Inns on the National Road

Inns on the National Road is a national historic district in western Maryland, United States, associated with the historic National Road, later incorporated in this area into U.S. Route 40. The district represents the roadside hospitality network that developed along one of the early major transportation routes connecting the eastern seaboard with the American interior. Rather than being a single operating hotel company or a unified commercial brand, it is a heritage designation encompassing surviving buildings, sites, and architectural remnants of inns, hotels, taverns, and related lodging properties in Allegany and Garrett counties. The National Road encouraged long-distance movement of settlers, merchants, government officials, military personnel, and other travelers during the nineteenth century. Inns along the route supplied lodging, meals, stabling, and social space, making them important pieces of the road's transportation infrastructure. The buildings vary considerably in form and condition. Some are substantial brick structures with Greek Revival or other classically influenced details; others are frame or stone buildings that preserve the more utilitarian character of early turnpike travel. Their locations, often measured by mileage from Cumberland or positioned at major crossroads, reflect the practical geography of stagecoach-era travel. The historic district originally consisted of eleven Maryland inns and related properties. The documented resources include sites and buildings in Allegany County such as Clarysville Inn, Colonial Manor or Turkey Flight Manor, Early Frame House, Five Mile House, Flintstone Hotel, Four Mile House, Six Mile House, and Stone House. Garrett County resources include Casselman Hotel, the former National Hotel, Penn Alps Main Building, and Tomlinson Inn and The Little Meadows. The National Hotel has been demolished, while some other resources survive only in altered form, as a shell, or as a documented site. The collection therefore records both preserved architecture and the losses caused by fire, demolition, highway changes, and changing patterns of transportation. Several properties have individual historical associations. Tomlinson Inn, built around 1818 by Jesse Tomlinson, was among the early hostelries on the National Road and was visited by James K. Polk in 1845 while he was traveling to his inauguration. Flintstone Hotel, also known as the Piper Hotel, is traditionally associated with visits by the Marquis de Lafayette, Henry Clay, and Theodore Roosevelt. Clarysville Inn reportedly served as a hospital during the American Civil War before later becoming a restaurant; it was destroyed by fire in 1999. Colonial Manor likewise served as a hospital after the 1864 Battle of Falch's Mill. These associations illustrate how roadside buildings could be adapted to changing civic and commercial needs. The district's significance is architectural, transportation-related, and social. Its properties show how the National Road functioned as a corridor of commerce and migration before modern highway travel transformed the route. They also preserve evidence of the building types and service arrangements that supported stagecoach and turnpike journeys. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. It remains a heritage resource rather than a conventional hospitality business, with its importance resting on preservation, interpretation, and the surviving physical record of travel along the National Road.

The Inns on the National Road district documents the lodging system that supported travel through western Maryland during the era of the National Road. The road was an important east-west route for travelers moving between the established eastern states and territories farther west. Inns and taverns were positioned at settlements, crossroads, and measured intervals so that travelers and stage operators could obtain food, rest, lodging, and services for horses. The resources in the district span several building traditions. Tomlinson Inn and The Little Meadows in Grantsville is a large stone building constructed around 1818 for Jesse Tomlinson and is one of the earliest identified hostelries associated with the route. The Casselman Hotel, also in Grantsville, was built around 1842 for Solomon Sterner as a Greek Revival brick inn. The National Hotel, constructed around the same period for innkeeper Henry Fuller, stood on the site of the earlier Lehman House but has since been demolished. Penn Alps Main Building began as an early nineteenth-century log house and was later enlarged and remodeled, illustrating how roadside structures were adapted for later commercial use. Allegany County contains a complementary group of properties. Clarysville Inn was a substantial brick building reportedly erected around 1807 as a tavern. Its uses later included a Civil War hospital and a restaurant, but the building was destroyed by fire on March 10, 1999. Colonial Manor, also known as Turkey Flight Manor, is a mid-nineteenth-century brick building that was used as a hospital after the Battle of Falch's Mill in 1864. Early Frame House preserves a mid-nineteenth-century frame form at Pleasant Grove. Five Mile House and Four Mile House, located near La Vale and named for their approximate distances from Cumberland, demonstrate the mileage-based organization of National Road travel. Four Mile House was rebuilt in part after a fire destroyed its upper rooms in the late 1950s or early 1960s. Flintstone Hotel, also known as the Piper Hotel, is a large brick building traditionally dated to approximately 1807. It is associated with prominent nineteenth- and early twentieth-century visitors, including the Marquis de Lafayette, Henry Clay, and Theodore Roosevelt, although these visitor traditions are part of the site's historical interpretation rather than evidence of a continuous modern hospitality operation. Six Mile House is another brick structure from the 1830s or 1840s. Stone House, near Pleasant Valley, survives as the shell of an early nineteenth-century stone building reportedly constructed around 1819 as a tavern for Jonas Street. The route's importance declined as transportation technology and road alignments changed. Some properties were altered when U.S. Route 40 replaced or bypassed older sections of the National Road, while others were converted to new commercial, residential, or institutional uses. Demolition and fire also reduced the surviving group. Historic surveys brought the remaining resources together as a representative district. Tomlinson Inn and The Little Meadows was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, and the broader Inns on the National Road district was listed in 1976. The district consequently preserves not only intact buildings but also sites and altered structures that help explain the scale and character of the former inn network.

• 1999

  Clarysville Inn destroyed by fire

  [1]Inns on the National Roaden.wikipedia.org

  The surviving Clarysville Inn building was destroyed by fire on March 10, 1999, leaving the property as a documented historic site.

• 1976

  District listed on the National Register

  [1]Inns on the National Roaden.wikipedia.org

  The Inns on the National Road historic district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

• 1973

  Tomlinson Inn individually listed

  [1]Inns on the National Roaden.wikipedia.org

  Tomlinson Inn and The Little Meadows was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

• 1864

  Roadside buildings used during the Civil War

  [1]Inns on the National Roaden.wikipedia.org

  Colonial Manor served as a hospital after the nearby Battle of Falch's Mill; Clarysville Inn also had a reported Civil War hospital use.

• 1845

  James K. Polk stops at Tomlinson Inn

  [1]Inns on the National Roaden.wikipedia.org

  President-elect James K. Polk reportedly stopped at Tomlinson Inn while traveling to his inauguration.

• 1842

  Grantville-area hotels built

  [1]Inns on the National Roaden.wikipedia.org

  The Casselman Hotel and the National Hotel were built in Grantsville, expanding the lodging infrastructure along the route.

• 1818

  Tomlinson Inn constructed

  [1]Inns on the National Roaden.wikipedia.org

  Jesse Tomlinson built the stone Tomlinson Inn and The Little Meadows near Grantsville, one of the early hostelries serving National Road travelers.

• 1807

  Early inns established along the route

  [1]Inns on the National Roaden.wikipedia.org

  Clarysville Inn and the building later known as Flintstone Hotel are traditionally dated to around 1807, reflecting the early development of lodging along the National Road.

A historic-preservation designation centered on the surviving architectural and cultural evidence of nineteenth-century hospitality along Maryland's National Road.

• Historic inn · 1818

  Tomlinson Inn and The Little Meadows

  A large rectangular stone structure near Grantsville, built around 1818 by Jesse Tomlinson. It has two full stories, an attic, and a basement, and is regarded as one of the earliest surviving hostelries associated with Maryland's National Road. The property was individually listed on the National Register in 1973 and is associated with James K. Polk's 1845 visit.

• Historic hotel · 1842

  Casselman Hotel

  A two-and-a-half-story Greek Revival brick hotel on U.S. Route 40 in Grantsville. Built around 1842 for Solomon Sterner, it served travelers using the National Road and represents the substantial masonry hotels that developed along the route during the nineteenth century.

• Historic hotel · 1807

  Flintstone Hotel

  A large classically influenced brick building at Flintstone, also known as the Piper Hotel. It is traditionally dated to around 1807 and is associated with reported visits by the Marquis de Lafayette, Henry Clay, and Theodore Roosevelt.

• Historic inn site · 1807

  Clarysville Inn

  A former two-and-a-half-story brick tavern near Clarysville, reportedly built around 1807. It later served as a Civil War hospital and restaurant before being destroyed by fire on March 10, 1999.

• Historic house and inn · 1840

  Four Mile House

  A two-and-a-half-story brick building near La Vale, constructed around 1840 for Samuel Eckles. Its Greek Revival character includes an Ionic-columned porch, and the upper floor was rebuilt after a fire in the late 1950s or early 1960s.

• Historic house and inn

  Five Mile House

  A two-and-a-half-story, five-bay building west of Cumberland near La Vale. Its large cross gable contributes to the group of mileage-named roadside properties that marked travel distances along the National Road.

• Historic inn site · 1819

  Stone House

  The surviving shell of an early nineteenth-century stone structure near Pleasant Valley. It was reportedly built around 1819 as a tavern for Jonas Street and illustrates the durable stone construction used for some National Road lodging properties.

• Historic hotel site · 1842

  National Hotel

  A former three-and-a-half-story frame hotel at Grantsville, built around 1842 for innkeeper Henry Fuller on the site of the earlier Lehman House. The building has been demolished.

• Historic commercial building

  Penn Alps Main Building

  A building east of Grantsville that began as an early nineteenth-century log house. It was enlarged to two and a half stories, remodeled in an Italianate style in the late nineteenth century, and converted to commercial use through twentieth-century renovations and additions.

1. 1Inns on the National Roaden.wikipedia.org