The National Road was authorized by President Thomas Jefferson on March 29, 1806 and reached out to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The road closely followed Zane's Trace, an earlier path, and came through the Guernsey County area around 1838.

When Route 40 was diverted north of this section, the old road was unknowingly saved for posterity.

Part of the National Road in Center Township retains its early twentieth-century appearance.

This section of the road runs approximately east-west between Old Washington and Cambridge, a distance of 5 miles (8.0 km).