The National Road / The Interurban Electric Railway
The National Road
To George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and others, a road to the Ohio Country was essential for the United States’ development. An overland route was the way west for settlers and goods, as well as a means to transport settlers’ produce to eastern markets. Construction of the National Road began at Cumberland, Maryland in 1811, reached Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia) in 1818, and entered Columbus at Main Street in 1833. The road turned north on High Street and continued west on Broad Street. Crossing Ohio and Indiana, the road continued into Illinois. The last section of the road from the Indiana border to Vandalia, Illinois opened in 1839. An original milestone at Christ Lutheran Church in Bexley indicates the distance from Cumberland (254) and to other points east (Wheeling, 124; Zanesville, 50) and west (Columbus, 3½)
The Interurban Electric Railway
In the early 1900s, Ohio led the nation in interurban track mileage. The electrically powered interurban was favored over steam railroads for short distance passenger travel and the transport of local freight. Incorporated in 1899, the Columbus, Buckeye Lake, and Newark Traction Railway served Bexley from a terminal on Gay Street in downtown Columbus. Running south on High Street and then east on Mound Street, the line crossed Alum Creek into Bexley, went north up Pleasant Ridge Avenue past Capital University, and continued to the National Road (Main Street). Interurban cars stopped at the northeast corner of Main Street and Remington Road and thence sped on to Buckeye Lake, Newark, and later Zanesville. The popularity of the automobile spelled doom for the interurban. Service on the line ended in 1929.
Marker is at the intersection of Main Street (U.S. 40) and Cassady Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Main Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
