The " Act to Regulate the Laying Out and Making a Road From Cumberland, in the State Of Maryland, to the State of Ohio " was passed by the 9th Congress and signed by President Thomas Jefferson on March 29, 1806. The Act stipulated three Commissioners should be appointed "... to lay out a road from Cumberland, or a point on the northern bank of the river Potomac, in the state of Maryland, between Cumberland and the place where the main road leading from Gwynn's to Winchester, in Virginia, crosses the river, to the state of Ohio;" (Source)

The course of the new road would generally follow that of road cut by General Braddock during his ill-fated attempt to take Fort Duquesne in 1755. Braddock's Road had, in the years following, continued in use as a conduit to the West and various establishments, serving travelers, had grown up alongside. The Generalissimo's 1755 road had a tendency to meander a bit in places. A new nation on the move had no time to meander, therefore, the Commissioners were given the following governing provisos in the laying out of the road:

• Shortness of distance between navigable points on the eastern and western waters.
• A point on the Monongahela best calculated to equalize the advantages of this portage in the country within reach of it.
• A point on the Ohio river most capable of combining certainty of navigation with road accommodation; embracing, in this estimate, remote points westwardly, as well as present and probable population on the north and south.
• Best mode of diffusing benefits with least distance of road.

The final path of the Cumberland Road from Cumberland to Wheeling generally followed that of Braddock's Road but the two roads only crossed in a few places².

When planning the first ten mile section of the road, the Commissioners were confronted with a choice of crossing Haystack Mountain, following Braddock's route, verses the route through the Narrows. They chose the former. The surveyor's report provides insight into why:

"In extending the route from Cumberland, a triple range of mountains, stretching across from Jennings Run in measure with Gwynn's, left only the alternative of laying the road up Wills Creek for three miles, nearly at right angles with the true course, and then by way of Jennings Run, or extending it over a break in the smallest mountain, on a better course by Gwynn's, to the top of Savage mountain ; the latter was adopted, being the shortest, and will be less expensive in hill-side digging over a sloped route than the former, requiring one bridge over Wills Creek and several over Jeninngs Run, both very wide and considerable streams in high water; and a more weighty reason for preferring the route by Gwynn's is the great accommodation it will afford travelers from Winchester by the upper point, who could not reach the route by Jennings Run short of the top of Savage, which would withhold from them the benefit of an easy way up the mountain. (Source)"

To summerize, the choice was to: (1) Run the road over Haystack (the "smallest mountain") to Gwynn's and then on to the summit of Savage Mountain (west of Frostburg) or (2) Follow Will's Creek through the Narrows and then to Corriganville. From Corriganville, the route would follow Jenning's Run through Mt. Savage and meet Braddock's road near Frostburg. This route entailed the building of bridges and bypassed Gwynn's at the Braddock Road - Winchester Road crossroads. As noted, the Green St. to Gwynn's route was " was adopted, being the shortest, and will be less expensive...".

Tracking the original route of the Cumberland Road west of Greene St. requires some speculation. Much of the original road on the west side of Haystack Mountain has been obliterated by development, the railroad and the construction of I-68.

Following the opening of the Narrows route in 1835, the road west of Greene St. became "the road less traveled" and primarily served local traffic. At some point (1920s-30s?), the road was renamed Braddock Road. and, as the years progressed, portions of the old road west of Sunset Dr. were realigned or eliminated. Fortunately, a few landmarks and historical clues remain to mark its original path:

1.

The Stedman, Brown & Lyon (Pub.)Map of Cumberland, 1873, provides a record of the Road plus the surrounding roads in Cumberland.

2.

The 1921 Sanborn Map of Cumberland shows the area around the intersection of Cresaption Rd. and the Old National Pike (Now Braddock Rd.). The red line is the Old National Pike. The green line is Greene St. to Cresaptown Rd.

3.

The map from Robert Bruce's book "The National Road". (Copyright 1916. Page 40) shows the Cumberland Road (Pale green) and Braddock's 1755 road (Dotted line).

4.

A postcard (1908) showing the Cumberland Road at the intersection of Greene St. and the Cresaptown Rd. The area around the two roads became a residential enclave called "The Dingle" (1913). The road, far right, may be Camden or Mt. Royal Aves. Right image is the intersection today. (Lacock photo)

5.

From the 1908 collection of postcards titled "Braddock's Road" with photos from John Lacock's documentation of Braddock's Road. Caption reads: Mount Nebo - On the north side of the Old Cumberland Road, and 90 feet from the Old Mount Nebo School Building - later known as the Steel House, the first distinct trace of Braddock's Road is to be seen. A short distance from this point the road enters the wooded part of Wills Mountain. It is here the real difficulties in the construction of the road began. Lowdermilk references the Steele house in his 1878 book (See below). It should be reasonable to assume Steele acquired the house prior to 1878.

The Steel House - See update below

6.

Stone arch culvert just west of Highland St. on Braddock Rd. (The Cumberland Road).

7.

A postcard, dated 1908, showing the Cumberland Road passing through Sandy Gap (Looking east?). The second photo is Braddock Road, looking west, through Sandy Gap today.

8.

From Lowdermilk's History of Cumberland - 1878 (Page 52), in reference to the path of Braddock's 1755 road: "The writer, in company with T. Leiper Patterson, Esq., an eminent engineer in Cumberland, walked over several miles of this road, starting at Cumberland, in the summer of 1877, and clearly traced it as far as the Six Mile House, on the National Road. The route pursued on leaving Will's Creek was along the valley in which Green street extended now lies, the same being the exact course of the old National Pike. About a hundred yards East of Mr. Steele's house, and just where the Cresaptown Road now leads off southward, the road which Washington followed bore slightly to the North, and ran in almost a perfectly straight line to nearly the top of Will's Mountain, involving a very heavy grade, and from there descended to the level of the Old Pike at Sandy Gap. The ascent of the mountain is steep enough to explain the slow progress made with heavily laden teams and artillery, yet in many respects the road was admirably chosen; it avoided the ravines so as to obviate the necessity of bridges or culverts, until the valley beyond was reached, and much of the distance on the higher part of the mountain was smooth and comparatively clear of rocks." In Lowdermilk's account, the Old Pike is the original path of the Cumberland Road and the National Road is the Narrows route.

9.

John Kennedy Lacock, in his 1914 account of his efforts to retrace General Braddock's road in the Pennsylvania Magazine of History (p. 7), uses the Cumberland Road as a reference point to locate Braddock's Road. The information may help in the reverse: "Of the road from old Fort Cumberland to the foot of Wills Mountain no trace can be found today, but it seems probable that its course lay along what is now Green Street in Cumberland... At the foot of the mountain the road proceeds westerly, parallel to the Cumberland Road but ninety feet north of it, to a point opposite the old Steel House ("...formerly the building of the Mount Nebo School for Young Ladies.")." At this spot the first depression or scar of the (Gen.) Braddock Road can be seen today. A short distance farther on, the road enters the wooded part of Wills Mountain. At a distance of about four hundred feet westward it veers away to the north from the old Cumberland Road, following to the top of the mountain a succession of absolutely straight lines, no one of which varies more than five degrees from the preceding line. Thence the course bears to the south and joins the Cumberland Road opposite the old Steiner House (now owned by Frederick Lang) in Sandy Gap, about a mile and a half from the junction with the Cresaptown road. To this point the route may be traced with very little difficulty. From Sandy Gap it follows the present course of the old Cumberland Road for about seven-tenths of a mile*, crossing the George's Creek and Cumberland Railroad and the Eckhart branch of the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad, to the house now occupied by Edward Kaylor, 380 feet from the latter railroad crossing. Here the line leaves the old Cumberland Road and runs due west four-tenths of a mile, passing under the front or southwest corner of the new house recently built by William Hendrickson, then fording Braddock Run in Alleghany Grove south of Lake View Cottage, thence running through Alleghany Grove to the Vocke road 440 feet south of its intersection with the National turnpike and 700 feet north of the now abandoned part of the old Cumberland Road, and keeping on still in the same straight line 1100 feet westward to the turnpike." *  "It probably follows the turnpike here in order to avoid a very deep hollow. This conclusion of the writer is confirmed by the resurvey of Pleasant Valley patented to Evan Gwynne on October 5, 1796, which calls for 'a water oak standing above the three springs that break out in Braddock's Road'... These springs are a few rods west of James H. Percy's tenant house which is on the old Cumberland Road. " Three stone spring culverts, marking the path of the Cumberland Road, are still visible today. They can be found west of Sunset Dr., on the left hand side of Braddock Rd., behind the guardrails. The east and far west culverts are easy to spot. Only the top of the middle culvert is visible. I believe the distance from the top of the Bluestone culvert to the road surface above was the result of a build-up of the railroad bed. Deep Ravine (hollow) just passed Sunset Dr. on Braddock Rd. Far east Middle spring culvert Behind the former Bluestone Tavern UPDATES: (Dec. 5, 2009) Dr. Frank & Lea LaParle's book "The History of the Dingle - Then and Now" has shed some new light on the location of the Steel House. The book contains two plat maps, dated 1906, showing the location of the house. (Note: I have cleaned up and annotated the original map.) The intersection shown near Culvert #1 is that of Fayette St., Braddock Rd (Old Nat'l Pike) and Cresaptown Rd (Rt. 220). Culvert #3 is the stone structure shown in item #6 above. The LaParle book places the original Steel house in the approximate location of Dingle Lots #27 & 28. (Using the map scale.) In my opinion, John Lacock's photo/postcard #4 "Mt. Nebo" has contributed to the confusion about the location of the Steel House, Braddock's Road and the Cumberland Road. First, Lacock identifies the house in the picture as "Mt. Nebo" when, as noted above, it was known as the Steel House as early as 1878. Secondly, it should be remembered Weller's original photos were black and white and the color was applied later. This is a representation of what I believe Lacock saw: The Steel Farm Plat Map shows the Old National Road running directly in front of the Steel House as seen in the modified photo above. Lacock's men would then be standing in the area between the Nat'l Pike and the alley south of Mt. Royal Ave. This is the route, according to Braddock Road historian Bob Bantz, the colonial road took up Haystack Mountain. Finally, I recently found a USCG topographical map dated 1906 which shows the Steel House (circled in green), the house on the first right in Lacock's intersection photo (circled in red), the Cumberland/National Road and the trail, going up what is now Camden Ave., Bob Bantz identifies as the Gist/Nemocolin trail and Braddock's Road. USCG Topo Map - 1908   Area around Mt. Royal and Camden Aves, 1938 ~ Steve Colby A Work Still In Progress... If you have any information on the Steiner House, the Mount Nebo School for Young Ladies, Edward Kaylor's house, James H. Percy's tenant's house and any other identifying landmarks, your contribution will be most appreciated. ¹ The 1805 date on the stone is incorrect. The appropriation for money to survey the road ($30,000) was not sign by Pres. Thomas Jefferson until March 29, 1806. The initial starting point of the road was specified in the Commissioner's Report of Dec. 30, 1806. The 1903 date refers to the location of stone marker itself. The 1806 survey marker had been moved and the new marker in the photo was placed at the original survey point in 1903. From what I understand, the 1903 marker has been moved a few times since its original placement. ² "The face of the country within the limits prescribed is generally very uneven, and in many places broken by a succession of high mountains and deep hollows, too formidable to be reduced within five degrees of the horizon, but by crossing them obliquely, a mode which, although it imposes a heavy task of hill-side digging, obviates generally the necessity of reducing hills and filling hollows, which, on these grounds, would be an attempt truly quixotic. This inequality of the surface is not confined to the Alleghany mountain; the country between the Monongahela and Ohio rivers, although less elevated, is not better adapted for the bed of a road, being filled with impediments of hills and hollows, which present considerable difficulties, and wants that super-abundance and convenience of stone found in the mountain. "The indirect course of the road now traveled, and the frequent elevations and depressions which occur, that exceed the limits of the law, preclude the possibility of occupying it in any extent without great sacrifice of distance, and forbid the use of it, in any one part for more than half a mile, or more than two or three miles in the whole." "The expense of rendering the road now in contemplation passable, may, therefore, amount to a larger sum than may have been supposed necessary, under an idea of embracing in it a considerable part of the old road ; but it is believed that the contrary will be found most correct, and that a sum sufficient to open the new could not be expended on the same distance of the old road with equal benefit." (Source)