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Be a Part of History by Offering Your U.S. 40 Story
For all of you travelers who've ever been on U.S. 40, the section also known as the National Road, students at Ball State University may want your story. The students are doing a documentary about the highway and want to include stories from people who live and travel along this stretch of American history. (Read about project and contacts.)
Why this highway? As the first federally-funded highway after it was commissioned by Thomas Jefferson in 1806, it played an important part in American expansion west and the development of the Midwest. Part of the road paralleled George Washington's and General Braddock's military road that was built from 1754 to 1755. Today, parts of U.S. 40 still stretch across the United States almost as far as Park City, Utah, but the original highway when it was the National Road started in Cumberland, Maryland and ended in Vandalia, Illinois.
The Ball State film project will also include a Web site, touch screen kiosks and educational shows. If you end up involved, let us know. I love this shot by artistic pursuits on Flickr. This is the Wheeling, West Virginia suspension bridge that crosses the Ohio River along U.S. 40. I traveled this way many times as a kid. Hmmm, maybe I need to contact Ball State.
Filed under: History, Learning, Stories, North America, United States
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
David Anderson Jun 10th 2007 3:46PM
I lived on a farm near Centerville, Indiana. 40 ran about 4 miles from our house. I remember that during Memorial Day weekend, we never used 40! It was like the warm up for INDY. The section that we traveled was not divided with a median. I never have liked to drive and this was scary to me. We often saw really bad wrecks.
It it kind of sad to see it today. Not heavely used and not in the best of condition.
Jamie Rhein Jun 10th 2007 3:47PM
David, yours sounds like a story they might be interested in. Give it a shot.