged Fort Henry on the Ohio River (in present day Wheeling, WV) for three days. Despite their attempt to burn the fort and force the garrison to surrender, they were unable to oust the colonial garrison. Frustrated, they abandoned the siege of Fort Henry and determined to move farther inland. Learning of the Indians' plans, runners were sent into the countryside to warn of further attacks. Among the communities warned were the settlers along Dutch Fork Creek, over a dozen miles from Fort Henry just inside the Pennsylvania border. As the name implies, many of the local families were German immigrants. The first to learn of possible attack was Jacob Miller, who rushed to Rice's Fort, the local blockhouse. The fort (situated on Rice family land) consisted of three small blockhouses connected to each other. Fortunately, many of the local residents were absent, having traveled to Hagerstown for trade goods. Ironically, several other residents had left the day before to help defend Fort Henry. Unfortunately, this meant only a few residents could muster to the area's defense on September 14, 1782. Six men and their families ultimately gathered at Rice's Fort: George Leffler (age 30), Jacob Leffler (17), Jacob Miller (20), George Philabaum (27), Daniel Rice (18), and Peter Fullenwider (20). The settlers had almost no time to prepare. Thirty minutes after Jacob Miller first arrived with warning of attack, some 70-100 Native Americans emerged from the brush in the fort's vicinity. They quickly killed local resident Conrad Philabaum and Henry Fullenwider, Jr.'s child. Conrad's wife Sarah Philabaum recorded in her estate papers: "We being greatly on the frontier line O this horrid scene happened as we were all forted at Mr. Rice's and between our cabin and his blockhouse. This happened, my husband and son as they fell in the enemy's hand, my husband scalped, lying in his blood...to me a great surprise and affecting sign, the loss of a good husband and an obedient son."[3] The Indians then realized that Rice's Fort was garrisoned and rushed forward in attack. The six men opened fire and drove the Indians back. During this initial exchange of gunfire, a bullet flew through the blockhouse porthole and killed George Philabaum. The Indians didn't leave, but rather surrounded the fort and attacked sporadically throughout the day. They reputedly called to the garrison, "give up, give up. Indian too many. Indian too big. Give up. Indian no kill." The settlers replied in turn that the Indians were "cowards skulking behind logs to leave their coverts, and shew but their yellow hides, and they would make holes in them."[1] Jacob Miller coordinated the settlers' defense. Also central to the garrison's defense were the women and children, who helped the men manage their supplies. Local resident Abraham Rice, absent when the attack began, tried to join the garrison but was wounded. Rice went to a Lamb's Fort three miles north and obtained help, and a dozen men arrived to aid the garrison. Rice and two men tried to sneak into Rice's Fort but were spotted and forced to retreat. Frustrated by the fort's stalwart defense, the Native Americans destroyed surrounding property and livestock as the evening set in. Horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs were slain, and a nearby milk barn only forty yards from the fort was set aflame. The Indians hoped the fort itself would catch alight; rainfall, however, prevented the fire from spreading. Around 2 a.m. on September 15, the Indians finally abandoned the attack. The Natives suffered four dead in the failed assault on Rice's Fort. The only colonial casualty was George Philabaum. Around 10 a.m. that morning, some 60 men gathered to pursue the Indian attackers. The Natives broke up into small parties, however, and eluded capture. Today, a Pennsylvania state historical marker near Claysville, PA acknowledges the 1782 attack on Rice's Fort. The fight at Rice's Fort has been reenacted near Claysville, an event which included a reconstruction of Rice's Fort itself.

In September 1782, British-allied Native Americans besieged Fort Henry (present Wheeling, WV). Unable to break the colonial defenses, a party of 100 Indians moved inland and struck a small party of colonists at Rice's Fort along Dutch Fork Creek just inside the Pennsylvania state line. Consisting of three small connected blockhouses, Fort Rice was successfully defended by six men and their families, who repulsed several Native American assaults throughout September 14-15, 1782. Unable to oust the colonial defenders, the Native Americans retreated and escaped captured. Today, a Pennsylvania state historic marker acknowledges the 1782 fight for Rice's Fort.

Rice's Fort Historical Marker

On December 8, 1854, the Dogma of the Blessed Mother was defined by Pope Pius IX. The following year the Church was dedicated to the city of Washington.&nbsp;

This Catholic Church built in Washington County in 1929 to serve the residents. The roots of the Immaculate Conception parish go back to St. James Church in West Alexander in the late 18th century. Priests from Brownsville came by horseback to tend the faithful of West Alexander, Claysville, and Washington, then in 1852, the first resident pastor, Rev. Daniel Hickey was appointed, and then shortly after construction began on the first Immaculate Conception. 


Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception 

<div>In the late 1920s, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) commissioned twelve identical Pioneer Mother monuments in the late 1920s for a dozen states stretching from Maryland to California. In part because there were so many of them spread across the nation, Leimbach’s statues would become arguably the best-known American pioneer mother monuments ever erected. The project began when a group of Missouri women decided to mark the Santa Fe Trail route. In 1911 the National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) set out to mark the “Old Trails Road” stretching from Maryland to California. DAR women worked with the National Old Trails Road Association to mark the old Santa Fe Trail and other western migration routes. In keeping with gender norms of that period, the men of the National Old Trails Road Association “handle[d] the basic and practical side of the question,” while the DAR’s national committee “handle[d] the historic and sentimental side.”<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">1</a>&nbsp;In 1927, Association president (and future U.S. President) Harry S. Truman and President Coolidge received congressional approval for the creation of a national memorial highway stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific.</div><div>Initial plans called for painted mileage markers throughout the route. Inspired by Alice Cooper’s 1905&nbsp;Sacajawea&nbsp;statue for Portland, Oregon, DAR women abandoned mileage markers in favor of 10-foot-tall pioneer mother statues. Twelve identical statues would be placed in the 12 states through which the “Old Trails Road” passed.National DAR Commission chairperson Arlene B. Nichols Moss and her artist son worked with architectural sculptor August Leimbach to design the DAR statues. Sculptor August Leimbach envisioned a scene in which she is looking for her husband whom she believes to be in danger.Each&nbsp;Madonna of the Trail&nbsp;strides purposely westward, dressed in a simple homespun prairie-style gown and wide-brimmed sunbonnet. Like other Pioneer Mother statues erected during the late 1920s, the 12 DAR statues balanced strong, active roles for women with softer maternal symbolism.The statues were cast from algonite (a form of cast stone produced from a mixture of crushed marble, Missouri granite, stone, cement and lead ore) at the cost of $1,000 per statue. The statues were placed along key white migration routes, such as the early-19th-century National Road (later U.S. Route 40) and Santa Fe Trail (later the infamous Route 66). But the precise location of the monument within each state was selected based on both the site’s historical significance and the influence of local DAR and National Old Trails Association chapters.Washington and Fayette counties competed for the Pennsylvania statue. Some began to wonder whether the state would ever erect a&nbsp;Madonna. It was finally awarded to Washington County, to be placed on the court house lawn. But the state art commission refused to approve its placement there because "the monument was not a work of art."2 Nemacolin Country Club eventually donated land across the highway from the club house entrance to site the monument.</div>

One of 12 identical statues depicting white pioneer women migrating along 19th-century western trails. Commissioned by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), they were dedicated in 1928-29 in 12 states stretching from Maryland to California.

Madonna of the Trail (Beallsville, Pennsylvania)

In 1806, Congress
and President Jefferson approved funding for the creation of a National Road
that would connect Cumberland, Maryland to Wheeling, Virginia (now located in
West Virginia).&nbsp; Prior to the arrival of railroad
technology, the federal government deemed the road essential to facilitate the
movement of settlers and materials to and from the western frontier.&nbsp; Construction began at Cumberland in 1811 and the
road finally reached Wheeling in 1818, a distance of 140 miles.&nbsp; It was the first improved road built by the
federal government.&nbsp; In 1820, congress
approved the road’s extension to St. Louis.&nbsp;
However, funding ended in 1837 and the National Road terminated at
Vandalia, Illinois.

In 1835, the
federal government decided to turn the National Road, and its associated maintenance
costs, over to the states it passed through (Maryland, Pennsylvania, and
Virginia).&nbsp; Pennsylvania made the
decision to turn it into a toll road in order to pay for its maintenance.&nbsp; To facilitate the collection of&nbsp;tolls, the state built
a series of six similarly designed tollhouses along the road, spread at
distances of roughly 15 miles.&nbsp; Two of
those six original tollhouses remain, the Petersburg Tollhouse near Addison and
Searights. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Constructed
of red brick, Searight's Tollhouse was named after the nearby village of
Searights.&nbsp; The village was named after
local tavern owner, William Searight, who served as Commissioner of the National
Road from 1842 to 1845.&nbsp; The tollhouse
was built on a slight rise along the road and offers an unobstructed view in
both directions.&nbsp; Its most prominent
feature is its two-story, octagonal tower.&nbsp;
The tollhouse also has two, single-story wings, each with a fireplace,
that served as the living quarters for the toll collector.&nbsp; An additional wing was added later.

The
tollhouse had a swinging iron gate attached to it in order to halt traffic
while tolls were collected.&nbsp; A variety of
vehicles travelled the National Road, to include coaches, wagons, mail expresses,
carts, chaises, and single riders.&nbsp; All
were required to pay a toll, even shepherds driving their flocks along the
road, which is memorialized by a statue of a shepherd and his sheep just
outside the tollhouse.&nbsp; The development and
spread of the railroad caused traffic to decline along the road and it
collected its last toll in 1905.&nbsp; However,
the necessity of the road was restored with the development of the automobile
and in the 1930s it was the second road to be surfaced with macadam in the
United States.&nbsp; Today, Searight's
Tollhouse provides a glimpse into what 19th century life was like
along the National Road for travelers and toll collectors alike.

Searight's Tollhouse is a brick structure that sits along the National Road (U.S. Route 40).  It was used to collect tolls along the road and as the residence for the toll collector.  Built in 1835, it remained in service until 1905 and was then abandoned for a time.  It has since been restored by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and local historical societies.  Period furnishing and fixtures have also been added.  The tollhouse is currently administered by the Fayette County Historical Society and open to the public as a period museum.  Searight's Tollhouse was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966.

Searight's Tollhouse

The Ohio Valley was an important passage from New France to the ports in Louisiana and was critical to French supplies and commerce. This area was of great importance to the French, Native Americans, and the British Colonists. This led to frequent altercations and contributed to the French and Indian War.A 21 year old Lt. Col. George Washington led a small force to help defend and fortify the English fort in present day Pittsburgh. Prior to reaching the fort Washington learned that it had already been lost to the French. It was then renamed Fort Duquesne.While awaiting further orders Lt. Col. Washington learned of a group of French soldiers nearby. On the morning of May 28th, Washington’s men surrounded, and following a small skirmish captured 21 French soldiers. French Ensign Joseph Couldon de Jumonville was killed while in Captivity. Fearing retaliation from the French, Lt. Col. Washington ordered the construction of a stock house and palisade on June 4th, 1754. This was named Fort Necessity.While at Fort Necessity Washington was promoted to Colonel and received reinforcements and supplies. On July 3rd, 1754 a combined force of 700 French and Indian troops attacked the fort. The battle ended with Washington’s negotiated surrender. Washington and the British forces were allowed to return to Wills Creek. The French burned the fort before returning to Fort Duquesne.The park was established in 1931 and the fort was reconstructed in 1975 in the Fort Necessity National Battlefield Park. The parks grounds are open year-round during daylight hours. The site includes The Fort Necessity/National Road Interpretive &amp; Education Center.

This impromptu palisade was constructed by Colonel George Washington’s forces in 1754 at the start of the French and Indian War.  A reconstruction of the fort stands within the 908-acre Fort Necessity National Battlefield in Pennsylvania. There is also a Fort Necessity/National Road Interpretive and Education Center at the site that opened in 2005 and features a 20-minute orientation film entitled "Road of Necessity" and numerous interactive and interpretive exhibits. Additionally, there are 5-miles of hiking trails that meander through the forest and meadows that surround the fort.  

Fort Necessity National Battlefield

The Grantsville Community Museum was opened in 2006 in the former Ruth Enlow Library building; a bank was also located in the building. The museum's mission is to honor and preserve the life and work of local poet and photographer Leo Beachy from 1905-1927. It also features artifacts (and the safe) from the bank, Braddock's Trail, and from the B-52 bomber crash that took place on January 13, 1964. The museum is affiliated with the Garrett County Historical Society. 

Grantsville Community Museum

Built in 1813 under the supervision of superintendent David Shriver Jr., the Casselman Bridge was erected as part of the 620-mile Cumberland Road, which would later become part of the larger National Road, the first major federal highway, that connects the Potomac and Ohio Rivers. The bridge served as a major passageway across the Casselman River for early 19th century settlers and westward travelers, as well as pedestrians, stage coaches, wagons, motorized traffic, and livestock through its use 118 years of service. The Casselman Bridge extends 354 feet and spans 80 feet with a 30-foot-high arch, making it the largest bridge of its kind in the United States at the time of its construction. Construction began in late 1813, but was not fully completed until 1815 due to increased rains and other delays. The bridge features a single stone arch, constructed primarily of large stones and rubble, with large stone abutments on both ends. Maintenance of the bridge had to be performed throughout its history, most notably to accommodate for motorized traffic. The bridge remained in use until 1933 when a steel bridge was erected nearby as part of US Route 40. The bridge was then closed to vehicles in 1953, with additional maintenance being performed in later years. Restoration efforts included the repair of a large hole, as well as resetting some of the stones that had fallen out of place. The bridge was closed to motorized traffic in 1953 and subsequently restored through federal funding. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963 in recognition for its contribution to U.S. heritage. It is now owned by the State of Maryland and preserved as part of the Casselman Bridge State Park. A historic marker is posted on both ends of the bridge and reads: "Erected 1813 by David Shriver, Jr., Sup't of the "Cumberland Road" (The National Road). This 80 foot span was the largest stone arch in America at the time. It was continuously used from 1813 to 1933."5

The Casselman Bridge, also known as the Casselman River Bridge, Old Casselman Bridge, Casselmans Bridge, Castleman's Bridge, and Little Crossings Bridge, is a stone arch bridge that was constructed in 1813-1815 as part of the National Road. The bridge served as a major passageway for westward travelers and frontiersman crossing the Casselman River. It is now preserved by the State of Maryland as a National Historic Landmark.

Casselman Bridge

Wounded and sick soldiers from Civil War battles fought in Virginia were sent
to Cumberland for recovery partly because of its convenient location near the
C&amp;O Canal, National Pike roadway, and the railway system.&nbsp; Due in part to these new transportation
systems, Cumberland experienced large developmental growth and had become the
most populated city in western Maryland. On the outskirts of Cumberland, the
Clarysville Inn had been in operation for more than 50 years.&nbsp; It was currently a stagecoach stop for
travelers on the national highway.&nbsp; The
inn is estimated to have been constructed by Gerald Clary in 1807 when the land
it was built on was acquired. However, the architecture of the building,
including the window frames, cornice, and double-ended chimneys, was similar to
that of other local buildings erected in the mid-1800s. 

In 1862, upon finding the conditions at
the Cumberland hospitals to be substandard, the army took over the Clarysville
Inn property for use as a hospital during the remainder of the war.&nbsp; The inn offered a clean atmosphere with
plenty of fresh air and good water that was conducive to healing for recovering
soldiers. Dr. M.M. Townsend of nearby Eckhart, Maryland served as the hospital
director, and several new wooden structures were built to accommodate
convalescing troops.&nbsp; 

It is estimated that between 1862 and
1865, the Clarysville General Hospital treated several thousand Union troops
and some Confederate troops. At least 1,000 and as many as 2,000 troops were
patients at the hospital at any given time.&nbsp;
At Antietam National Cemetery, 177 interred soldiers are documented as
having been patients at the Clarysville General Hospital.&nbsp; Following the war, the temporary wards that
had been built were torn down and the inn was returned to the owners, and the
inn resumed its normal operations. The original Clarysville Inn was destroyed
by fire on March 10, 1999.

The Clarysville General Hospital, located just a few miles west of Cumberland, Maryland, treated thousands of sick and wounded soldiers during the Civil War.  The site was a working inn serving travelers along the new National Pike roadway at the time it was appropriated for use as a hospital by the army.

Clarysville General Hospital

&nbsp; &nbsp; The Chesapeake &amp; Ohio Canal National Historic Park runs along the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. to Cumberland, MD, the length of the canal. According to the National Park Service, the park's goal is to "[Preserve] America’s early transportation history." The park was founded in 1961 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Parts of the park are joined with Harpers Ferry National Park and Historic Park and a part of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in West Virginia. The park has visitor centers which offer&nbsp;several interactive exhibits. These help&nbsp;visitors to learn about the daily lives of canal families. Maps and other geographical exhibits help to educate visitors on the span of the canal and its significance.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; Construction of the Chesapeake &amp; Ohio Canal was completed in October of 1850. It was 184.5 miles long and connected Washington, D.C. to Cumberland, MD. Smaller sections of the canal opened in 1831, 1834, and 1839 as they were completed. The canal was built to make enable more efficient transportation along the Potomac River. The route was an important means of passing through the Appalachian mountains and making the region more accessible for trade.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; The first attempt improving the route along the Potomac was begun in 1749 by the Ohio Company of Virginia which built trails and roads. The Potomac company, founded by George Washington in 1772, began building small canals on either side of the river several places to bypass obstacles like the Great Falls in 1784. The project was not completed until 1802, three years after the death of President Washington. Though the canal was a success for the Potomac Company, there were still several issues involving weather and size that made navigating the river risky.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; In the 1820s, plans for a new, larger canal were started. The rights to the canal were given the Chesapeake &amp; Ohio Canal Company which was still a new business&nbsp;at the time. The project was nicknamed the "Great National Project" and construction was begun in 1828. This same year work began on the Baltimore &amp; Ohio Railroad. Both projects are indicative of the push for better transportation at the time. Lawsuits, supply shortages, and strikes delayed the construction of the canal significantly. Though the canal was largely a massive commercial&nbsp;success, a flood in 1889 severely damaged the structure causing the C&amp;O company to go bankrupt. It was taken over by the B&amp;O Railroad company who repaired it. The property was once again a success until a second major flood again destroyed it in 1924.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The canal was abandoned until purchased by the federal government in 1938. Planning began to convert the canal to a park immediately after. Though delayed in the 1950s by proposals to turn the property into a highway, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas helped to redirect the project back towards a national park. Justice Douglas's committee helped lead to the creation of the park as it is today. Today the park is a popular tourist destination that offers a variety of historical and recreational activities. The nature of the property makes it very popular with distance cyclists, hikers, and runners. Major canal structures are still in place at Williamsport and can be viewed by visitors.&nbsp;

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park and Cumberland Visitor Center was created in 1961. Housed in the historic 1913 Western Maryland Railway Station, the Cumberland Visitor Center provides information about the history of the C&O Canal; this center is one of several in the park. Construction of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal was completed in October of 1850. It was 184.5 miles long and connected Washington, D.C. to Cumberland, MD. A flood in 1889 severely damaged the structure causing the C&O company to go bankrupt. It was taken over by the B&O Railroad company who repaired it. The property was once again a success until a second major flood again destroyed it in 1924. It was abandoned until bought by the federal government in 1938. 

C&O Canal National Historical Park and Visitors Museum

&nbsp; &nbsp; The only remaining part of the original three-story brick building that was Folck's Mill is the stone foundation at this location. The mill was built in the early 19th century. First known as Pleasant Mill, it was built by Thomas Beall and later inherited by Jacob Hobitzell the husband of Beall descendent Amy Beall Hobitzell. The couple bought the land in 1819 and after Hobitzell's death, the land was purchased by the Folck family and becoming Folck's Mill. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Wolfe family became the property owners, giving the mill its third name: Wolfe's Mill. Though always a small operation, the grist and saw mill was a commercial center for local farmers.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; While the mill was still under Folck family ownership in 1864, General Benjamin F. Kelley led Union soldiers against Confederates marching towards Cumberland, MD. The Confederate troops had orders to destroy parts of the B&amp;O Railroad and cut off major supply and transportation lines for the Union troops. Before arriving at this site, the Confederate troops led by Brigadier General John McCausland had set fire to the town of, Chambersburg, PA. The troops met near the mill and became known as the Battle of Folck's Mill or the Battle of Cumberland. There were 38 total casualties from the battle. Though neither side is credited with victory, the Confederate troops were turned away from Cumberland and retreated to the Potomac River as a result of the battle. This often leads to the battle being discussed as a Union victory. The stones show signs of damage from shots fired during the battle. There is also some evidence that the mill may have caught fire during the battle.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Today, the site of the mill is owned by the Maryland State Highway Administration and is located just off of I-68. Folck's Mill was added to the National Register of Historic Places for its significance as a Civil War battleground in 2009.&nbsp;

Folck's Mill was a grist and sawmill located outside of Cumberland, MD. The original structure was an early 19th-century brick building and had three stories; now all that remains is the stone foundations. The mill was the site of The Battle of Folck's Mill in 1864. During the battle, Union troops led by General Benjamin Kelley rerouted Confederate troops as they made their way to Cumberland. Though the battle was a draw, the Confederate soldiers retreated to the Potomac following the battle. There are still signs of damage from the battle on the remaining stones. 

Folck's Mill

Construction of the 184.5-mile-long C&amp;O Canal, designed to be a navigable alternative to the Potomac River traversing the distance between Washington, D.C., and Cumberland, Maryland, began in 1828. However, it took twenty-two years before the massive project (it included a 3,118-foot-long tunnel) was finished, and by that time it was partially outdated by the B&amp;O Railroad. It was used to bring grain, coal, and various other resources from rural producers to urban consumers, and did meet with some success. Mules would walk along the towpath and pull boats filled with these goods (and the captains and their families) down the canal. However, the canal company fell deeper into financial trouble as industries began to turn solely to the railroad for transportation needs and as it was forced to pay for many expensive repairs – the canal was plagued with seventeen destructive floods by 1996. The 1889 flood caused a million dollars in damage and drove the company bankrupt; the canal was afterwards operated by subsidiaries of the company’s main creditor, the B&amp;O Railroad. The 1924 flood sounded the death knell for operations on the aging canal. It was allowed to run down before being sold to the government in 1938 and declared a National Historical Park in 1971. The canal had six dams and guard/inlet locks along its length which impounded water and controlled its flow to fill the canal. Lock tenders would keep watch for boats and operate the locks around the clock. (The lockhouse, where they resided, still stands on the Maryland side of the river.) Dam Number 5, located between Falling Waters, West Virginia, and Clear Spring, Maryland at mile 106.6 of the canal, was built out of timbers in 1835. The wooden dam was soon determined to be too weak to withstand repeated flooding; however, construction of its 700-foot-long stone replacement was not completed until 1857 because floods kept interrupting work. The dam was an important strategic target during the Civil War; it stood near the border and ensured the operability of the canal, which was one of the Union’s main resource arteries. Stonewall Jackson, assigned to the Shenandoah Valley in late 1861, soon began planning to destroy it. He sent a subordinate, Major Elisha Paxton, to attack Dam No. 5 on December 7th; though Paxton was initially able to drive away Union forces with his artillery and accomplish several hours’ worth of work on tearing apart the dam, he eventually retreated back to Martinsburg, (West) Virginia. Jackson himself then attempted an attack on December 16th. This battle continued for 5 days of back-and-forth action. Sometimes Jackson would be able to successfully deploy teams down to the icy water to work on tearing apart the dam, but then he would be forced back to the (West) Virginia side of the river. Union soldiers took cover in the drained canal. Jackson stationed sharpshooters in the mill building next to the dam before the building was destroyed by Union cannon fire. Eventually, on the afternoon of December 20th, he left and returned to Martinsburg. While he wrote in reports, “the recent break in Dam No. 5 will destroy any vestiges of hope that might have been entertained of supplying Washington with Cumberland coal by the Chesapeake &amp; Ohio Canal,” boats were running again on the 21st.[4] Canal operations – especially around the locks and dams – were not without dangers and even fatalities. On May 1st, 1903, the Canal Towage Company’s (a B&amp;O subsidiary) Boat No. 6, piloted by Captain Joseph Kime and headed to Cumberland, traversed the lock and entered the river during a heavy gale. It broke free of its mule team and was blown over the 25-foot-high dam. The Captain was launched 15 feet straight up and a lock tender, Harry Newkirk, was thrown from the boat. In the cabin, the Captain’s wife was knocked unconscious, while his 8-year-old daughter fell out the window and his 10-year-old daughter was pinned between the stove and the beds. Boats came quickly to rescue the four survivors; the Kimes’ youngest daughter had perished in the water. The elder daughter suffered a broken arm, Newkirk lost several teeth, and Captain Kime died the next afternoon at the train station on his way to Cumberland. Edward Colston first purchased the water rights from the dam in 1835 and set about constructing its first connected factory, the Honeywood flour mill (from which the dam received its unofficial name). The building soon burnt down; its replacement was destroyed in the Civil War, as mentioned earlier. A new building was built, and the mill became a pulp grinding mill and paper mill in the late 19th century. Electricity came to Berkeley County, West Virginia, in 1890 and the building was turned into a hydroelectric power plant by the Martinsburg Power Company in either 1891 or 1904. It was torn down in 1917 and replaced by a new power plant, completed the next year, which still stands today. According to the Historic American Engineering Record, “The plant epitomizes the predominant…hydroelectric technology in use at the time of its construction.”[21] The power plant was used by Potomac Edison Electric Company, then by its new parent company Allegheny Power and its merger partner, FirstEnergy. The plant was sold to Harbor Hydro Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of LS Power, as part of a bulk deal in 2011.

The C&O Canal Dam No. 5, also known as the Honeywood Dam, was first constructed in 1835 to impound water to keep the canal filled. A new, sturdier dam was built in 1857 and was attacked by Stonewall Jackson during the Civil War. The power plant began as a flour mill and then a pulp and paper mill before it was turned into a hydroelectricity plant around the turn of the last century. It is still an operating power plant for LS Power.

Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Dam Number 5 and Power Plant (Honeywood Dam)

At this time in history, America was in a civil war. The individual states of the United States could not agree on state rights, specifically the ownership of slaves. Particularly, the state of Virginia was greatly affected. Part of the state wanted to be loyal to the Union side of the war, and the other part's loyalty lied with the Confederates. The Battle of Hoke's Run was the first Civil War engagement in the Shenandoah Valley. The Battle of Hoke’s Run was fought on July 2nd, 1861. Another name for this battle is “The Battle of Falling Waters.” This battle was part of the Manassas campaign as one of the battles of the American Civil War. The Union was led by General Robert Patterson, and the Confederates were led by Colonel Thomas J. Jackson. On the morning of July 2nd, the Union crossed the Potomac River from Maryland to Virginia using the Valley Turnpike. The Falling Waters waterfall feeds into the Potomac River, and above the waterfall is a stream. The Valley Turnpike crosses the stream at the top of the waterfall. Since this waterfall was the last body of water seen by the Union before the fight half a mile south on the Porterfield Farm, they named the battle after it. The Union has a reputation to name their battles after natural landmarks. After naming their upcoming battle, they were on to take on the Confederates.

Dedicated in 2008, this marker talks about the Battle of Falling Waters and how a waterfall impacted it. Right on the edge of the Eastern Panhandle border of West Virginia lies a small town that houses historic and residential homes. Falling Waters was established in 1815. With its location lying between Martinsburg and Hagerstown, Falling Waters has become a residence for many people employed in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. Two Civil War battles were fought in Falling Waters: The Battle of Hoke’s Run and The Battle of Williamsport.

The Battle of Hoke's Run: A Splendid Falls

Maidstone-on-the-Potomac has a long and important heritage to Berkeley County for its Ferry transportation of people and goods as well as being critical to settlement along the Potomac River. In the 1740's this site began as a simple log house and grew. Evan Watkins established the ferry crossing the Potomac River in 1741 authorized by the Virginia House of Bugesses. The price was three pence for a man. A marker commemorates the ferry and site. &nbsp;&nbsp;In 1751 Robert Stockton purchased 300 acres at Maidstone; Stockton's grandson, John Fleming, leased the 29 acres&nbsp;which had grown to be a&nbsp;lucrative ferry and included the stone house which is still standing. Fleming helped in the operation of the ferry as well as the running of the farm. When the French and Indian War began, the exposed Frederick county frontier was prone to Native American attacks. In 1756 George Stockton and his sister Isabella were taken by Natives. Isabella was ransomed and returned home. George enjoyed living with the Natives and remained with them throughout the war until returning home years later. John Fleming Sr. died in 1767 and left the property to his son John Fleming II; the house operated as a dwelling as well as a tavern until it was sold in 1773.&nbsp; &nbsp; George Washington crossed the Potomac at Watkin's Ferry on two occasions and served crucial to the Frencj and Indian War. Washington's first crossing was in 1753 travelong to Fort LeBoeuf; the second was to travel to Fort Necessity to join troops at the first battle of the French and Indian War. By 1795 Evan Watkins Jr. sold the house and ferry to Peter Light, during his ownership, in 1845, the house was increased in size and mamed Light's Ferry where it remained in his family until the 1850s. The property again changed ownership in 1854 to Robert Lemen. &nbsp; &nbsp;Robert Lemen developed an innovative cable mechanism that pulled the ferry across the river which guaranteed safer and consistent crossings. The Civil War changed the history and importance of Maidstone while the Confederate Army containing 400 cavalry camped on the property. The army seized the Ferry yet, Union General Abner Doubleday crossed from Maryland into Viginia marking one of the earliest incursions of Union soldier in Virginia. This would not be the last time General Doubleday would use the ferry and river; on June 7, 1863, he pursued General Robert E. Lee across as he fled. Maidstone was the passage for 70,000 Confederate soldiers.&nbsp; &nbsp; The Watkins-Light-Lemen ferry at Maidstone sadly was put out of commission by the construction of the first Potomac River bridge. This site remains a testament to the the once innovative and economically crucial ferry system of Berkeley County. The home is still standing yet is in a dilapidated and abandoned state. The commemorative marker will keep the memory and information regarding the ferry alive; however, hopefully this historic home will be remaired to its formal glory.

Maidstone on the Potomac is a historical home near Falling Waters, WV that was connected to the operation of the Watkins-Light-Lemen ferry. This property operated as a home for ferrymen since it was originally commissioned by the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1744. As the ferry business became more lucrative, the original log home was replaced in 1762 by the current brick/stone structure. The ferry and home passed ownership several times over the century and experienced many important passages. 

George Washington crossed here in 1754 to fight at the opening battle of the French and Indian War. During the Civil War, this area would see passage by both Federal and Confederate troops. At the outset of hostilities, Confederate soldiers were brought up to seize the ferry, while camping on the grounds and in the home. Union General Abner Doubleday crossed here in 1861, marking one of the first incursions of Federal forces into Virginia. The Confederate retreat from Gettysburg saw 70,000 Confederate troops pass through and make temporary camp at Maidstone on July 7, 1863.

The ferry operated until the construction of the Potomac River bridge in 1895. Sadly, the home is now abandoned and sits in extreme disrepair following a suspicious fire in 2009. The Watkins-Light-Lemen ferry and the Maidstone home played an important role in the transportation of goods, people, and soldiers over two centuries. Maidstone is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and it is hoped that one day the house can be restored to its former glory.

US-40 National Road Long-Cut (Wheeling to Hagerstown)

Mason-Dixon Line Marker

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources