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1835: The Cumberland Road. By: Ben Smith. The Cumberland Road. Also known as the National Road The construction began in 1811 The starting point of the road was in Cumberland, Maryland. The Reason.
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1835: The Cumberland Road By: Ben Smith
The Cumberland Road • Also known as the National Road • The construction began in 1811 • The starting point of the road was in Cumberland, Maryland
The Reason • The reason it was built by the Federal government was because the states needed a road to tie together the east and the west • During the early 1800’s, there were 24 states • The states now included the early west • The eastern states wanted to trade with the west
End of Cumberland Road • In 1818, the road was completed • It ran from Cumberland, Maryland to Wheeling, West Virginia
Was it Really Finished? • Now the people wanted an extension • The President at the time, Thomas Jefferson, appointed a board of commissioners to decide where the exact extension of the route for the road would run
The Extension • The commissioners decided that the extension would run from Wheeling, West Virginia to Vandalia, Illinois • The final length of the road of 620 mi. long
Cost • Even though it was a great project, it cost a lot • For every mile it cost about $6,000 • For the hilly parts of PA, it cost about $9,000 to $13,000 per mile • In total, it cost about $4,000,000 to $5,000,000
Advancements • This road was very technologically advanced for the 1800’s • Normal roads were made of just dirt and mud, so when it rained it was a disaster
Advancements Cont. • The Cumberland Road was paved and then had gravel put on it • This was the first road ever with gravel or anything like that ever made
Modern Day World • This Cumberland Road was the first ever Federal project for America • This project influenced our modern day highway systems in the U.S. • The Federal government now helps with the major highways like 276 and 76
Interesting Facts • The width of the road was 66 feet across • The road, if you were going to travel from Wheeling to Vandalia, was not a very good road because of some pot holes and even tree stumps • Workers would drink about 7 gallons of whisky a year. That is about 2.5 quarts a month!
