01/23/2026
It was recognized by George Washington that the new nation needed a reliable roadway for farmers and traders to move their goods, and for settlers to move west. Most of the roads west were “rough” to say the least. In 1784, when Washington traveled to the west to get a better understanding of what the new nation was asking for, he met a young surveyor, Albert Gallatin, who had ideas about possible routes that would work.
Eighteen years later, as Thomas Jefferson's Treasury Secretary, ALBERT GALLATIN, was a primary advocate for THE NATIONAL ROAD. IN 1806, Congress authorized the funding for what would became the nation’s first federally funded interstate highway. President Thomas Jefferson signed the Act into law. Construction began in the spring of 1811 and headed west from the town of Cumberland, in western Maryland. In its beginning, The National Road, was also called the Cumberland Road.
As you can imagine, construction of a wide road, with a strong, smooth foundation was not easy. The National Road construction slowly continued westward and eventually reached Vandalia, Illinois, in 1839. However, as railways then seemed a possibility... the funding for the National Road was not renewed.
By the mid 1800s, fewer and fewer used the National Road because railroad travel was much faster. But when the automobile arrived in the early 20th century, the route of the National Road became popular again. The first federal highway, The National Road, became the route for a portion of US Route 40. It is still possible to travel portions of the National Road today.
Pictured is a statue of Albert Gallatin located at “Friendship Hill” which was his home in Pennsylvania.
