Party on the pike
Wagon train part of National Road Festival weekend
Back in the early days of the 1800s, when the United States was barely out of the cradle and large parts of the continent were still uncharted to its East Coast settlers, the idea of a highway constructed with federal funds was kicked around.
Thomas Jefferson was among its supporters, and it was hoped that this “national road” would knit together the eastern part of the country with its western settlements. So, between 1811 and 1837, the National Road was built.
It’s now known, much more prosaically, as U.S. Route 40, and it runs through Fayette and Washington counties. Since the 1970s, its role in shaping America’s early days has been celebrated through the National Road Festival – or, as it was called in its early days, the National Pike Festival. Sometimes described as the world’s longest festival, celebrations have traditionally happened along the route on the third weekend of May.
“It’s wonderful for tourism,” according to Jeff Kotula, president of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Promotion Agency. “It’s one of the only events I can think of that spans the whole county.”
In Fayette and Washington counties, the communities of Hopwood, Scenery Hill and Claysville will be bustling with activity related to the festival. In Hopwood, on Saturday, there will be yard sales, live entertainment, a breakfast for veterans and a car show. The horse-drawn wagon train that traditionally travels down Route 40 during the festival is tentatively set to make an early afternoon arrival. Activities for kids include a petting zoo and a bounce house.
Heading west down Route 40, the National Pike Steam, Gas and Horse Association is having its spring show at 222 Spring Road outside Brownsville. Food and crafts will be for sale, a flea market is planned and there will be displays of antique and vintage farm equipment, construction and mining machinery, railroad engines and more. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
About 15 miles to the west, in Scenery Hill, a whole slate of activities are planned for the National Road Festival over Saturday and Sunday. The opening ceremony will be Saturday at 10 a.m., with a variety of live entertainment to follow throughout the day. The wagon train is expected to arrive somewhere around 1:30 p.m. On Sunday, a community church service is set for 10 a.m., and fireworks are planned at dusk.
On the western end of Washington County, in Claysville, things will get going at 10 a.m. Saturday with a craft show at the Claysville Community Center. It will be there through 4 p.m. Also on Saturday, a jump rope workshop, tractor pull contest and animal shows are on tap.
Then on Sunday, the day will begin with a community worship service at 10 a.m. A car cruise in the parking lot of Claysville Elementary School is set to happen from 1 to 4 p.m. Other activities that day include a video game truck and live entertainment.
For additional information on the National Road Festival, go online to pikedays.com.