May 8, 2024 By Melissa Gibson 3 min read

It’s a highly anticipated event.

Each year, towns and villages across Southwestern Pennsylvania celebrate the National Road Festival with car shows, live music, games, history and more.

For many, a highlight of the festival is watching the National Pike Wagon Train meander along Route 40 from Grantsville, Md., through Somerset and Fayette counties, and on to Washington County.

That will change this year.

Longtime wagon train participant Randy Breakiron said the wagon train will travel a 12-to-13-mile journey through part of Fayette County.

“It was voted on and decided as a group, until participant numbers increase, the NPWT will only be traveling between Farmington and Uniontown,” he said. “This is not to say that we will never travel our entire trek again, just a pause while we work to gain new participants.”

Seven wagons, about a dozen horseback riders and a couple of walkers will go from Farmington Volunteer Fire Department to Mount St. Macrina on Saturday, May 18.

The full trek took three days, with participants camping and eating on the road, harkening back to the way their ancestors would have traveled on the National Road in the 1800’s.

Now, Breakiron said, too few are willing to make that journey.

“A lot of it is because the people who were involved have gotten older or passed away. I can think of a dozen that have dropped out for one reason or another,” he said.

Other factors such as labor, cost and safety, also factored into the decision to shorten the trip.

“I’ve probably got at least $500 invested in a one-day trip. You have to have health papers for your horses, and they have to be shoed. It can be expensive,” Breakiron said. “There’s the safety aspect too. If you’re coming from Grantsville, we used to ride on the berm at the side of the road and now that’s washed away and we have to actually move into traffic.”

While he knows that those who get to see the wagon train will be excited, the shortened trip means others will miss out on the experience.

“There’s so many people in the new generation that haven’t even been close to a horse,” he said.

He’s hopeful that people will come forward to join the wagon train in the coming years so that the journey can again stretch from Maryland through several Southwestern Pennsylvania counties.

“I love what I do, and I’m not complaining. I’ve been blessed to be able to do it,” Breakiron said. “We’re going to keep going for as long as we can.”

Those who are interested in taking part in coming years can visit the National Pike Wagon Train Grantsville to Uniontown Facebook page, and send a message to secretary Rose Sines-Cook.