Area residents observe National Road Festival
America’s first federally funded highway, the Historic National Road, was created in the early 19th century. It began in Cumberland, Md., and eventually ran to Vandalia, Ill., traveled by individuals and families in search of a better life in the American West. It became a pleasure road in the 20th century with the invention of the automobile, as people traveled for fun and a new kind of adventure.
And in the 21st century, it gained a new respect as the federal government designated it an All-American Road – a unique place that made this nation great.
But for 34 years, the people of Pennsylvania have shown their own respect for this thoroughfare as they host the National Road Festival each May.
The festival is celebrated by communities that lie along the 90 miles of the National Road in Somerset, Fayette and Washington counties: Addison, Hopwood, Uniontown, Brier Hill, Brownsville, West Brownsville, Centerville, Beallsville, Scenery Hill, Washington, Claysville and West Alexander. Fort Necessity National Battlefield in Farmington celebrates through living history at Mount Washington Tavern, which once took in travelers on the road.
The thread that connects the festival sites is the wagon train, which recalls the early years and trials felt by those pioneers and travelers. The horses, the wagons and the pioneer clothing worn by the wagon train members captivate spectators.
Yet, the wagon train is also a key to the past and a proud keeper of the heritage of this area when wagons, stagecoaches and travelers on horseback and foot moved through here.
The years between the past and present are also celebrated with 1860s baseball games, tours of historic buildings such as the Petersburg Tollhouse in Addison and Searight Toll House in Menallen Township, the former home of coal baron J.V. Thompson at Mount St. Macrina just west of Uniontown and Nemacolin Castle in Brownsville. There is also a classic car show in Uniontown, a parade and fishing derby in Hopwood, and art shows that include the Artists of the Pike at the Frank L. Melega Art Museum in Brownsville. Not to mention plenty of food and music.
The National Road Festival celebrates what’s unique about the area and the common bonds the people share. And it’s an appropriate time to remember this is what’s called “The Road That Built The Nation.’