Negro Mountain is the highest point on the National Road, rising to almost 3000 feet in the far western mountains of Maryland, part of the backbone of eastern America. In 1817, National Road construction crews crossed this difficult terrain by laying a crushed stone road surface and building a stone bridge over nearby Puzzley Run. By the 1930s, the road had evolved into an asphalt and concrete ribbon that encouraged a new generation of travelers and helped create a new road culture. Although curves were straightened and the grade made somewhat gentler, travel over Negro Mountain remained difficult, and early drivers descending it had to watch their brakes carefully. High Point camp served travelers who often carried camping gear and joined other auto campers at grounds provided by entrepreneurs. The mountain's name is linked to Nemesis, a black frontiersman who was killed here in the 1750s while fighting Indians with Maryland frontiersman Thomas Cresap; according to legend, he had foretold his own death, and the mountain was named in his honor.

Photo: Devry Becker Jones (CC0)

Grantsville, Maryland · USA