Existing comment:
Hagerstown: Bringing Farm Products to Maryland's Great Valley
Following Jonathan Hager's arrival in 1739, German and Scots-Irish immigrants settled in Maryland's Great Valley, developing prosperous farms. By the mid 1790's, agriculture was booming and the region needed a way to get its products to market. Community leaders proposed construction of a good road from Hagerstown to Baltimore.
Almost thirty years later, a new "National Road" reached Hagerstown. The town expanded as a freight center and stagecoach destination. An endless stream of Conestoga Wagons carrying freight east and west launched the small community into a new era.
Turnpike Declaration:
The 1797 Turnpike Declaration by leading citizens of Hagerstown is a ringing endorsement of the proposed National Road. The Road would "produce advantages of the first magnitude…an institution which injures none but benefits all, not only deserves but demands the support of every citizen who wishes for the prosperity of this Country." |