American Agriculture History Minute: National Road Developed

I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute.

It was called the National Road. No, not Route 66. That would come nearly 100 years later. This National Road, built in 1810, was the first road, though paved in gravel, to cross the Appalachians, connecting Ohio and states west with the east coast.

Prior to this, once settlers crossed the Appalachians, few had the desire or the appetite to return.

But the mountains also served as a barrier to trade. Producers sold excess grain and furs down the Ohio River to the Mississippi and on to New Orleans. That all changed in 1810 and the National Road.

That’s today’s American Agriculture History Minute. I’m Mark Oppold. Thanks for reading. I’ll see you next time.