Martins Mountain
Sunday Drivers and “Tin-Can Tourists"
The National Road enjoyed a revival from about 1910-1960, with the rising popularity of the automobile. Tourist travel began in earnest when cars became reliable enough for the average person to take a long trip.
“Waysiders,” people who catered to these “tin-can tourists,” built hotels, garages and road houses all along these Allegheny ridgetops, catering to the needs of the twentieth century traveler. Their businesses lived and died according to traffic along U.S. Route 40, the old National Road.
Their fortunes were short-lived, however. With continued road improvements, and the eventual construction of I-68, nearly all of these mountain top service centers have closed.
“At about the foot of Martin Mountain our road touches the lower edge of Pleasant Valley, passing on the right “Clover Hill Farm,” a well-kept place with a fine house and large barn.” Rocky Gap State Park sits on the site of the old farm, and welcomes today’s traveler to Martins Mountain.
(Sidebar): Six Miles to Cumberland!
For travelers on the old National Road, the milestone on your right marked the distance to Cumberland, Maryland. Here, as one crossed over Martins Mountain, this stone was a welcome sight to weary travelers as they made their way across some very tough terrain.
The tradition of mile markers dates back over 2,000 years, when they were widely used by roadbuilders of the Roman Empire. This European tradition continued into early 19th century America. Milestones became an important part of a journey along the National Road, when the distance traveled was only a few miles a day.
Beginning in Cumberland, cast-iron obelisks marked the miles to Wheeling, West Virginia, the original terminus of the National Road.
Marker can be reached from Pleasant Valley Road Northeast.
Courtesy hmdb.org
