On December 31, 1821, a 78-mile state road was authorized from the Ohio border to Indianapolis through Brookville, to be built with required citizen labor. Commissioners filed a survey report on June 24, 1822, for the Brookville State Road, and on January 24, 1828, a turnpike company was authorized to build an improved road by bidding out sections. Brookville Road became the principal route for goods and people from this area to Cincinnati. Travel on roads in the 1800s was difficult and could take days to reach destinations, so taverns provided shelter and food for travelers. Along the road in Warren Township, Marion County, taverns were kept by David Woods in the 1820s and by Nathan Harlan in the 1830s-1840s.