Transportation innovations from footpaths to early turnpikes and macadam roads helped spur the rise of the stagecoach in 1817. The Compass Inn operated as an upscale stagecoach stop until 1862, offering travelers a warm meal, a bed for the night, and the camaraderie of fellow travelers, while such stops often became centers of community activity. A century later, the Lincoln Highway followed virtually the same route as the Philadelphia to Pittsburgh Turnpike, stretching from New York City to San Francisco and introducing America to automobile travel along the most direct route across the Appalachian Mountains despite several steep-sided ridges. The Lincoln Highway remained heavily traveled through Laughlintown until the current Pennsylvania Turnpike opened in 1940, after which through-traffic quickly disappeared. After serving as a private residence for the next century, the Compass Inn was carefully restored beginning in 1966 to its 1830 appearance and opened as a museum in 1972.
