70 West Wheeling Virginia to Columbus

Enhance your holiday travel experience by downloading this audio tour and exploring West Virginia to Columbus.

This program is designed to be played in your vehicle while driving Interstate 70 west from Wheeling, West Virginia to Columbus, Ohio. It runs for 80 minutes in five segments and offers a timed commentary on the region featuring its people, history, geography and—especially—stories that are unique to the area.

Westbound Interstate 70 enters Ohio just after Wheeling and follows roughly the same path as two of the oldest routes in the Midwest. First was Zane’s trace, which followed Native American trails to the location of today’s Zanesville where it turned southwest, aiming for the Ohio River and points south. Then in the early 1830s, the Cumberland Road (more commonly known as the National Road) came through central Ohio. As we drive this segment of I-70, we will pass by reminders of those earlier routes.

Many of the first American settlers in this region were of German descent who entered by way of Pennsylvania. One remnant is found in the older barns along the route. We’ll tell how to spot barns with a Pennsylvania German heritage; their design is different from those of Northeast Ohio built by people of New England ancestry.

We’ll also pass a classic “Mail Pouch” barn, that is, a barn painted with an advertisement promoting Mail Pouch chewing tobacco. We’ll tell the story of a man who painted more than 20,000 Mail Pouch barns. We’ll also tell you the story of an odd young man who left his Massachusetts home with the idea of becoming a Christian missionary on the Ohio frontier and supporting himself by selling apple seedlings. Yup, Johnny Appleseed whose plants were in great demand for reasons you might not immediately suspect.

1-70 WEST: WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA TO COLUMBUS, OHIO

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Enhance your holiday travel experience by downloading this audio tour and exploring West Virginia to Columbus.

This program is designed to be played in your vehicle while driving Interstate 70 west from Wheeling, West Virginia to Columbus, Ohio. It runs for 80 minutes in five segments and offers a timed commentary on the region featuring its people, history, geography and—especially—stories that are unique to the area.

Westbound Interstate 70 enters Ohio just after Wheeling and follows roughly the same path as two of the oldest routes in the Midwest. First was Zane’s trace, which followed Native American trails to the location of today’s Zanesville where it turned southwest, aiming for the Ohio River and points south. Then in the early 1830s, the Cumberland Road (more commonly known as the National Road) came through central Ohio. As we drive this segment of I-70, we will pass by reminders of those earlier routes.

Many of the first American settlers in this region were of German descent who entered by way of Pennsylvania. One remnant is found in the older barns along the route. We’ll tell how to spot barns with a Pennsylvania German heritage; their design is different from those of Northeast Ohio built by people of New England ancestry.

We’ll also pass a classic “Mail Pouch” barn, that is, a barn painted with an advertisement promoting Mail Pouch chewing tobacco. We’ll tell the story of a man who painted more than 20,000 Mail Pouch barns. We’ll also tell you the story of an odd young man who left his Massachusetts home with the idea of becoming a Christian missionary on the Ohio frontier and supporting himself by selling apple seedlings. Yup, Johnny Appleseed whose plants were in great demand for reasons you might not immediately suspect.

1-70 WEST: WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA TO COLUMBUS, OHIO

Presented to you by:

click to see more from this Presenter