MORRISTOWN — The sight of covered wagons on National Road may seem like a glimpse into the past for some motorists this weekend as the National Pike Wagon Train sets off.

Belmont County Tourism Director Jackee Pugh said enthusiasm for the event is high after canceling the 2020 event in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and “scaling down” the ride in 2021.

“They were able to have it last year, so they were super-excited to bring it back, but had to change the route a little bit last year to include some COVID protocols, but this year it’s going to be back to its normal route,” she said.

Dick Gummere from St. Clairsville will again serve as wagon master. He has worked with the Tourism Council on planning the event.

“He’s really helping facilitate getting the word out and getting the right people to send the information to, he’s been amazing to work with,” Pugh said. “He’s been a longtime advocate for the Tourism Council along with the National Pike Wagon Train.”

Pugh said many old favorites will be returning.

“They’re excited because one of the stops that they’re bringing back is at Cumberland Pointe Care Center, and when they stop there they have lunch and the residents get to come outside and they get to see the horses, pet them and get to interact with the people riding in the covered wagons. It’s been a really loved tradition with the residents as well as the people that participate in the wagon train, so they’re very excited to have that stop back on the route this year,” Pugh said.

“It’s nice to get to the nursing home,” Gummere said. “A lot of those are the older people. They used to do the farming with the horses.”

Pugh said wagoneers come from near and far.

“They’re all over. There’s people from Ohio, there’s people coming in from West Virginia, from Pennsylvania, so it’s kind of a tri-state radius of people coming in,” Pugh said.

“You never know how many people we’ll have because of the weather plays a big part, but it looks like right now we’ll have somewhere between 10 and 15 wagons,” Gummere said, adding this is comparable to 2021’s participation. There could be 50 to 75 people involved.

“In addition to the covered wagons, people also ride horseback and there’s mules that come along. It’s a whole way that they really celebrate and pay homage to how travel was on the original National Pike,” she said. “That’s kind of the reason for this event.”

Pugh added she is hopeful that the wagon trains are returning to the typical participation in pre-pandemic years.

“We don’t have an official count yet, because a lot of this is weather-dependent, too,” she said. “At this point we’re excited because it looks like the weather’s going to be perfect and that’ll bring more people out to participate, as well as residents and visitors to watch as they travel along the National Road.”

For safety, Pugh said the train will be led by a sheriff’s deputy and be followed by one. Motorists traveling along National Road this weekend are asked to be alert and slow down.

Pugh noted outdoor events have gained in popularity during COVID-19, and the train evokes the sense of pioneering spirit of the early days during current hard times.

“The National Pike Wagon Train is a tradition that celebrates our heritage and rich history right here in the heart of Appalachia,” she said, adding the wagoneers pay homage to the way of travel along the original National Pike.

“That’s really what we’re celebrating here,” she said. “It truly is going back in time and seeing how people used to travel and to appreciate that here and that we have such a strong tie with the National Road. The Ohio National Road Association really helps promote this event.”

“It is a way of seeing what they used to do, and we’ve got it a lot better than what they did back then,” Gummere said.

In an added advantage, horse-drawn wagons do not use gasoline.

The wagons will assemble at 6 p.m. today at the Lynn-Hunkler Memorial Park at 101 Old National Road in Morristown, then participants will camp and enjoy dinner. The Morristown Fire Department will help provide water for the horses and the Morristown Historic Preservation Society is also promoting the train.

The wagons will head out at 9:30 a.m. Saturday and travel through Lloydsville, entering the Ohio University Eastern campus to cross to Ohio 331, arriving at noon at Cumberland Pointe Care Center.

At 1:30 p.m. the train will depart and head right on Ohio 331 ober to the Lloydsville-Bannock Road to return to National Road west and arrive at 4:30 p.m. at the Pike 40 Restaurant, then arrive at 5:30 p.m. back at the Lynn-Hunkler Memorial Park.

They will head out again at 10 a.m. Sunday to Pancoast Road, passing through Feisley’s Tree Farm toward Barkcamp State Park to arrive at 1 p.m. At 2 p.m. the train will head south on Ohio 149 to Stenger Road, then Ohio 26 and back to National Road to Morristown.

Pugh said the wagon train coincides with the National Road Yard Sale, which began Thursday and stretches to include Bridgeport through Hendrysburg, Ohio.

“That is planned on purpose, so it draws more people and more visitors. As these horses and wagons go by, there’s people stopping at these yard sales all along the National Road.”