The National Road Heritage Foundation

You have joined the volunteer team of the National Road Heritage Foundation.  

One of the many Interpretive Panels found along the Maryland National Road Interpretive Trail.

Our organization operates two museums in Boonsboro, Maryland:  The National Road Museum, and the Boonsboro Trolley Station Museum.  There will be more information about the museums later, however the organization is far more than a museum.

We also encourage tourists to learn about and experience the unique opportunities found along the 170 miles of National Road in Maryland, and maintain the Maryland National Road Interpretive Trail.  This is a collection of 52 roadside information displays that allow visitors to learn abut history in the places where it took place!  These tasks are sometimes performed in partnership with local DMO’s and involves additional statewide tourism efforts – but we’ll explain that later in the course.

The mission of the National Road Heritage Foundation is as follows:

“The National Road Heritage Foundation (NRHF) is a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization dedicated to raising awareness, appreciation and respect for the intrinsic qualities of the Historic National Road. The Foundation encourages visitors to experience the recreational, cultural and educational opportunities associated with the towns and cities connected by the Nation’s first publicly funded intercontinental highway.”

You might be asking: “What are intrinsic qualities of the Historic National Road?”

Well that is just an easier way of saying that we want people to recognize and appreciate the many things that makes the Historic National Road so special!  All of the countless historic and archeological sites, scenic views, natural areas and open farmland, recreational opportunities, towns and cities with their own unique vibe and history and experiences, and historic events and figures that interacted with the road over the past nearly 300 years!

Maryland has 170 miles of the Historic National Road stretching to the Chesapeake Bay almost all the way to the state’s western border, and every one of those miles is packed full of details that make this roadway so unique and important.  In fact, it is so notable, that it is not only a Maryland State Scenic Byway, but also a National Engineering Landmark, National Scenic Byway and an All-American Road – one of only a small number of roads in the country with all of those designations!

Our museums and programs are one way we can help people to recognize these intrinsic values, but also a tool we can use to encourage people to USE the road and visit other places along its path!