New Concord to Zanesville
South of New Concord is a seven-mile excursion that follows the path of the original Zane’s Trace route. This is a nice drive but with some unpaved sections and narrow and curvy roads may not be suitable for RVs and motorhomes. The following description of the tour is based on that published in the Daily Jeffersonian on July 19, 2011.[1]
Starting at the intersection of U.S. 40 and OH 83, turn south on OH 83 and pass under the Interstate. The path of Zane’s Trace and the location of Enslow’s Tavern are marked by the hill to the north of I-70, but the road itself has been obliterated forever by the highway. Immediately past the Marathon gas station turn right (west) onto Sunflower Drive and at the crest of the hill continue right on Pleasant Hill Road. The small cemetery was developed by the Pleasant Hill Presbyterian Church before the church moved to the town of New Concord in 1879. The first important school in the area was Pleasant Hill Academy, which opened in 1820. However, with the building of the National Road a few years later, the school moved north as well. From the road one can get a good view of New Concord and Muskingum College.
At the stop sign, turn left on Rex Mills Road (CR 55); after one mile, at the fork in the road, veer right on Moose Eye Road. The field immediately to the right was the location of the Few Tavern, now long forgotten and gone without a trace. After 0.5 mile, turn left on Zane Trace Road (CR 186). This part of the trace used to make its way through a thick forest, creating a tunnel through the trees; the land has been cleared, however, offering sweeping vistas on either side of the road. Continue on Zane Trace Road past Southern Road. To the south is the probable location of Locust Grove, a village along Zane’s Trace, where a spring in the valley fed south-flowing White Eyes Creek; the settlement lost its population when the National Road was constructed a few miles north from here.
Continuing westward on Zane’s Trace Road, the village in the distance on the right (and across I-70) is Norwich. Keep going, past Sundale Road and past Zane Grey Road, onto East Wheeling Road. Pass Riley Road and Urban Hill Road on the right until coming to a sharp left turn where Rustic Ridge Road turns south – continue west and down a sudden, steep grade on East Wheeling Road. The road descends into the Salt Creek Valley, through forests and unpaved. Where the road crosses the Salt Creek, Brown’s Tavern once stood to welcome and serve travelers. The bridge from 1909 which spanned the creek was moved to the grounds of the National Road / Zane Grey Museum in 1999. At the next intersection, turn right on Spry Road (CR 5) and rejoin U.S. 40 one mile to the north.
On the west side of New Concord, at Shadyside Drive, is the Fox Run S-Bridge across Fox Creek. The bridge, which is open to pedestrians, has been resurfaced with red brick, and represents an original portion of the National Road. It dates from 1828 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
On the 17-mile stretch between New Concord and Zanesville were several motels that now have disappeared or could not be located, including the Rambler’s Rest Motel, the Holmes Motel, and Hughey’s Motel. The Bricker Motel shown on the postcard to the right, was located on old East Pike about 8 miles east of Zanesville. The motel was built by C Homer Bricker, a former engineer born on November 12, 1896, in Cleveland. He passed away on August 13, 1970, at which time his son, Malcolm Bricker, was manager of the hotel.[2]
A short distance west is another short segment of the original road – turn north on Maple Brook Road and west on Tavenner Boulevard.
Continue west on U.S. 40 for about 1000 feet, and ten turn right on Norwich Drive into the town of Norwich, a village now bypassed by the realignment of U.S. 40 south of town. Norwich is an archetype “Pike Town” laid out in 1827 with Main Street and First Street to the south and North Street to the north, connected by half a dozen cross streets. At its height of development, the city boasted 324 inhabitants in 1850, but this number steadily declined to 102 at the 2010 census.
On August 20, 1835, Christopher Baldwin, librarian of the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts, was killed on the curve entering Norwich by the overturning of a stage coach. This first fatal traffic accident in Ohio is commemorated by a memorial plaque in front of the Malta Lodge on the eastern end of town. Baldwin himself is interred in the small United Presbyterian Cemetery on the town’s west end.
The text of the plaque reads as follows:
First Traffic Fatality In Ohio.
As he traveled the National Road on August 20, 1835, the last diary entry by Christopher C Baldwin, librarian for the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester Massachusetts was “Start by stage on the Cumberland Road for Zanesville.” Baldwin never reached Zanesville or his ultimate destination, which was to investigate prehistoric mounds in southern Ohio on behalf of the Antiquarian Society. On that day, near this site, he was killed in what is considered to be the first traffic fatality recorded in Ohio. While passing a drove of hogs on the road, the horses pulling the stage became unmanageable and when the driver tried to check their speed on a decline, the stage turned over. Baldwin was riding with the driver and was killed when the stage rolled over on him. Due to the lateness of the season and the distance from his home, his remains were interred in Norwich.
At 10405 Main Street (or Norwich Drive) stands the Ralph Hardesty House, placed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 11, 1980. It is now the Old Stone House Nursery. The commemorative sign was unveiled on August 25, 2011 and provides the following information.
Built in 1836 for Ralph Hardesty at a cost of $500, the original stone portion of this house measures 40 by 22 feet. Little is known of Mr. Hardesty except that he was listed in the 1850 Census, when he was 43 years of age. The two-story house, constructed of local sandstone with a slate roof, features a symmetrical façade with a central doorway. It is the first and only stone house in Norwich. The windows still have their original stone lintels and sills. The sandstone blocks on the front and east walls are “dressed,” that is, they are finished, while the stone on the west and rear walls are rubblestone or unfinished. Like most houses, this home has its decorative elements on the front and on the side that visitors will see as they approach.
While using sandstone as the building material for a house was rare in this area, the Hardesty House is an I-House, a very popular type of building in the nineteenth century. An I-House has two rooms downstairs and two rooms upstairs. Some, like this house, have central hallways with a staircase. An I-House has only four rooms, but it looks larger and offers a wide view from the second-floor windows. Being more compact than a four-room one-story house, it is easier to heat in winter and offers better ventilation in the summer. I-Houses are found in the Midwest as well as the Mid-Atlantic states.
Next to the stone house is a frame house with wood siding that also has the I-house floor plan.
South on Sundale Rd, at the southwest corner of the intersection with U.S. 40, one can find the Siesta Motel. The sign is still there and announces “No Vacancy.” The Ohio Exploration Society visited the motel in September 2015 – a few months after my visit – and wrote the following.[3]
The OES visited Siesta Motel on September 12, 2015. Located on U.S. Route 40 in Norwich, the motel was built by John Mathews in 1952 next to his family home after his service in the U.S. Army during World War II. The first guest of the motel paid $3 for their overnight stay. Being on the National Road, business boomed at Siesta Motel over the next decade. On most nights cars would be lined up on U.S. 40 as weary travelers waited to book a room for the night. It wasn’t until Interstate 70 was built in the 1960s that the motel’s business began to decline. Mathews took a factory job after I-70 was built to make ends meet. The motel had stopped advertising by the mid-1980s and the sign was no longer lit at night after vandals had broken the neon. The rooms were the same as they had been since being built with checkered linoleum floors, black-and-white TVs, an open Bible, a chair and a double bed in each room.
The Siesta Motel stayed open for business, though, despite the lack of updates or guests every night. In 1986, the cost for a room for two was only $18.75 per night. We aren’t entirely sure when the Siesta Motel closed. Roberta Mathews, John’s wife, died in 2013 and John himself died in May 2015.
The motel appeared to be pretty run down at the time of our visit, but the sign was still by the road and it appeared that someone still lived at the family home. There were a couple of old cars in the parking lot and a few newer vehicles around the corner, but we saw no one the entire time we were there. It would be interesting to see if the motel could be revitalized at some point in the future. It’s a shame that unique places like this are vanishing from the landscape at an astonishing rate.
According to HauntedPlaces.org the place has been haunted since 1994.
This motel is said to be haunted by the spirit of an angry man who had been staying at the night there after a fight with his mother. And as it so happened, that night he was the victim of a burglary. The still-enraged man attacked the burglar upon finding him in his room, and the burglar killed him. His ghost is said to roam the motel hiding objects in strange places, whispering vulgar things, slamming doors, turning lights on and off, and even striking some witnesses. The unexplained and unsettling sound of crying and laughter combined also has been reported.
In Norwich, past the Presbyterian Cemetery, veer right on Brick Road, another old road segment that offers good views of the rolling hills and landscape. Past Norwich Valley Road, on the south side of U.S. 40, is another relic brick segment. With an angle of 90-degrees, this was called the worst turn on the National Road. It now is a private driveway for some distant residence.
On the north side of U.S. 40 is the abandoned “Dinnerware Pottery”, with a second abandoned pottery next to it. Both buildings have seen better days, as evidenced by the old postcard, and are currently used for storage of boxes and other unidentified goods. Two trailers were parked in front of the pottery, and the signage is mostly gone, yet the building clearly resembles the postcard. According to the postcard, the Dinnerware Pottery is in Zanesville – in reality, it is about 10 miles east of that town. A little farther down the road, just before crossing I-70, is the Ohio Pottery – still alive and well, according to the website.[4] Note another abandoned service station across the road from Ohio Pottery.
Retracing our steps a little, we encounter the Baker’s Motel and the National Road / Zane Grey Museum. The motel’s website proudly announces that the motel is family owned and operated, and has been since 1937.[5]
Baker’s Motel is a lodging landmark just east of Zanesville, Ohio, in picturesque Southeastern Ohio. Currently, Gary and Teresa Golden continue the tradition for over 36 years, providing quality lodging at affordable prices to travelers. Baker’s Motel is located in the quaint village of Norwich, Ohio. The village is centrally located between two historically significant cities: Zanesville, Ohio, and Cambridge, Ohio. At one time, Norwich was an important stagecoach stop on the Zane Trace National Road. Today, original sections of the old Trace can be observed throughout the village. A more complete history of the National Road and of the trailblazers who built the first corridor to the West can be found at the National Road / Zane Grey Museum. The museum is directly across the street from Baker’s Motel.
Over the last few of years we have updated our furnishings in all rooms on the property from our large family size rooms to our standard one bed rooms so when you stay with us you will not only enjoy a quiet, comfortable room but also enjoy wireless internet anywhere on the property but also receive the best rooms for the best rates in Muskingum County which includes Zanesville, Ohio, New Concord, Ohio, Dresden, Ohio.
My wife and I, Gary and Teresa Golden, have owned and operated Baker’s Motel since the spring of 1980, making us the longest running owners. Baker’s Motel may not be a new and modern chain but the chains do not have the character that Baker’s does. In addition to the family atmosphere that we offer you from greetings by Reggie who is our mixed breed hound dog to stopping over in the morning for a cup of Java and having a nice chat with me in the office.
Note that during Gun Season, a three-day minimum stay is required and during hunting season (October 1 – December 20), cancellation have to be made a minimum of 14 days in advance, or you will be charged one day for each room reserved.
Across the road, on the south side of U.S. 40, is the National Road / Zane Grey Museum. The Ohio History Connection describes the museum as follows.[6]
Learn about U.S. 40, the old National Road that came to be called “the Main Street of America,” explore the adventure novels and Westerns of Zanesville author Zane Grey, and see examples of the art pottery for which this region of Ohio was famous in the 20th century.
Exhibits speak to the history of the road, its construction and transportation, from wagons to cars. A diorama of the National Road with many accompanying objects illustrates what it was like to travel on the National Road from the early 19th century, when the first tree was felled, to the mid-20th century. The 3/8ths-scale diorama is 136 feet long. Average visit time: Allow 1+ hours
The National Road, early America’s busiest land artery to the West, stretched from Cumberland, Maryland, to Vandalia, Illinois. Begun in 1806, the “Main Street of America” was the only significant land link between the east coast and the western frontier in the early 19th century. The dream of Washington and Jefferson, it was needed to move crops and goods between East and West and help immigration.
Zane Grey, born in Zanesville in 1872, wrote more than 80 books and is known for his novels of the old West. Grey penned about 60 Westerns, nine novels about fishing, three books tracing the fate of the Ohio Zanes, a biography of the young George Washington and several short story collections. His novels are still popular today. His study is re-created in the museum and includes many manuscripts and other personal memorabilia.
A more extensive biography of Zane Grey was written by Marian Kester Coombs for the Zane Grey’s West Society.[7]
A prolific writer, he left his publisher, Harper & Brothers, with enough manuscripts and material to publish books almost annually until the 1970s – well after his death at the age of 67 on October 23, 1939. In his novels, Grey almost single-handedly created the “Myth of the West.” His respectful treatment of Indians was ahead of its time; his words paintings of some of the world’s most spectacular country may never be equaled. Grey celebrated the natural beauty of the West and the character and frontier values of its people – the so-called Code of the West. Senior Fellow Joe Wheeler wrote his doctoral thesis on Zane Grey at Vanderbilt University in 1975, and in 1983 he founded the Zane Grey’s West Society.[8] Of course, Grey’s books were also criticized at the time and critics claimed his depictions of the West were too fanciful, too violent, and not faithful to the moral realities of the frontier; they thought his characters unrealistic and much larger-than-life.[9]
After passing the Salt Creek, one can stop for some shopping at Mathews Antiques, White Pillars Antique Mall, or Zanesville Pottery. The latter has a big sign facing I-70 to lure travelers off the Interstate for a visit to the store.
If a visit to one of these stores does not interest you, a three-mile drive north on Arch Hill Road, winding its way across hills and forest, leads to Salt Creek Covered Bridge. This 87-foot bridge was completed in 1846 and is the only remaining pure Warren truss covered bridge in the world; open for pedestrian traffic only. Just north of I-70 is a more modern ridge across Frog Run.
At 6620 Bridgeville Road is a former National Road Tavern, now in use as a private residence. The Deerfield Road overpass offers views of the busy highway traffic on I-70. Somewhere around here is supposed to be a well-hidden S-bridge, marked by a telephone easement – despite spending some time looking around the road and Deerfield Creek, the vegetation was too thick to find anything.
A little farther west, before getting to Airport Road, is another Old Road Section, Cinderpit Road, on the south side of U.S. 40. This road does not show on Google Maps, but it is visible on Google Earth (in February 2017). Note again the difference is grading between the Old National Road and U.S. 40.
I-70 Exit 160 offers the usual amenities for travelers: Love’s Travel Shop and Arby’s Restaurant on the north side, BP and Exxon gas stations, with Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Subway and Denny’s restaurants on the south side, and Best Western and Economy Inn for those wishing to spend the night. The Denny’s restaurant is classic 1950s diner built with glass blocks and aluminum – ready to welcome a cruise-in by the local vintage car club. Despite all these welcoming accommodations, I decided to spend the night at the Motel 6 – former Holiday Inn, about half a mile west of the exit.
The former Holiday Inn – now Motel 6 – is much larger than shown on the postcard from the 1960s, and also stands farther back from U.S. 40 than suggested in the postcard. The hotel started out a Holiday Inn and remained so for about 30 years. When the original owners retired the hotel was turned into a Ramada Inn; that went bankrupt after about ten years. The building sat empty for a while until it was turned into a Motel 6 in 2014. The current owners are renovating the hotel one step at a time. The indoor pool is off-limits and not functional, and some of the wings are being worked on – the wing I stayed in had only me and my dog Ruby as guests. As far as the separate west-wing building is concerned, this now overgrown and abandoned building sits waiting patiently for better times – in the summer of 2015, the current owner had no definite plans for this building but may turn these into extended stay. In any case, the place certainly was photogenic – if not a tad spooky.
A final U.S. 40 oriented store, Old Trail Pottery at 2500 E Pike at Pleasant Grove Road – now home to Susie’s Favorites – before the road descend into Zanesville.
[1] http://www.daily-jeff.com/local%20news/2011/07/19/directions-for-the-historic-tour-of-famous-zane-s-trace
[2] https://newspaperarchive.com/zanesville-times-recorder-aug-14-1970-p-8/
[3] https://www.ohioexploration.com/structures/siestamotel/
[4] http://www.ohiopotterynorwich.com/
[6] https://www.ohiohistory.org/visit/museum-and-site-locator/national-road-and-zane-grey-museum