In the 1830s, Ewing Chancellor settled land along the developing National Road, and by 1840 his settlement of Cumberland had become a stagecoach stop and center of commerce offering food, lodging, supplies, and blacksmith services. West of Cumberland, John Lang established another settlement that became a crossroads when a north-south road, a forerunner to Route 49, was developed there. Population shifted to that crossroads, and Casey emerged, while by the 1850s Cumberland was fading from the map and Casey's future was secure. In the early 20th century, Casey's economy shifted from agriculture to oil, with Casey fields producing 156,000 barrels in 1905 and about 2,000 wells drilled between Casey and Westfield by 1907, before production declined and most wells were abandoned by the 1940s. Arts also played an important role in Casey, where in 1907 actors from Chicago could prepare for performances at the Hammond Opera House and likely stay at the Casey Hotel. Jasper Avenue crossed the National Road about a mile west of Cumberland, and as Casey grew, the National Road, the city's Main Street, became a hub of commerce and community events. Beginning in 1870, the St. Louis, Vandalia and Terre Haute Railroad connected Casey to communities along the National Road, and the popularity of rail travel in the late 1800s contributed to the road's decline. The National Road itself had been authorized by federal legislation signed by President Thomas Jefferson in 1806 and surveyed from Cumberland, Maryland, to the Mississippi River as a highway for pioneers settling the West.