An official website of the United States government
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Let's get something straight: Baltimore was not the terminus of the National Road! The initial road went from Cumberland, Maryland, to Wheeling, Virginia (later West Virginia). It was eventually extended west to Vandalia, Illinois. It didn't go east to Baltimore.
The Rambler wishes to...
All forms of transportation are risky. Stagecoaching was no exception. The condition of the roads-and the drivers-ensured that. Two famous 19th century writers left accounts of their own perils on travels around the United States.
Charles Dickens, the most famous British...
Ever mindful that history is most interesting when it is helpful, the Rambler thought it might be worth mentioning that the Federal Government's first road aid was accomplished through innovative financing.
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 opened the Northwest...
In good times and bad, the Rambler can safely say State and local governments never have enough money for their highway needs. It has always been so. In recent years, the Federal Highway Administration has spearheaded "innovative financing" techniques that can help meet needs. There's even a...
South Carolina's section of I-85 is 106 miles long, part of a route from Montgomery, Alabama, to Petersburg, Virginia. The first contract on I-85 in the State was awarded September 21, 1956, for a bridge over the Broad River in Cherokee County at a cost of $280,665. This was also the first...
In announcing an America the Beautiful initiative in January 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson (D) said:
I want to make sure that the America we see from these major highways is a beautiful America.
The cornerstone of the initiative would be the Highway...
The Rambler has been thinking about the future for many years. He is concerned mostly about the immediate future-which is why he's a longtime subscriber to TV Guide. But he believes that asking historians to make predictions about the distant future is like asking a meteorologist about the...
The Rambler hasn't been on a bicycle since he got his drivers license. Until then (probably 1963), he had been a bicyclist who envied his friends whose parents had purchased "English racers." The source of the name was unknown to him, but they were slim and had gears that functioned in some...
The Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge carries the Capital Beltway, I-95/495, across the Potomac River. Although President Woodrow Wilson's life was filled with many accomplishments and distinctions, he is not known for links to the Potomac River or for crossing it.
So why is the bridge...