Speaker Series – Historic National Road. Tiffany Ahalt, September 4.

The 2024 Historic Shepherdstown Speaker Series will feature Tiffany Ahalt on September 4 at 6:45 pm in the auditorium of the Shepherd University Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education, talking about the history, preservation and promotion of the historic National Road.  The program is free and open to the public.

With thirty years of experience in the hospitality and tourism industry, Tiffany Ahalt has held leadership roles with the National Road Heritage Foundation, C&O Canal Association, Howard County (MD) Tourism Council and Maryland National Road Association.   A promoter of Washington County as a visitor destination, she also recently chaired Frederick County’s Rural and Scenic Roads Advisory Committee which was instrumental in creating an official commission overseeing the designation and protection of the County’s most historic, scenic and unaltered rural roads.

The National Road was the first major federally funded highway built by the US government.   Built between 1811 and 1837, the original 620 mile road was a major transport path to the West for thousands of settlers and also stimulated the earliest forms of travel-related tourism.  Often nicknamed the Main Street of America, in the 20^th century with the advent of the automobile the National Road was connected with other historic routes to California with much of it aligned with U.S. Route 40.   Ms. Ahalt will explore this history and how national and state programs are paving the way to preserve and promote the landscapes and main streets along the National Road and other scenic byways.

The talk will be preceded by a short Annual Business Meeting for Historic Shepherdstown Commission, which will feature the presentation of the 2024 Historic Preservation Awards.