Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the said superintendent, after his appointment as aforesaid, shall appoint proper and suitable persons as toll-gatherers, who shall settle their accounts every three months from the time of their appointments, and at all other times when thereunto required by the said superintendent; and shall, at all times, pay over to the said superintendent, on demand, the amount of tolls by them or either of them collected; and the said superintendent shall have authority to remove any toll-gatherer, appointed by him, for misbehavior in his office, and appoint another in his place; and it shall be the duty of the said superintendent to render, semi-annually, to the county court of Allegany county, at its fixed meetings by law on the third Monday of April and second Monday of October, an account of the tolls received and expenses incurred on said road, on oath or affirmation; which account, when ratified and confirmed by the said court, shall be published by the said superintendent in some newspaper printed in Allegany county; and the said superintendent shall, also, on or before the first Monday of December, annually, hereafter, transmit to the governor and council of this state, a duplicate of his said accounts aforesaid ; and it shall be the duty of the governor of this state to lay the same before the General Assembly in his annual message. And the said superintendent shall receive a compensation of two dollars per day for every day that he shall be engaged on the business of said road : Provided, That the annual compensation to said superintendent shall not exceed the sum of five hundred dollars.

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the amount of tolls, after deducting therefrom the expenses and charges of collection, and compensation of superintendent, shall be applied, under the direction of said superintendent, to the repairs and preservation of said road, in such manner, and under such regulations, as he from time to time may prescribe and direct, and to no other purpose whatsoever.

Sec 5. And be it further enacted, That directors shall be set up at proper and convenient situations, to caution all conductors and drivers of carriages on the road aforesaid, that they shall at all times pass on the left of each other, under the penalty of two dollars for every offense.

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That, if any of the toll-gatherers shall unreasonably delay or hinder any passenger or traveler at any of the gates, or shall demand or receive more toll than may be established by this act, he shall, for each and every offense, forfeit and pay to the party so aggrieved the sum of twenty dollars.

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That, if any person or persons shall willfully, and of purpose, throw down, or otherwise injure any of the walls, bridges, culverts, or other works, on said road, or shall otherwise willfully injure or obstruct the passage of the said road unnecessarily, the person or persons so offending shall forfeit and pay for every such offense any sum not less than five nor more, than fifty dollars, to be collected and applied as is directed in the ninth section of this act.

Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That the toll-gatherers on said road shall, respectively, receive compensation for their services at the rate of twelve per centum on the amount of tolls by them, respectively, collected: Provided, That the annual compensation of any toll-gatherer shall never exceed the sum of two hundred dollars.

Sec. 9. And belt further enacted, That the penalties and forfeitures which may be incurred under this act, shall and may be sued for and recovered in the name of “the superintendent of that part of the United States' road within the limits of the state of Maryland," without naming him as an individual, or of any person prosecuting the same; the one half thereof to the use of the state of Maryland, the other to the person so prosecuting for the same before a justice of the peace in Allegany county, as other small debts are recovered, with the privilege of an appeal to the county court, as in cases of small debts.

Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That the toll-gatherers shall exhibit their accounts from time to time to the superintendent, upon oath, as directed in this act; and they shall, moreover, before they act as toll-gatherers, and annually thereafter, give bond, with security, to the state of Maryland, in the penalty of one thousand dollars, to be approved by the superintendent, for the faithful performance of the duties devolving on them by this act, with a condition, as follows, or to the following effect: "Now the condition of the above obligation is such, that, if the above bound shall, at the end of every three months from the time of receiving his appointment, and at all other times when thereunto required, pay over, well and truly, to the said superintendent the whole amount of tolls by him collected as toil-gatherer aforesaid, then the above obligation to be void, otherwise to be in full force and virtue in law."

Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That the said superintendent, before he acts as such, and annually thereafter, shall give bond to the state of Maryland, with such security as any one of the judges of the fifth judicial district shall approve, in the sum of four thousand dollars, with the following condition, or to the following effect: "Now the condition of the above obligation is such, that, if the above shall well and faithfully discharge the duties of superintendent, and shall pay over, lay out, and expend, all moneys which he may receive as the superintendent of that part of the United States' road within the limits of this state, as directed by this act, then the above obligation to be void, otherwise to be in full force and virtue in law."

Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That, if there shall be any surplus money in the hands of the said superintendent, beyond the actual expenses for preserving and repairing the part of said road within the limits of this state, and paying the said superintendent and toll-gatherers, and all incidental expenses, the said superintendent shall remit the same to the treasurer of the Western Shore, whose duty it shall be to receive the same, to be denominated on the treasury books " The United States Road Fund ;" which money, constituting said fund, shall be applied, solely and exclusively, to the preservation, repair, and improvement, of that part of said road within the limits of this state, and to no other use or purpose whatsoever.

Sec. 13. And be it further enacted, That this act shall not have any force or effect, until the Congress of the United States shall assent to the same; and until so much of the said road as lies within the limits of the state of Maryland be first put in a good and complete state of repair, by an appropriation made by the Congress of the United States to repair the same, and to pay the expenses of building a toll-house or toll-houses, and erecting a toll-gate or toll-gates, to be built and erected by the superintendent appointed by the governor and council of this state ; to be expended under the authority of a superintendent to be appointed by the President of the United States: Provided, The general assembly of this state may, at any future session thereof, change, alter, or amend this act, so as to regulate the amount of tolls : Provided, That the same shall not be so altered or amended, as to reduce or increase the rates of tolls hereby established, below or above a sum necessary to defray the expenses incident to the preservation and repair of said road, for the payment of the fees and compensation to the superintendent, collectors of tolls, and other agents : And provided, That no change, alteration, or amendment, shall ever be adopted, that will in any wise defeat or affect the true intent and meaning of this act.

Sec. 14. And be it further enacted, That in case any superintendent, who shall be appointed under this act, shall die, resign, refuse to act, or remove from Allegany county aforesaid, the governor and council of this state shall appoint another in his place, who shall, at the time of his appointment, and during his continuance in office, reside in Allegany county, and who shall hold his office for three years from the date of his commission ; and, after the expiration of any time of service of any superintendent who may be appointed under this act, the governor and council of this state shall re-appoint him, or appoint another in his place, at discretion: Provided, That he shall not serve for a longer time than three years from the date of his commission.

Certified, January 24, 1832.

Session Laws 1834
Volume 541, Page 213

CHAPTER 203
Passed Mar 14 1835

An act to accept the provisions of an act of Congress, entitled, an act for the continuation and repair of the Cumberland Road, in the States of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois (Source)

WHEREAS by an act of Congress, entitled an act for the continuation and repair of the Cumberland Road, in the States of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois it is enacted, that be fore the expenditure of the money therein authorised, the said road shall be surrendered to, and accepted by the States respectively, through which said road passes, and it appearing right and proper that the State of Maryland should accept of the surrender of that part of said road passing through the limits of Maryland —Therefore,

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the State of Maryland will, and by this act does, accept of the surrender of that part of the Cumberland Road passing through the territory of Maryland, in full confidence that a fair portion of the money, appropriated by the second section of said act, for the completion of the Cumberland Road east of the Ohio River, will be expended under the direction of the Secretary of War, within the limits of this State, where it is most required, to complete the same.

Session Laws, 1908 Session
Volume 483, Page 1505

JOINT RESOLUTION No. 13. (Source)

Whereas the counties of Allegany and Garrett, In the State of Maryland, are the respective owners of that portion of the "Cumberland road" (commonly known as the "National road"), within their boundary limits of the State of Maryland, having been made such owners by an Act of the General Assembly of Maryland, said road originally beginning on the west side of Will's creek, in the city of Cumberland, Maryland, a short distance from the site of Fort Cumberland, and following In a large measure the route of the road built by General Braddock in 1755, in his expedition to reduce Fort Duquesue, now the site of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; and

Whereas after the organization of the general Government in 1789, in the development of the "Western" territory of the United States, as the country beyond the Allegany Mountains was then known, this road became the main and most important thoroughfare in the transportation of people and supplies to the West, and its constant use caused it to become worn out and utterly inadequate to the public necessities; and

Whereas of all the primeval roads of the nation, this road, so far back as the year 1806, when the first step was taken by the Federal Government towards making internal improvements, was the initial road to receive any consideration and appropriation from the Congress of the United States, when $30,000.00 was appropriated to open and make the "Cumberland road" (as it was designated for the first time) from that point to the Ohio river, and from year to year down to 1834, appropriations were made by said Congress aggregating over $3,000,000.00 for the maintenance and improvement of the said highway east of the Ohio river; and

Whereas in said year of 1834 said road was the finest in America, and for a score of years thereafter, although the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad had been built to Cumberland in 1842, this road was the main thoroughfare between the East and West and remained so until the extension in the year 1853 of said railroad to the Ohio river, when the use of the road was nearly abandoned and it was permitted to grow unfit for public travel and has never since been in condition approaching its former usefulness and adaptability as a means of transportation; and

Whereas said road was in the year 1834 changed in course from the west to the east side of Wills creek, in the city of Cumberland, so as to begin at the intersection of Baltimore and Mechanic streets in said city, and follows said Mechanic street and after several miles distance connects with the old route and passes through Frostburg and other towns in Allegany county, Maryland, on to Grantsville, Garrett county, Maryland, and from said last-named county into the State of Pennsylvania ; and

Whereas the said "Cumberland" or "National road" in Maryland has intimately linked itself with the development and improvement of the nation and was the first to receive national recognition and support, and is still an important artery of travel between the above points, but through lack of attention on account of the financial disability, the respective counties of Allegany and Garrett, through which it passes, have been unable to give it the attention it requires and preserve it in the excellent condition which its antiquity and famous history would justify the pride of the people of the United States in keeping it; and, therefore, be it

Resolved, By the General Assembly of Maryland, That the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembly, be and they are hereby respectfully requested to pass a bill taking over as the property of the United States, that part of the "Cumberland" or "national road" lying in Allegany and Garrett counties, Maryland, and keeping, maintaining and preserving it in the same manner as such property is now kept, maintained and preserved for the benefit of the nation by the Congress of the United States.

Be it further resolved, That the Secretary of State be and he is hereby requested to transmit under seal of this State a copy of the foregoing memorial to each of the Senators and Representatives now in Congress from Maryland, with the request that they lay the same before their respective Houses in support of the measure herein before mentioned.