The threat of a tar and feathering prompted Ohios first state road to be commissioned
By Amber Kanuckel
August 6, 2016
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Nowadays no matter where you want to go, there is a road that will take you there, but that wasnt always the case. In fact it might surprise you to learn that Ohios very first state route ran from Millersburg through Baltic and all the way to Port Washington. Though today this road is known as the Old Port Washington Road, it has gone by many other names decades and centuries past.
This road started as a buffalo trail that ran through Holmes and Tuscarawas County and later became part of The Great Trail, or the Tuscarawas Trail, which ran between Iroquois and Algonquian Indian settlements in modern-day Pittsburg and Detroit.
As settlers started colonizing the United States, the Old Port Washington Road gained a new name: Bouquets Trail. Between 1754 and 1763 the British fought the French and Indian War against Native Americans in an attempt to grow their empire across North America. At the wars end a treaty was signed, but Chief Pontiac of the Ottawa tribe was unsatisfied with the agreement and led a famous attack known as Pontiacs Conspiracy against the British in 1763.
British Colonel Henry Bouquet made a show of power in the Ohio Territory by leading 1,500 men from Fort Pitt (Pittsburg) into the Ohio Territory. When he learned of Pontiacs Conspiracy, he led his men down into the Tuscarawas River Valley and arrayed his forces on a long stretch of the Old Port Washington Road, where state Route 93 now is today. From then on the part of the Old Port Washington Road leading from Baltic to Port Washington became known as Bouquets Trail, but that was far from the end of the history of this route.
As the years went on and more settlers colonized Holmes and Tuscarawas County, the need for roads became more and more pressing.
The Tuscarawas Trail became a main thoroughfare that connected the farmers of Holmes County with Baltic and Port Washington, which was a major port town on the Erie Canal. According to Don Scheetz of the Baltic Historical Society, Baltic was a midway point out of 32 miles. What they did was haul farm products, grain and so forth, from Millersburg in Holmes County down to Port Washington and the Erie Canal.
As the early 19th Century wore on, the road, which had come to be known as the Port Washington Road, gained more and more prominence. By the 1830s it was such a well-traveled route that it became a major route on the long journey between New Orleans and New York City.
That is how it became the first state route in Ohios history. During the early 1800s Holmes County residents were rather upset with the Ohio Legislature because their representative had promised a canal running through Holmes County so that farmers could ship their goods.
After the people of Holmes County threatened consequences, reportedly a tar and feathering, the representative decided he needed to do something, so he commissioned the Port Washington Road as Ohios very first state route.
Planning for the road started on Feb. 6, 1832. When the resolution passed and the Port Washington Road was officially designated as state Route 20, so great was the impact of the new state route that within a decade the Holmes County population doubled, and the economy tripled in size.
The Port Washington Road remained the easiest way to transport goods from Holmes County to the Erie Canal in Port Washington for another 50 years. The arrival of the railroads in the 1880s is what led to the decline of this route. As rail lines spread across Ohio, farmers relied less and less on the canal system or roads to transport their goods over long distances. Today the historic Old Port Washington Road is a collection of township and county roads winding their way through the countryside.
If youd like to travel the Old Port Washington Road, start in Millersburg at Hardy Township Road 312. Once youve turned on to this winding lane, youll find road signs that the Baltic Historical Society placed to mark the original route. Follow those signs all the way to Port Washington. As you drive along, keep your eyes open because this centuries-old road is packed with scenic views and historical landmarks.
