• What to know if you go | Stop in to get the Zane Gray story

KARL RITZLER/Special (ENLARGE)

A brick-paved section of the National Road goes past cow pastures near Norwich, Ohio. Early users of the road included wagons, livestock and people on foot or horseback.

KARL RITZLER/Special (ENLARGE)

A red, white and blue sign marks the historic National Road.

KARL RITZLER/Special (ENLARGE)

Photos by KARL RITZLER / Special The 'Y' bridge in Zanesville, Ohio, crosses the confluence of the Muskingum and Licking rivers. It's the most unusual bridge on the National Road. The current bridge is the fifth on the spot. The first, a covered bridge, was built in 1814.

KARL RITZLER/Special (ENLARGE)

The Smith House-Cliff Rock House west of Zanesville was a stage coach inn but now is an antique shop.

Constant construction, bumper-to-bumper traffic, tollbooths and big rigs loaded with freight.

These plagues of modern drivers are nothing new. They also were common on the National Road of the early 1800s, the nation's first federally funded highway, as it cut through the wilderness from Baltimore to St. Louis.

This year marks the bicentennial of the National Road, which dates its beginnings to the first funds allotted by Congress in 1806 to build the road westward from Cumberland, Md.

Sense of history on Ohio stretch of road

Some of the best-preserved stretches of the National Road's three lives can be found on a 70-mile trip between New Concord and Columbus, Ohio. You can make better time on the parallel I-70, but take the slower and more pleasant drive on U.S. 40 and some of the detours that follow the path of earlier versions of the National Road. A guide available from the Ohio Historical Society provides mile-by-mile directions and information about the historic or just plain interesting stops across the state.

On the road, you can get the feel of the small cities and the countryside, eventually flowing through the suburbs and into the city in Columbus.

And you'll see historic structures, some with new uses. Old stone inns have been turned into antiques shops like the Smith House-Cliff Rock House just west of Zanesville. Ads for Mail Pouch chewing tobacco adorn barns much as "See Rock City" ads do across the South. Through the hills of eastern Ohio, cattle graze in the lush fields, with the curious walking right up to the fence.

Watch for the stone or concrete National Road mile markers — some fresh and white and surrounded by small fences or flowers, others worn away to the point of being unreadable.

As the road west levels out around Amsterdam, Ohio, fields stretch endlessly. Soon, you're entering the suburbs of Columbus with the strip malls, restaurants and motels that sprang up along U.S. 40 during its heyday.

First as Main Street, then jogging onto Broad Street, the National Road passes numerous landmarks and attractions in Ohio's capital city, a destination itself. Many are on or near U.S. 40 as it heads through the city. From the historic State House in the middle of downtown; to COSI (Center of Science and Industry) just across the Scioto River; to a replica of one of Christopher Columbus' ships docked in the river; to German Village, a restored neighborhood founded by German immigrants in the mid-1800s, there is plenty to see and do.

Stone bridges from 1800s, motels from 1900s

The National Road and Zane Grey Museum, 67 miles east of Columbus, documents the road's path through history.

Stone "S" bridges and historic inns mark the road's first life as the route for pioneers into the area then known as the West: Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. Stretches of brick pavement and mom and pop motels mark the road's second life as U.S. 40, a highway carrying cars and trucks across the newly mobile America. State parks, historic sights and commemorative red, white and blue signs in the shadow of the speeding traffic on the nearby interstate mark its third and latest life as a reminder of the country's transportation heritage.

The stone mile markers still can be seen along the highway, indicating the distance to the next towns east and west, as well as the distance from Cumberland.

The National Road is one of 27 highways designated All-American Roads by the Federal Highway Administration, joining other roads such as the Natchez Trace and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Early travelers on the first National Road had to share it with Conestoga wagons laden with household goods or freight; herds of cattle, sheep or geese; and people heading both directions on foot or horseback.

What made the road special was the fact that it was "macadamized," or paved with crushed gravel. That was a big deal in the early 1800s, when most "roads" were dirt and mud, barely more than trails blazed through the wilderness.

Route to the West

When Congress appropriated the money, it was adding to a privately funded section that already had been built from Baltimore to Cumberland.

The mandate for the road was simple: Provide a straight-line route west, with no grade to exceed 5 percent, and include the capitals of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois along the way, said Alan King, curator of the National Road Museum. A diorama at the museum follows the road geographically and chronologically. Also on display are a Conestoga wagon and a number of carriages used on the road.

It was busy in its early days. King said the road had bumper-to-bumper traffic along most of its length, with settlers headed west and cargo headed east.

Roadside taverns and inns sprang up about every 10 miles to service the stagecoaches, which sped along at 6-8 mph; the Conestogas, which moved at 3-4 mph; and foot traffic for those who couldn't afford to take the stage or buy a wagon.

History isn't such a big deal at modern stops. Just like the innkeepers of two centuries ago, "You meet a lot of people from a lot of places," said Kathy Sneddon, assistant manager at an A&W Root Beer restaurant that's part of a gas station-convenience store outside Zanesville. But as for being a part of history, "Not in here."

"S" and "Y" bridges

An unusual feature of the road through eastern Ohio is the "S" bridge, of which only a few remain. While the road was supposed to be straight, the rivers weren't. Engineers needed to build bridges straight across the streams, so the road took a small jog, crossed the stream at a right angle, then jogged back on its westerly course.

One of the "S" bridges is preserved just outside New Concord in a small park right next to U.S. 40. The brick-paved stone arch crosses Fox Creek at the proper right angle. It was capable of handling horse and foot traffic, but it is too sharp for automobiles speeding along at 20 mph or more.

For a side trip to the future, head into New Concord and visit astronaut John Glenn's boyhood home at the John and Annie Glenn Historic Site on West Main Street.

Be sure to follow the original road into Zanesville to experience the most unusual bridge along the road. The famous "Y" bridge downtown crosses the confluence of the Licking and Muskingum rivers, with a stoplight right at the center of the "Y." The current bridge is the fifth on the spot. The first, a covered bridge, was built in 1814, before the National Road had made it as far as Zanesville.

States were in charge of maintenance on the National Road and often charged tolls for wagons, horses and flocks. A flock of sheep, for instance, might cost 3 cents a score. Carriages would have to pay 12 cents for approximately 20 miles between tollbooths.

After 30 years, the paved road finally reached Vandalia, Ill., near St. Louis, when the money was cut off. About that time, the road's first life was coming to an end as railroads stretched across the country, providing cleaner, safer and faster transportation for people and cargo.

The road soon fell into disrepair, often reverting to a muddy path used only by local traffic, King said. But it wasn't the automobile that brought the road back to life, it was the bicycle.

Wright brothers and their bicycles

In the 1890s, a bicycle craze swept the nation, and riders wanted paved roadways where they could ride "centuries," or 100 miles in a day.

A couple of brothers got started in the bicycle business not far off the National Road — Wilbur and Orville Wright of Dayton. Their original bicycle shop now is in Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Mich., but you can visit the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, which consists of several Wright-related sites in Dayton.

If you make the trip into Dayton along U.S. 40, be sure to stop at the Madonna of the Trail monument in Springfield. It is one of 11 Madonnas that were donated by the Daughters of the American Revolution to commemorate the role of women in the westward migration. The Springfield statue was the first, dedicated in 1928 by future President Harry S. Truman.

By the time the bicycle craze faded, Henry Ford was mass-producing his Tin Lizzies that also rode much better on a paved highway than a dirt track.

The road was first paved in brick, then concrete. A mile-long section of the brick road is preserved near Norwich, where the highway passes farmhouses and cow pastures.

By this time, the old stagecoach inns had been replaced by hotels in the cities and by tourist camps and cabins on the road.

As traffic picked up and the road was widened, in many places to four lanes, after World War II, a new type of lodging, the motor hotel or motel, was the accommodation of choice. A few of the classic strip of rooms remain. Baker's Motel, across the road from the museum in Norwich, and the 40 Motel in Columbus, with its bright neon sign, are still open to tourists. Others, like the Shamrock Motor Court near Kirkersville, have been converted to apartments and other uses.

Original Wendy's

A few of the vintage 1940s and 1950s gas stations are still in use along the road, mostly as repair shops or small service businesses.

While drive-in restaurants were common along U.S. 40, few of the originals remain. Still, if you're getting hungry, one national restaurant chain got its start in 1969 on Broad Street in Columbus. The original Wendy's is about a block east of the Capitol.

A pair of organizations celebrated the National Road's bicentennial this year.

The Tin Can Tourist Caravan, consisting of more than 30 travel trailers and recreational vehicles, made the trek from Cumberland to Vandalia, Ill., in early June. Later that month, the Great Race, a cross-country road rally of vintage cars, traveled along sections of the road near Cambridge, Zanesville, Columbus and Vandalia, Ohio.

Why novelist Zane Grey matters here

If you decide to spend the night along the National Road, settle in with a Zane Grey Western.

Grey, "Zanesville's most famous native son," has his own connection to the National Road, said Alan King, curator of the National Road and Zane Grey Museum in Norwich.

The novelist is part of the Zane family of Wheeling, whose previously best-known member was Revolutionary War heroine Betty Zane.

Grey told her story in his first book, "Betty Zane." A first edition of the book is "the Holy Grail of Zane Grey novels," King said.

Before he began writing, Grey went off to college in Philadelphia on a baseball scholarship and emerged with a degree in dentistry. While he fancied himself an author, it was a trip to Arizona that introduced Grey to the West. His many Westerns were at their peak of popularity before 1920, when he also sold story rights to the new motion picture industry. Since then, more than 100 movies have been made from Zane Grey novels, including "Riders of the Purple Sage" four times.

After moving to California, Grey took up deep-sea fishing and soon became a record-holding fisherman, designer of equipment and noted outdoor author. One of his colleagues was another writer interested in the sea, Ernest Hemingway.

"Grey was the fisherman Hemingway wanted to be, and Hemingway was the writer Grey wanted to be," King said.

Grey did give Papa a hand with one of his tales, about an ordeal at sea, catching a big fish he had been chasing, only to have it eaten by sharks on the trip home.

IF YOU GO

This is a road trip, so let's map out the 568-mile drive first. From Atlanta, go north on I-75 to Cincinnati. Just across the Ohio River, exit north on I-71 toward Columbus.

I-70, which parallels U.S. 40 and the National Road, intersects I-71 in downtown Columbus. Exit anywhere along I-70 east or west, and you'll be within a few miles of the National Road. Zanesville, Norwich and New Concord are east of Columbus; Dayton and Springfield are west. Or, at Cincinnati, continue driving north on I-75 to Dayton.

If you fly, Delta Air Lines and others have numerous flights into Columbus. From the airport, turn south on Steltzer Road, which becomes James Road. It intersects with Main Street (U.S. 40/the National Road) east of downtown Columbus. Delta, AirTran Airways and other airlines fly to Dayton.

From the airport, go south on the access road. The first major road you encounter is U.S. 40. To get to Dayton, go east a short distance on I-70, then south on I-75. Springfield and Columbus are farther east on I-70.

Information

• Ohio Historical Society: www.ohiohistory.org

• National Road and Zane Grey Museum: www.ohiohistory.org

/places/natlroad. Open Memorial Day through Labor Day, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays and noon-5 p.m. Sundays. Admission: $7 adults, $3 students.

• Zanesville and Muskingum County: www.zanesville-ohio.com

• Cambridge and Guernsey County: www.visitguernseycounty.com

• John and Annie Glenn Historic Site: www.johnglennhome.org

• Columbus, Ohio: www

.experiencecolumbus.com

• Ohio tourism: www.discoverohio.com

• Baker's Motel: www.bakersmotel.com