Indiana Scenic Drive: National Road

One of America's earliest roads, the National Road was built between 1828 and 1834 and established a settlement pattern and infrastructure that is still visible today. Nine National Register Districts are found along the route, as are 32 individually designated National Register Sites offering education and entertainment. As you travel Indiana's Historic National Road, you find a landscape that has changed little since the route's heyday in the 1940s.

Historic villages with traditional main streets and leafy residential districts still give way to the productive fields and tranquil pastures that brought Indiana prosperity. From the Federal-style architecture of an early pike town (a town that offered traveling accommodations and little else) to the drive-ins and stainless-steel diners of the 1940s, you can literally track the westward migration of the nation in the buildings and landscapes that previous generations have left behind.

Along the way, you will find many of the same buildings and towns that were here during the earliest days of westward expansion. A visit to Antique Alley gives you a chance to do some antique shopping and exploring along this historic road. The Indiana Historic National Road is a unique way to experience the preserved pike towns along the route, such as Centerville and Knightstown.

The National Road also stretches into Illinois and Ohio. Keep reading to learn about the sights you'll see along the Indiana leg of this scenic drive.

Archaeological Qualities of the National Road

Eastern Indiana was the home of two groups of Native Americans identified by scholars as the Eastern Woodland Societies, who made their homes in the area following the retreat of the glaciers. One group occupied the area around 7000 to 1000 B.C., the other from approximately 1000 to 700 B.C. Many of their campsites have been found in the area of the Whitewater River Gorge. The Whitewater River Gorge was an important area after glacier movement and activity had stopped in the area. The area was excellent for hunting and fishing, with flowing streams and an abundance of resources.

Cultural Qualities of the National Road

The National Road brought the nation to Indiana. The lure of limitless opportunities and the romance of the West drew tens of thousands of pioneers through Indiana between 1834 and 1848. Many stayed and settled in the Hoosier State, thus creating a new culture -- the foundation for our national culture. This is because religious and economic groups left the distinctive colonial societies of the eastern seaboard and merged in the Midwest.

Settlers to Indiana brought with them their own particular mix of customs, religions, languages, building styles, and farming practices. Quakers, European immigrants, and African-Americans looking for new opportunities all traveled the National Road. Evidence of this mix of cultural influences can be seen along the corridor today in the buildings and landscapes. It can also be learned at the Indiana State Museum's National Road exhibit, and it can be experienced on a Conestoga Wagon at Conner Prairie Living History Museum or at a Civil War encampment along the route.

As the region matured, the culture continued to evolve under the influence of the nation's primary east-west route. Richmond was home of the Starr Piano Company, and later the Starr-Gennet recording studios, where jazz greats such as Hoagy Carmichael and Louis Armstrong made recordings in an early jazz center. The Overbeck sisters, noted for their Arts and Crafts pottery, lived and worked in Cambridge City. The poet James Whitcomb Riley, author of "Little Orphan Annie" and "Raggedy Man," lived in Greenfield.

Also, Indianapolis, the largest city on the entire National Road, became an early center for automobile manufacturing. Today, visitors experience such attractions as the Children's Museum of Indianapolis (the largest in the world) and the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, as well as a variety of other museums and cultural institutions.

The National Road in Indiana represents one segment of the historic National Road corridor from Maryland to Illinois. The historic and cultural resources within Indiana are intimately tied to traditions and customs from the eastern terminus of the road in Cumberland, Maryland, and are built on goals and expectations of a nation looking west.

Historical Qualities of the National Road

The National Road was the first federally funded highway in the United States. Authorized by Thomas Jefferson in 1803, the road ran from Cumberland, Maryland, west to Vandalia, Illinois. Designed to connect with the terminus of the C&O Canal in Cumberland, the National Road gave agricultural goods and raw materials from the interior direct access to the eastern seaboard. It also encouraged Americans to settle in the fertile plains west of the Appalachians. For the first time in the United States, a coordinated interstate effort was organized and financed to survey and construct a road for both transportation purposes and economic development.

Built in Indiana between 1828 and 1834, the National Road established a settlement pattern and infrastructure that is still visible today. The historic structures along the National Road illustrate the transference of ideas and culture from the east as the road brought settlement and commerce to Indiana. The National Road passes through well-preserved, Federal-style pike towns and Victorian streetcar neighborhoods, and it is lined with early automobile-era structures, such as gas stations, diners, and motels.

Natural Qualities of the National Road

The topography of Indiana was created by glaciers that advanced and retreated over the land during the Pleistocene Period. Leaving behind moraines and an undulating landscape, the glaciers also helped to create the Whitewathemter River Gorge, where fragments of limestone, clay, and shale bedrock can be seen. The gorge and surrounding region is known internationally among geologists for its high concentration of Ordovician Period fossils.

Recreational Qualities of the National Road

You can find many opportunities for recreation along the Historic National Road in Indiana, as well as in nearby cities. Golf is a popular sport along the highway, as evidenced by the many golf courses. Biking and hiking are other extremely popular sports along the byway. Local park and recreation facilities are often directly accessible from the byway or can be found nearby.

Professional sports can be enjoyed along the byway as well. White River State Park in Indianapolis offers you an opportunity to enjoy a Triple-A baseball game at Victory Field. Just off the Historic National Road in downtown Indianapolis are the RCA Dome, home of the Indianapolis Colts, and Conseco Fieldhouse, home of the Indiana Pacers.

Find more useful information related to Indiana's National Road:

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National Road Information

Length: 156 miles

Time to allow: Three to nine hours

States it runs through: Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio

Cities it runs through: Richmond, Indianapolis, Brazil

Considerations: High seasons are spring and fall. In the spring, poppies, irises, and wildflowers are spread along the roadside. Black locusts and redbuds are also in bloom. During September and October, community festivals occur all along the byway.

Highlights of the National Road

The National Road is a combination of scenes from rural communities, small towns, and a metropolitan city. This combination makes the byway a scenic tour along one of the most historically important roads in America.

Small-town antique shops and old-fashioned gas pumps dot the byway, making the Historic National Road a relaxing and peaceful journey. Broad views of cultivated fields, distant barns and farmhouses, and grazing livestock dominate the landscape. In other areas, courthouse towers, church steeples, and water towers signal approaching communities that draw you from the open areas into historic settlements.

The topography of the land affords vistas down the corridor and glimpses into natural areas that sit mostly hidden in the rural landscape. This repeating pattern of towns and rural landscapes is broken only by metropolitan Indianapolis.

The following are just some of the points of interest available to you when traveling west across the Indiana portion of this byway from the western border of Ohio. If you're traveling east, read this list from the bottom up.

Historic Richmond: As one of Indiana's oldest historic towns (founded in 1806), Richmond has one of the Hoosier State's largest intact collections of 19th-century architecture. You can visit four National Register Historic Districts; Hayes Regional Arboretum; a bustling historic downtown full of unique shops and restaurants; and a fascinating collection of local museums, including the Wayne County Museum, the Richmond Art Museum, the Gaar Mansion, the Indiana Football Hall of Fame, the Joseph Moore Museum at Earlham College, and the Rose Gardens located along the road on the city's east side.

Centerville: One of the historic highway's most intact and quaint National Road-era pike towns is listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its fine collection of architecture. Historic brick houses connected by brick archways characterize the town. Centerville also has a noteworthy collection of small antique and specialty shops and is home to the world's largest antique mall, just several blocks north of the National Road.

Pike towns and Antique Alley (Richmond to Knightstown): You can meander along the National Road and enjoy the tranquil agricultural landscape interspersed with pike towns that recall the early years, when travelers needed a place to rest every five miles or so. This route is also heralded as Antique Alley, with more than 900 antique dealers plying their trade in and between every community along the route.

\Huddleston Farmhouse Inn Museum and Cambridge City: A restored National Road-era inn and farm tells the story of the historic highway and the people who formed communities along its length. The museum is owned and operated by the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana and is the home office of the Indiana National Road Association, the National Scenic Byway management nonprofit group. The museum displays the way of life of an early Hoosier farm family and the experience of westward travelers who stopped for food and shelter. Cambridge City is also listed in the National Register of Historic Places and has unique historic buildings that are home to diverse shops and local eateries.

Knightstown: Knightstown grew because of its location on the National Road between Richmond and Indianapolis. The town has retained its significant collection of 19th-and 20th-century architecture; a large section of the town is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Today, you can visit four antique malls, watch a nationally known coppersmith, and stay in one of two bed-and-breakfasts. Also available is the Big Four Railroad Scenic Tour.

Greenfield: The James Whitcomb Riley Old Home and Museum on the National Road in Greenfield tells the story of the Hoosier poet and allows you to experience his life and community with guided tours. The small town also is rich in local flavor, with many shops and restaurants to satisfy you.

Irvington: A classic 1870s Indianapolis suburb was developed as a getaway on the city's east side. Irvington has since been swallowed by the city but retains its stately architecture and peaceful winding cul-de-sacs. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, Irvington recalls turn-of-the-century progressive design principles and allows the modern visitor a glimpse into the city's 19th-century development.

Indianapolis: The center of Indiana's National Road is also its state capital. Downtown Indianapolis offers a growing array of activities and amenities, from the state's best shopping at Circle Centre Mall, an unprecedented historic preservation development that incorporates building facades from the city's past into a state-of-the-art mall experience, to gourmet dining and an active nightlife and sports scene. Along Washington Street just east of downtown, you can visit the Indiana Statehouse, the Indianapolis Zoo, the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, and White River State Park. The Indianapolis Colts play at the RCA Dome, and the Indiana Pacers continue the ritual of "Hoosier Hysteria" at Conseco Fieldhouse downtown.

Plainfield: Twentieth-century automobile culture dominates this area. Motels and gas stations remain from the early days and are interspersed with the sprawl and development of the modern city. The Diner, on the east side of Plainfield, is a remnant from the early days of travel, a stainless-steel café with an atmosphere reminiscent of the 1940s, an atmosphere that is quickly disappearing. From Plainfield to Brazil, look for roadside farmers' markets.

Brazil: The western extension of the National Road was surveyed through what is now Brazil in 1825; today, its National Register-listed Meridian Street remains a classic example of how the historic highway promoted the growth of communities along its length. The village is also full of curios and collectibles.

Terre Haute: The western edge of Indiana's National Road is anchored by Terre Haute, a community offering historic points of interest and cultural experiences of various kinds. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology on the city's east side was founded in 1874 and is an exceptionally beautiful college campus; just west of the city on State Road 150, the St. Mary-of-the-Woods College campus offers a touch of European elegance in the Indiana forest.

Its campus is in a beautiful wooded setting and has several buildings dating to its 1841 founding. You can choose National Road restaurants along the city's Wabash Avenue, located in historic buildings. Dobb's Park, 1/2 mile south of the highway at the intersection of Highways 46 and 42, is home to a nature center and Native American Museum. The Sheldon Swope Art Museum at 25 South 7th Street features 19th-and 20th-century artworks in a 1901 Renaissance Revival-style building with an Art Deco interior.

The Children's Science and Technology Museum on Wabash Avenue houses rooms full of hands-on learning displays and special exhibits. Larry Bird fans can see memorabilia at Larry Bird's Boston Connection and view a museum of his career keepsakes, including his Olympic medal, MVP trophies, photographs, and other mementos. Continue on Indiana's Old National Road to the Illinois portion of the road.

Traversing the entire width of the state, the National Road in Indiana gives visitors a relaxing journey through small-town America, pastoral farmland, natural features formed by ancient glaciers, and the high-octane urban offerings of Indianapolis.

Find more useful information related to Indiana's National Road:

Indiana Scenic Drives: The National Road is just one of the scenic byways in Indiana. Check out the others.
How to Drive Economically: Fuel economy is a major concern when you're on a driving trip. Learn how to get better gas mileage.