45th annual National Road Festival celebrates 200th anniversary of the National Road
National Pike Wagon Train Association is one of two wagon trains that participate in the National Road Festival. This wagon train travels west from Grantsville, Md., to Uniontown while the Wagoniers Wagon Train travels east from Claysville to the National Pike Steam, Gas and Horse Association in Washington County.
In this file photo, a 1928 Pearless Portable Steam Engine is featured at the Steam, Gas & Horse Association’s grounds during a previous National Road Festival. This year's event will be held May 17-20.
Herald-Standard
In this file photo, the National Road Festival wagon train makes its way down the Summit into Hopwood.
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In this file photo, Barbara Keefer of Connellsville, left, plays an old-fashioned game while park ranger James Tomasek watches outside Mount Washington Tavern during the National Road Festival.
The 200th anniversary of the National Road Eastern Legacy is being commemorated during the 45th Annual National Road Festival, set for May 17-20 in Somerset, Fayette and Washington counties.
“It’s the 200th anniversary of the completion of the Eastern Legacy portion of the road from Cumberland, Maryland to Wheeling, West Virginia,” explained Donna Holdorf, executive director of the National Road Heritage Corridor. “It’s really an important milestone that we’ve had this road for 200 years.”
The National Road, which was the nation’s first federally funded highway, would eventually span six states as construction took it all the way to Vandalia, Illinois. Ninety miles of the road lie in Pennsylvania’s Somerset, Fayette and Washington counties.
While much of it is located along present-day Route 40, Holdorf noted sections of the National Road that follow a different path.
“These are two different roads,” Holdorf said. “The National Road was built in Pennsylvania from 1811 to 1818 and Route 40 was built in the 20th century.”
The festival commemorates all that is important about the National Road, which is recognized by the federal government for its historic, cultural and archaeological significance, scenic beauty and recreation as a National Scenic byway and an All-American Road.
Festivalgoers can see for themselves 19th century tollhouses and taverns while the visitor’s center at Fort Necessity National Battlefield in Wharton Township tells the story of the National Road.
Albert Gallatin, who served as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under Presidents Jefferson and Madison and arranged for funding of the road, will make appearances May 18 in Addison and May 19 at Mount Washington Tavern, part of the Fort Necessity national park, portrayed by historical interpreter Ron Duquette of Virginia.
Fort Necessity is also making weekly postings about the National Road to its Facebook page, including those on Connestoga wagons, “the old pike boys” who moved goods along the road, and travelers, such as P.T. Barnum, founder of Barnum & Bailey Circus, who stayed at the Rush Tavern in Farmington.
A new logo to commemorate the anniversary will be put up during the year in National Road towns, such as Addison in Somerset County, Farmington, Hopwood, Uniontown and Brownsville in Fayette County, and Beallsville, Scenery Hill, Washington and Claysville in Washington County.
Banners will be hung on the two wagon trains that travel the festival as pioneers did. The National Pike Wagon Train Association, led by Doc Sherry, gathered for an encampment May 16 in Grantsville, Maryland, before heading west May 17 to Addison. On May 18, the wagon train makes a stop for lunch at A.J. McMullen School, part of the Uniontown Area School District, before continuing on to the Farmington Volunteer Fire Department. On May 19, the wagon train heads down the mountain with a lunch break at Hopwood and continues to Mount St. Macrina in North Union Township for dinner before breaking up.
Meanwhile, The Wagonier’s Wagon Train travels east across Washington County, led by wagon master J.D. Ridenour. The wagon train gathers May 18 in Claysville and camps overnight at Washington Park. It arrives in Scenery Hill May 19 for supper and an overnight camp. The wagon departs May 20, heading to Waleski Farm for lunch and then on to the National Pike Steam, Gas and Horse Association where it will break up.
“The wagon train welcome visitors,” said Holdorf. “They love for people to come.”
The 200th anniversary is also being celebrated with Sunday Supper in the Park from 5 to 8 p.m. May 20 at the Stone Pavilion in Washington Park. This is a ticketed event. More anniversary events will come later this year, including the Great Gatsby evening at the newly reopened Century Inn in Scenery Hill, July 28; introduction of a National Road cookbook this fall; an October symposium at Washington and Jefferson College, and “A Taste of the National Road” dinner that features dishes from the cookbook in November. More information is available on the anniversary is available at www.nationalroadpa.org.
During the festival, Addison will also commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Great Crossings Bridge in Somerfield as well as the 75th anniversary of the dedication of the community’s military honor roll, located opposite the St. Petersburg Toll House.
The festival also marks the final weekend the Fayette County Historical Society will host the Heinz History Center’s World War II exhibit, “We Can Do It!” that also features a companion show about the local area at the Abel Colley Tavern in Menallen Township.
And Nemacolin Castle in Brownsville is offering its popular ghost tours from 6 to 10 p.m. May 19 among its many weekend activities.
The National Road Festival offers visitors an opportunity to learn more about an important part of local and national history.