Milestones and memories
Celebrating a decade of local history, two centuries of transportation

T-L Photo/JENNIFER COMPSTON-STROUGH Belmont County Commissioner Jerry Echemann welcomes a large crowd to a joint celebration of the 200th anniversary of the groundbreaking for the National Road in Ohio and of the 10th anniversary of the Belmont County Heritage Museum. The event was moved from the plaza in front of the museum to the St. Clairsville Public Library due to concerns about the weather.
ST. CLAIRSVILLE — A standing room-only crowd marked a pair of milestones in local history on Thursday by attending a joint celebration of the 200th anniversary of the groundbreaking for the National Road in Ohio and of the 10th anniversary of the Belmont County Heritage Museum.
Originally scheduled to take place on the courthouse plaza in front of the museum right along National Road, the event was moved inside the St. Clairsville Public Library when inclement weather threatened to interfere.
Cathryn Stanley, curator of the museum, welcomed the many attendees and introduced the various speakers.
“Thank you for joining us as we celebrate two remarkable milestones — the 10th anniversary of the Belmont County Heritage Museum and the 200th anniversary of the National Road’s groundbreaking, which took place right here in Belmont County,” Stanley said. “… Today, we’re not just marking the passage of time — we’re celebrating a legacy of storytelling, education, and community pride. These milestones and memories reflect the people and partnerships that have kept Belmont County’s history alive.”
Belmont County Board of Commissioners Vice President Jerry Echemann spoke first, who talked about a $1.4 million grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation to renovate the courthouse plaza — a project that will include an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant entrance for the museum, which is housed inside the former sheriff’s residence that dates to the 1800s.
Next up was Tom Barrett, cultural resources specialist with ODOT and its Scenic Byways coordinator.
“The National Road is a national treasure that we’re lucky enough to have span out state,” Barrett said. “… (I)t’s so much more than just a street that’s passing by us right now. It represents the early development of our nation. … As the first federally funded interstate highway, it connected eastern settlements with the emerging frontier.”
He also spoke about the Blaine Hill Bridge project on National Road that will rehabilitate the 1930s structure that carries traffic 500 feet up Blaine Hill. He anticipates that it will include a scenic overlook as well as bikeways to improve accessibility and safety. That project is in its earliest stages with work having begun in early July.
U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus was next to step to the podium. A local historian and published author, Sargus looked back to the period when the National Road groundbreaking took place in 1825. He joked that he wasn’t around for the event, but that he was born the next year.
“OK, it’s not a national road, because there are no others,” he said. “It’s not the first national road, because it was also the last. So, it’s really a big part of our history.”
He explained that transportation at the time was largely focused on water — using rivers and the ocean to transport people and goods. But the Northwest Territory, which eventually became the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, was landlocked. So by building National Road from Cumberland, Maryland, to what was then Wheeling, Virginia, connected the coastal cities to the newly opened territory. Construction of the road further to the west opened up the entire frontier.
“As many of you know, the National Road was more than a route — it was a lifeline, connecting communities, commerce, and culture across a growing nation,” Stanley added. “Today, we honor that legacy. In July 1825, the groundbreaking of the Ohio National Road took place here in Belmont County, led by Townsend Frasier.
After the speakers were finished, a ceremonial groundbreaking was held, featuring a reenactment by Belmont County native Ethan Kyer. Visitors were then invited to tour the museum, which is dedicated to the history of all the communities in Belmont County.