The idea of federally-funded “internal improvements” included the construction of roads using monies raised from the sale of federal lands. Ohio’s entrance into the Union in 1803 stimulated discussions of how to connect the rapidly developing western frontier with eastern markets. Ebenezer Zane responded to the needs of these west bound migrants by establishing Zane’s Trace, a rough wagon road based on old Indian trails, from Wheeling, (West) Virginia to Maysville, Kentucky. The close of the Revolutionary War and the opening of the Northwest Territory for settlement created a wave of migration into western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio. The oldest section of the National Road is the original Cumberland Trail blazed by General Braddock during the French and Indian War, and is sometimes referred to as the Cumberland Road. The Road served as a major migration route for pioneers heading west in the first half of the 19 th century. ![]() Extending 600 miles from Cumberland, Maryland, it crossed the states of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, terminating at Vandalia. ![]() ![]() If your ancestors came to Iowa in the 1800s from eastern states, it’s possible they traveled the National Road. Illustrations, photographs, map, source notes.
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