The Old Bank Road Toll House, west of Hancock, Maryland

I've always been curious about the row of joists on the front of the Bank Road toll House, on the National Road, just west of Hancock, Maryland, at the western edge of Washington County. There was just something about them that felt wrong. Additionally, the tollhouse seemed too close to the road.


The joists can be seen a bit better in this detail, taken from the above photograph.


Courtesy of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Central Library / State Library Resource Center, Baltimore, Maryland

I found this photograph, taken by the Maryland State Department of Forestry, in November of 1936, which helps explain what happened. The road was widened, and rather than move the building, the porch was eliminated. With the porch present, the dimensions of the toll house seem more appropriate with one would expect of a structure from this region and time.

Also note that the toll house originally had gutters. It seems that the present lack of them may eventually cause structural issues for the building. In addition, they seem to tie together the visual appeal of the tollhouse.

I'm torn, as a historic preservationist, whether to advocate having the building moved and returned to its original state, or to advocate leaving it in its original location. I'd love to see the road moved, but that is almost impossible. Perhaps a historical marker, from a vantage point similar to the one above, showing it as it was, would help illustrate the situation.

Old Photographs from the Maryland Department, Enoch Pratt Free Library

New Carroll Creek Bridge, East Patrick Street, Frederick, Maryland, 1926. Photograph by the Maryland State Roads Commission. Courtesy of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Central Library / State Library Resource Center, Baltimore, Maryland

I've just uploaded more than 100 black and white photographs, virtually all of them taken between 1900 and 1940, relating in some way or another to the National Road in Maryland. The photographs are from the Maryland Department of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, in Baltimore, Maryland. Many of them were taken by the State Highway Administration, documenting construction and realignment of roads and bridges. Others were taken by the Historic American Buildings Survey, documenting historic structures on or near the National Road. Still others were taken by the Maryland National Guard, providing aerial views of various Maryland towns along the National Road. Finally, some were taken by private individuals, but are old enough that they have passed into the public domain.

I will be writing more about the individual photographs in coming weeks, as well as providing maps and detail descriptions. Expect the descriptions on the individual photograph pages and other metadata to increase.

The National Road, Most Historic Thoroughfare in the United States, and Strategic Eastern Link in the National Old Trails Ocean-to-Ocean Highway

I recently had the fortune to find a copy of Robert Bruce's classic 1916 title on the National Road with the binding in rather sad condition. Bruce originally wrote the book as a set of nine articles for the AAA. They were later published together by the Brooklyn Eagle Press, in 1916. I've taken the liberty of scanning it, in its entirety.

The book includes history, photographs, driving directions, and an extensive collection of maps showing the route of the National Road and adjoining routes.

Middletown, Maryland

The National Road forms the Main Street in Middletown, a small town, west of Frederick, Maryland. It is seen here from the east edge of town, looking west.


The Middletown Memorial and Town Hall is a wonderful historic building. Someday, some good person will remove the utility lines so that a better photograph might be created. It appears to be unused at the present.


It is unclear what purpose this brick building, built in 1888, originally served. Now it appears to be a private residence.


These buildings make a curious pair. One is (or was) a barber shop, but the original use of the other is not obvious.


As one travels west, the buildings become primarily residential.

Two stone arches for the price of one

Just east of Mt. Airy, Maryland, is Parrsville. This rarely visited section of the National Road was cut off by the construction of Interstate 70. Both of the roads shown in this picture are actually sections of the National Road. The one that looks almost like a driveway was for an at-grade crossing of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, which was replaced by a bridge, the road on the left, in the 1920s.


This photograph, taken in 1930 by the Maryland State Roads Commission, was taken from a similar angle to the one above. It shows the construction of the new alignment, on the left. Courtesy of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Central Library / State Library Resource Center, Baltimore, Maryland.


From the train tracks, looking west, the remains of the older alignment and a church are visible. It also seems to have become a dumping ground for trash.


From the same spot, looking to the northeast, the bridge that used to carry the National Road over the B&O can be seen. The guardrail on the right is for the westbound lanes of Interstate 70.


I didn't think much of this old alignment until I looked over and saw this stone culvert. The construction of it is different from what I am used to seeing - the stones are longer, and the construction is more precise. To the right of this stone arch was a larger one, 20 feet wide, that, for some time, carried the B&O over the National Road.


The other end of the culvert illustrates the nature of the construction a bit better. According to B&O RR Photo Tours, this culvert carried an old route of the B&O during the 1830s, before the route was changed. It's amazing that this stone structure has (mostly) held up for 170+ years with no maintenance whatsoever. The B&O really built things to last.


From the point where I first photographed the B&O culvert, I noticed something else, on the old National Road alignment - another stone culvert! This photograph was taken from virtually the same position as the vertical one of the B&O culvert. It has held up reasonably well, though it wasn't always so covered with debris.


The south side of the culvert hasn't fared as well.