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History of the Drove Road
In 1801 the Northwest Territorial government approved the “Grade
Road” from Dilles Bottom at the Ohio River to Jacobsburg, then
along the ridge tops to Barnesville and Pultney Ridge to just east
of Old Washington, Ohio. The grade up from the river was gentle
and a much easier route for westward pioneers than the rugged climb
up from the Wheeling area to St. Clairsville. This road was popular
but did not get improved as the Zanes’ Trace which became the
National Road. This improvement called for toll charges and the
stones in the deep wagon ruts caused hoof discomfort to animals
being driven (droved) to the east. The Grade Road became the drovers’
choice of routes eastward for hundreds of thousands of animals on
the way to the Baltimore, MD market. Animals on this route were
cared for at drovers stations. The “Grade Road” became
known as the Drove Road and from Jacobsburg to Barnesville it has
become State Route 147. Some deep grooves still can be seen along
sections along SR 147. Cattle, Horses, Mules, Hogs, Sheep, even
Turkeys traveled this route until about 1875 when railroads became
competitive.
A more comprehensive history can be found in the book, True Stories
of the Drovers Trail. Although all original copies have been sold,
the pdf version is still available. The original copies have been
collected by: The National Agricultural Library, (Washington, DC)
Belmont Ohio libraries, Bel-Tech College, St. Clairsville, OH,
A three year effort to illuminate the importance of the history
of the old drove road has finally resulted in the Ohio Department
of Transportation recognizing it through the Ohio Scenic Byways
program on September 19th, 2003. Mr. Gordon Proctor, ODOT director
has proclaimed the official acceptance of the "Drovers' Trail
Scenic Byway" as Ohio's 16th Scenic Byway. The Drovers' Trail
Scenic Byway gives our community an opportunity to showcase the
interior part of Belmont County from Bellaire to Barnesville on
SR 147 and connect to Hendrysburg on old US 40 for a 39 mile scenic
route that will take the traveler over much of the old route the
drovers took when drovers took their livestock from the frontier
to Baltimore, MD a century and a half ago.
True Stories of the Drovers Trail
The illustrated book, ‘True Stories of the Drovers Trail’
was a limited edition book. It is currently sold out in hard copy
form but it is available as a pdf file as a download from our Gift
Shop section.
The book provides details of the history of the drove road in eastern
Ohio. The book tells of the pioneer settlements, early farming techniques
(Why were barns painted RED?) and the basic need to move livestock
to market so the farm would have enough capital to buy the things
needed like; window glass, metal hinges, gunpowder, gingham dress
for mama, etc.
Some interesting facts are explained like, how do you shoe turkeys?
And why would you? Have you ever wondered how the early drovers
managed to feed their animals on a three hundred mile trip to market
and not “walk the fat off ‘em” (They actually gained
weight on the way).
The droving of the early 1800’s lasted for three quarters
of a century through eastern Ohio. It was an art that was copied
to some great extent in the west when cattle were droved from Texas
to the markets or railheads in the north.
Droving in pioneer America held many dangers, loss of livestock
due to predators, theft, even murder. These are true stories of
the drovers trail, taken from stories handed down from father to
son, letters from drovers, and articles written at this interesting
period of our American history. You can buy the pdf version with
Pay Pal or your credit card, please see our Gift section to order.
Floyd Simpson, author and illustrator.
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