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An Explanation of the Route Landmarks
Cited in the 1806 Cumberland Road Commissioner's Report [1]

In their report to the President in 1806, the Cumberland Road / National Road Commissioner's cited route landmarks which were probably well-known in their day, but are virtually unknown today.

In the following article, I will interprete the Commissioner's route citations and put them into today's context.


The Act to Regulate the Laying Out and Making a Road From Cumberland, In the State of Maryland, to the State of Ohio, approved March 29, 1806 by Thomas Jefferson, authorized the President to appoint "...three discreet and disinterested citizens of the United States..." as commissioners to lay out a road from Cumberland, MD to Ohio.

President Jefferson appointed Thomas Moore of Maryland, Joseph Kerr of Ohio and Eli Williams of Maryland commissioners. The Commissioners first report, dated Dec. 30, 1806, notes:

In the course of arrangement, and in its order, the first point located for the route was determined and fixed at Cumberland, a decision founded on propriety, and in some measure on necessity, from the circumstance of a high and difficult mountain, called Nobley, laying and confining the east margin of the Potomac, so as to render it impossible of access on that side without immense expense, at any point between Cumberland and where the road from Winchester to Gwynn's crosses, and even there the Nobley mountain is crossed with much difficulty and hazard.

The Commissioners then recommend the following route:

"From a stone at the corner of lot No. 1, in Cumberland, near the confluence of Will's creek and the north branch of the Potomac river ; thence extending along the street westwardly, to cross the hill lying between Cumberland and Gwynn's, at the gap where Braddock's road passes it; thence near Gwynn's and Jesse Tomlinson's, to cross the big Youghiogheny near the mouth of Roger's run, between the crossing of Braddock's road and the confluence of the streams which form the Turkey foot; thence to cross Laurel Hill near the forks of Dunbar's run, to the west foot of that hill, at a point near where Braddock's old road reached it, near Gist's old place, now Colonel Isaac Meason's, thence through Brownsville and Bridgeport, to cross the Monongahela river below Josias Crawfords' ferry; and thence on as straight a course as the country will admit to the Ohio, at a point between the mouth of Wheeling creek and the lower point of Wheeling island." (Original document)



Mouse Over Maps to Enlarge

Starting in Cumberland and heading westward, the first point of reference is:

"From a stone at the corner of lot No. 1, in Cumberland, near the confluence of Will's creek and the north branch of the Potomac river ; thence extending along the street westwardly..."


1806 Map of Cumberland, MD

A section of an 1806 map of Cumberland, MD showing Greene St. (in green), Lot No. 1 (in red) and the confluence of the Potomac River and Wills Creek. Also noted is the former site of Fort Cumberland. (See complete map.)

"...to cross the hill lying between Cumberland and Gwynn's, at the gap where Braddock's road passes it;"

The National Road, 1916 - Robert Bruce

The map section above is from Robert Bruce's 1916 book The National Road (p.39). The small dotted line marked "Original Route of the National Road" is the 1811 to 1834 route of the Cumberland Road. It passes over Haystack Mountain, through Sandy Gap past Allegany Grove, and joins the later route of the National Road at the Six-Mile House. (The Six-Mile House is the site of the eariler (Evan) Gwynn's Tavern. At the time the Cumberland Road was rerouted through the Narrows, it was known as Percy's Tavern.) The larger dotted line marked Braddock Road is, I believe, the road now known as Braddock Road as opposed to Gen. Braddock's track. The building across from the the site of the Six-Mile House, on the map, is labeled "LaVale Toll House" (built in 1835). In fact, the Toll House was a little farther up the road.

Earlier maps of the original path of Cumberland Road show it joining the Winchester Road just south of Gwynn's (Six-Mile House).

"...thence near Gwynn's and Jesse Tomlinson's, to cross the big Youghiogheny near the mouth of Roger's run,"

Maryland, 1795 - Mathew Cary and Samuel Lewis

Map section from a 1795 map of the State of Maryland by John Reid and W. Winterbotham (David Rumsey Collection). Note the road that drops south from the Six Mile House on Map#2 marked Winchester Road. This is the same road that runs south of Guinn's (Gwynn's) on the 1795 map (#3). Winchester Road was the road to Winchester, VA via Frankfort (Fort Ashby) and Springfield.


Google Topographic Map of Allegany County, MD

Above is a current Google Topographic Map showing the area from Cumberland to Guinn's (Gwynn's) Tavern. (Marked by red circle.) The road running south toward Country Club Mall is Winchester Rd. (Braddock Road / Rt. 49 is just to the north of I-68 from Cumberland and ends at Vocke Rd.) Any evidence of Gwynn's/The Six Mile House has most likely been destroyed by later day development. Today, a Burger King sits on the site.

While the Commissioner's Report makes no mention of Tittles, noted on the 1795 map above, I feel it warrants mention. (The omission may be due to Tittle's departure from the area, circa 1789-90. There is one account indicating Robert Clark may have continued to operate the tavern following his purchase of Tittle's property in 1789. Clark died in 1794 and the property passed to his son and daughter. Tittle's is noted on some maps as late as 1824.)

Tittle's Tavern

The exact location of Tittle's and/or Clark's is unknown but information gleaned from various journals seem to indicate Tittle's was located near the location Braddock's Road crossed Georges Creek.

From Extracts from the Journal of John Parrish, 1773: 26th Started soon found the Roads very stony and muddy, dined at Thomlinson's Tavern & afterwards rode 10 miles to Tittle's—were wet & cold as it frequently is in passing these mountains—the Road this Day very bad. 27th Left Tittle's, met great Numbers of People going to the new Country.

Letters to Washington, and Accompanying Papers, Volume 5 (p.47):
From Mr. Gilbert Simpson - August 20, 1774. Honored Sir This comes to let you know that (your) mill is likely to go by Christmas provided I can get iron which I cannot tell you at this time how it is to be got without you can get it waggoned to Tittles or to the Little Meadows... (Edit for spelling)

An article written by Buddy Taylor (USGenWeb Archives) on the Family History of John Tittle's descendants places Tittle's in Frostburg, MD: "Records recently found show Peter Tittle, Sr and Peter Tittle, Jr located at Frostburg, Md and indicate that they could have settled there as early as 1740 and continued for many years. Sarah Tittle (probable daughter of Peter,Jr) married Lemuel Barritt and a manuscript of his life gives much data for the Tittle family of Frostburg and later migration to Bourbon and Harrison Counties, Kentucky.".

Dick Koch's Clark Family Legacy notes:

Few Frostburg residents have ever heard of Robert Clarke, yet his short time here found him owning much of the land that is now the second largest town in Allegany County. The earliest information I have uncovered on this man is when Robert Clarke, shopkeeper, purchased an one-half lot and house in Elizabeth Town, now Hagerstown, in Washington County, on 6 Sep 1782 for 275 pounds. He was taxed on these plus one horse in 1783. The following year he and John Lee leased, for 5 years, a tract from Jonathan Hager. The terms of this lease stated they were to clear and fence the land and plant crops. In July of 1785 he purchased two horses and a colt. The following May he sold the house and lot for a 27% profit. I didn't find his abode, but he was a resident of Washington County in the 1790 census, a male over 16, with three sons, a wife and two daughters. Robert purchased lot 256 in Cumberland on 12 Mar 1791 from Thomas Beall of Samuel. Allegany County Judgments show that he, and wife Rebecca, were parties in a Oct 1792 lawsuit concerning the theft of one pair of leather shoes, one pair worsted stockings, one gown, a worsted petticoat, 2 handkerchiefs, and a calico short gown. Thus we learn that Robert was a merchant of dry goods and his wife's given name. The 1793 Allegany County Tax list shows he now owns lots 3620, 3621, 3622, 3626, 3627, (50 acres each), The Mountain (125 acres), Desire (67 acres), Cruise's Disappointment (31 acres) and The Vale (1627 acres). The land records of Washington and Allegany counties do not show him purchasing these tracts. The Frostburg Mining Journal, dated 13 Feb 1915, states, "Robert Clarke's title to the lands in and around Frostburg, dates from July 6, 1792." During this transitional period, many land sales were still handled by the Maryland Land Office, so Robert's procurement of these tracts should be documented at the Maryland State Archives in Annapolis, under Warrants and Patents.

(William Brown's route itinerary (p.3) of 1790, identifies a location known as Clark's Store six miles from Gwynn's Tavern in LaVale.)

From the City of Frostburg's website:

"Three major events have shaped the development of the town; the first of these was the coming of the National Pike. This road was the principal route along which the westward migration took place during the first half of the nineteenth century. It was also the route along which the agricultural products and raw materials of the west moved to eastern markets. After the National Pike was surveyed, in about 1811, Josiah Frost, laid off building lots just west of the house which had been built a few years before by George & Mary Clark McCulloh , and called Mt. Pleasant.

As trade began to flow over the new road, the town began to grow and prosper. Meshach Frost built a house in 1812 which he rented a few years later to the Stockton Stagecoach Company. They named it Highland Hall, and it soon became a famous stopping place for east-west travelers and catered to both celebrities and laborers using the National Pike. Over the years, Highland Hall was joined by the Franklin Hotel, and other hostelries, and Frostburg became a regular stopping point for travelers until the coming of the railroad in the 1840's and 50's. The growth of the town took place in a slow but steady fashion. Since there was already one Mount Pleasant in Maryland, the name of the town was changed to "Frostburg" by the government when a post office was established there in 1820. (City of Frostburg, MD)".

Continued to Page 2...

Full Map Links:
 - State of Maryland by Mathew Cary and Samuel Lewis, 1795 - Rumsey Collection



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  Last Update: July 18, 2010