Skip to main content

The National Road - Ohio - Cambridge to Zanesville

Just west of Cambridge is another of the numerous stone arch 'S' bridges in Ohio.  Built around 1828, the bridge crosses over Peters Creek and is now part of a South Bridge Park.

The Peters Creek 'S' bridge still in use in 1933 (A.S. Burns / Library of Congress)
The Peters Creek S bridge a little overgrown in the early 2000s. (Bee Family)
Continuing west on US 40 and just east of New Concord, another 'S' bridge stands just off of the now heavily beaten path of Route 40.  The bridge is similar to ones located in Claysville and Cambridge; however, this particular bridge has been restored to magnificent condition.  The bridge is known as the Fox Creek 'S' Bridge.  Paved in brick, the bridge, located at the intersection of OH 83 and US 40, has a renewed life that future generations can enjoy.  The Fox Creek Bridge was the last segment of the National Road to be paved in brick in 1919. The National Road from Maryland to Illinois was paved in brick during the 1910s for military vehicles.

A side profile view of the Fox Creek 'S' Bridge. (Mike Kentner)
The Fox Creek Bridge is a striking contrast to modern US 40 nearby. (Mike Austing)
The restored Fox Creek 'S' Bridge and Park near New Concord. (Mike Austing)
New Concord is one of the numerous small Ohio towns along US 40.  It is the birthplace of American Hero, John Glenn, and the home the Muskies of Muskingum College.   
 
The old National Road enters Norwich. (Mike Kentner)
Americans have always been fascinated with travel, the west, and the stories from the two.  In the former stagecoach village of Norwich, The National Road/Zane Grey Museum celebrates this spirit.  The museum features stories about the National Road, the country first 'western route'.  It also documents the life and times of Zanesville native, Zane Grey, who is known as "The Father of the Adult Western."  Across the street from this 'must stop' museum is Baker's Motel.  The motel's original owner, L.B. Baker, donated the land that is now the site of the museum.   

Christopher C. Baldwin monument on Old US 40, Norwich, Ohio. (Mike Kentner)
Unfortunately, one of Norwich's claims to Ohio history is that it is the site of the first recorded traffic fatality in the state's history.  A monument and historical marker along the old highway marks the tragic event.  A plaque on the monument reads, "In Memory of Christopher C. Baldwin, librarian of the American Antiquarian Society Worcester, Mass., killed on this curve Aug. 20, 1835, by the overturning of a stage coach.  This being the first traffic accident on record in this state."  The tablet was placed in Baldwin's honor in 1925, 90 years after his death, by a local Boy Scout Troop.

Leaving Norwich from the west, the old National Pike follows Brick Road.  Here for about a mile, the old highway holds onto its early 20th century heritage as a brick road
Mike Kentner

Mike Kentner
 
Mike Kentner


Mike Kentner

On an old alignment just west of Norwich, the former National Road goes over a stone arch bridge.  This arch bridge appears to be of the same design as those of the famous 'S' bridges built along the highway in the early 1800s.
A stone arch bridge found on a former alignment of the National Road west of Norwich.  (Mike Kentner)


A stone arch bridge found on a former alignment of the National Road west of Norwich.  (Mike Kentner)
One of the oldest cemeteries along the National Road is in Zanesville.  The Greenwood Cemetery was built by the city in 1835.  Originally named 'City Cemetery' until 1885, numerous politicians and other well known local citizens have been buried here.  The stone-arch which serves as the entrance way to the grounds has been standing since 1887.

The over 130 year old arched entrance to Zanesville's Greenwood Cemetery (Mike Austing)

Site Navigation:
Sources & Links:
  • The Bee Family
  • Mike Austing
  • Mike Kentner

Comments

Anonymous said…
John Glenn was BORN in Cambridge! His family moved to New Concord soon after.

Popular posts from this blog

Ghost Town Tuesday; Mannfield, FL and the stairway to Hell

Back in 2015 I went searching the Lecanto Sand Hills for the original Citrus County Seat known as Mannfield.  Unlike Centrailia in Hernando County and Fivay in Pasco County I did find something worth seeing. Mannfield is located in the Lecanto Sand Hill section of Withlacoochee State Forest somewhat east of the intersection of Citrus County Route 491 and Mansfield Road. Mannfield was named after Austin Mann and founded in Hernando County in 1884 before Citrus County Split away.  In 1887 Citrus County was split from northern Hernando County while Pasco County was spun off to the south.  Mannfield was selected as the new Citrus County seat due to it being near the county geographic center.  Reportedly Mannfield had as many as 250 people when it was the County Seat.  The town included various businesses one might include at the time, even a sawmill which was common for the area.  In 1891 Citrus County voted to move it's seat to Inverness which set the s...

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...

The mystery of Hawaii Route 144 and temporary Hawaii Route 11

The 1959 Gousha Road map of Hawaii features two largely unknown references in the form of Hawaii Route 144 and Temporary Hawaii Route 11.  Both corridors are shown running from the boundary of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park east to Glenwood via Volcano Village.  At the time Hawaii Route 11 was using the so-called "Volcano Road" which was constructed as a modernization of Mamalahoa Highway during 1927-1928.  This blog will examine the two map references and will attempt to determine what they might indicate.  The mystery of Hawaii Route 144 and Temporary Hawaii Route 11 Hawaii Route 11 is part of Mamalahoa Highway (the Hawaii Belt Road) and is the longest Hawaiian State Route at 121.97 miles.  The highway begins at the mutual junction of Hawaii Route 19 and Hawaii Route 190 in Kailua-Kona.  From Kailua-Kona the routing of Hawaii Route 11 crosses the volcanic landscapes of southern side of the Big Island.  Hawaii Route 11 terminates at Hawaii Route 19/Ka...