National Road Heritage Foundation

08/18/2026

Join us THIS SATURDAY for a special display of items from the history of the Maryland DNR Police brought to us by historian Greg Bartles. From the waterways to the forested mountains, this agency has been protecting our natural resources for over 150 years!

Visitors of all ages will learn more about this important but often overlooked agency in our state, and young visitors will be able to put together and color their own badge or patch.

Regular museum admission-by-donation applies.

Don't forget our other upcoming events.

Game Night At The Museum on September 7 from 6-9pm, come enjoy refreshments and enjoy board games among the museum exhibits! Proceeds support the museums.

An Evening with Brady Crytzer on September 9 starting at 7pm. Meet the award-winning author of The National Road: George Washington and America's First Highway West and hear him talk about his book and the National Road within the walls of our museum!

The Town of Boonsboro will be active in September as well, with the Food Truck Festival starting at noon on Sunday September 6, the Boonsboro Historical Society's 55th Annual Boonesborough Days on September 12 & 13, and Bevs and Bites in the Boro on the evening of September 24th

08/16/2026

07/22/2026

Join us over the next two weekends for Trolley History Days, as we pay tribute to the Hagerstown & Frederick Railway ahead of the 79th anniversary of the Last Trolley in Washington County on August 4th.

See unique objects, documents, and tickets from the railway's history which are rarely displayed to the public and watch authentic footage of our local trolleys in service, provided by the Hagerstown & Frederick Railway Historical Society, Inc. Children will be able to decorate a 3D paper trolley to take home. Our regular trolley exhibits and artifact displays at the Boonsboro Trolley Station Museum will also be available all day.

On Sunday July 26th, all four museums in Downtown Boonsboro will be open: The National Road Museum, Boonsboro Trolley Station Museum, Boonsborough Museum of History, and the Bowman House Museum!

Regular museum admission-by-donation applies. No reservation required.

Be sure to visit our Events page at https://nationalrdfoundation.org/events to learn about other upcoming events and programs. FREE tickets are still available for our nationally recognized speakers on August 12 and September 9.

07/19/2026

LaVale isn't the only place you can find one of the unique federally-built toll houses! This is another survivor in Pennsylvania.

While the Road was being built, superintendent David Shriver asked to collect tolls for necessary ongoing maintenance of the completer sections but Congress refused to allow the National Road to collect tolls under federal ownership. As a condition during the transfer of ownership to the states in the late 1830s, the Army engineers constructed these toll houses so that the states of Maryland and Pennsylvania would be able to collect the tolls for that road maintenance.

Still Here! By the 1940s, the national Road tollhouse at Addison which had opened in 1835 was in Serious disrepair and was about to be demolished for a gas station. The daughters of the American Revolution stepped in and saved it. It’s now a must stop along US 40 National Rd. in Addison PA. There’s also one standing near Cumberland, Maryland and at Searights west of Uniontown. The Great Crossings Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) saved and restored the Addison (also known as Old Petersburg) tollhouse on the National Road.Here are the key details of its preservation:Saved from Demolition: The chapter acquired the 1835 cut-stone structure in the late 1940s to prevent it from being demolished to make room for a service station.Official Transfer: In 1949, the state of Pennsylvania officially transferred ownership to the group.Restoration: The group completed a full restoration of the building in 1997 to return it to its original 19th-century appearance.Current Use: The DAR continues to own and operate it as a historical property, which features original flooring and furniture.

07/09/2026

Did you miss today's Lunch & Learn program hosted by the Enoch Pratt Library, Maryland State Archives? If you did, follow the link below to watch the recording of our Executive Director of Museums Reuben Moss giving an overview of the founding, heyday, and revival of the National Road in Maryland and beyond!

For nearly as long as our nation has existed, many Maryland residen...

07/02/2026

Mark your calendar for Next Thursday, July 9th at 1pm, when our Director of Museums Reuben Moss will be giving a virtual talk on the National Road. The presentation is part of the Maryland Lunch & Learn program, a partnership between the Maryland State Archives, Enoch Pratt Library, and Maryland 400 Committee.

Click on the link to find information about how to attend this free online program. The event will stream live on the Enoch Pratt Library's Youtube channel, where it can be found as a recording after the end of the program.