Newswise — Forget Route 66.
America's first quintessential road was the National Road, and through the mid-1800s, the road now known as U.S. 40 was the main way that people journeyed from the ocean foam of the Mid-Atlantic to the fertile flatlands of Illinois.
Construction of the 750-mile road began in 1811, and it passes through six states, including West Virginia's northern panhandle, as it unwinds to St. Louis. Lining the road in the eastern states are a distinct series of mile markers - squat, 4-foot tall, cast-iron obelisks that look like miniature Washington Monuments and are painted to resemble stone.
Mother Nature, vandals and auto crashes have taken a toll on the markers over the past century, but a collection of them between Wheeling Hill and the Pennsylvania state line are now being refurbished with the help of West Virginia University.
WVU's Institute for the History of Technology and Industrial Archaeology (IHTIA), has taken on the meticulous restoration project, with funding from the state Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration's Transportation Enhancements Program.
The project, IHTIA chair Dan Bonenberger said, was the idea of the National Road Alliance of West Virginia, a nonprofit group formed by him and others in 1998 to promote and preserve the National Road's 16 miles that cross the northern top of the state.
Similar groups have been formed in the other National Road states from Maryland to Illinois, and the shared motivation, Bonenberger said, chuckling, came from all the attention given to what he calls "that other road."
That's the one made famous by Woody Guthrie, John Steinbeck and Dust Bowl refugees: Route 66.
"We've spent a lot of time talking about it," he said. "I mean, that question always comes up when we meet: 'What is it about Route 66?'" He and his colleagues already know the answer.
"Well, the thing with Route 66 is that people have kept it alive in popular culture," he said. "The National Road is often forgotten, but it was America's first interstate highway. The mile marker project is one way to bring the road back to life in America's collective consciousness."
That's being done with a mix of old and new technology - and the love of the road, Bonenberger said.
"Somebody had one of the markers in his basement," Bonenberger said. "The marker was pretty beat up, and the gentleman 'rescued' it from the elements. When he found out we were restoring the markers, he donated it to the Friends of Wheeling (a historical preservation group) who had helped raise matching funds for the project."
IHTIA took the marker to WVU's Virtual Environments Lab, known for its use of cutting-edge computer technology to aid in historic preservation projects. After the laser scans were made, IHTIA converted the data into CAD (computer-aided design) drawings.
The 15 markers on the West Virginia leg of the road date to the 1830s, Bonenberger said, and great care has been taken with the iron casting and painting processes critical to a restoration that's true to the history.
Casting Technologies Inc. of Waynesboro, Pa., created a mould of the marker based on the drawings, and then poured duplicate castings - using foundry technology that has changed little in 170 years.
John Milner Associates of Philadelphia completed a paint sample analysis and determined the original paint scheme.
Carboline, a St. Louis paint company, matched the historic paint color - then kicked in the paint for free.
"And that was just from a chance telephone call," Bonenberger said. "I called to confirm the shade of white for the paint, and the project manager I was talking with got interested in the project. He said, 'Well, let's just give you the paint, while we're at it.'"
Six markers of the 15 are currently being restored and were installed in their rightful places along the roadside last week, Bonenberger said. A local painter has been hired to paint the historic numbering and lettering on them.
Two more duplicate markers were also cast, he said, and they'll take up residence in the coming weeks at the Wheeling Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Interstate 70 Welcome Center, on the super highway inspired in part by America's first road.
From wagon wheel ruts to asphalt, it's the road that most tells America's story, Bonenberger said. It's the road, he said, that reveals the wandering spirit of curiosity and adventure that made us who we are as a country.
"The markers are still functional," Bonenberger said. "If you choose, they can still tell you where you're going. But the most important thing is, they tell us where we've been. And that needs restored and preserved."
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