Farmer and lapsed Quaker John Huddleston was worried. A party of emigrants that had stopped at his Wayne County, Indiana, farmhouse the night before had departed at daybreak and left behind bread they had baked in the oven at the Huddleston Farm, which had become a regular stopping point for travelers on the National Road. "Hastily saddling a horse," according to Lee Burns in his history of the National Road in Indiana, "he [Huddleston] followed them with the bread only to discover that their hurried departure had been caused by the fact that they had taken his best set of harness."

Recalling the adventures and everyday life of a family that lived along a roadway called "the Appian Way of America" (U.S. 40 to today's travelers) is the Huddleston Farmhouse Inn Museum's mission. The three-story Federal-style brick home, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is now the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana's responsibility. Purchased by the organization in 1966, the farmhouse and its outbuildings have been restored; visitors can experience why weary travelers were eager to stop and rest there.

Born in 1807 near Greensboro, North Carolina, John Huddleston grew up in a farming family. He was eight years old when his Quaker family migrated from North Carolina to Union County, Indiana, as part of "the great Quaker Migration," one of many such waves of emigration by Quakers to eastern Indiana during the early nineteenth century. In March 1830 Huddleston married fellow Quaker Susannah Moyer in her parents' home a few miles east of Liberty, Indiana. Soon after his marriage, Huddleston was disowned by the Quaker Yearly Meeting for "disunity" with the religion's discipline. The couple lived in Union County until 1835, when Huddleston, an early Hoosier entrepreneur, decided to take advantage of a new highway just completed to Indianapolis--the National Road.

The idea for a roadway linking Eastern manufacturers with Western markets was first broached by George Washington as early as 1755. It took until 1802, however, for the idea to take shape. Congress, in the act it passed creating Ohio, provided that 5 percent of the funds received by the federal government from public land sales in the state would be used to build public roads from the Atlantic Ocean to Ohio. Similar provisions were placed into the acts incorporating the states of Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. In 1803, Congress made the first appropriation for a highway across the Allegheny Mountains to Ohio--the National Road. Beginning in Cumberland, Maryland, and running through six states, the road cost approximately $7 million.

The National Road, also called the National Pike, Old Pike, and the Cumberland Road, was an immediate hit with emigrants, freight wagoners, express carriers, and mail coach drivers. "The road became a busy thoroughfare," noted Burns. "Wagon house yards were located along the line, where the tired horses rested over night beside their great loads, and taverns, famous in their day, were built at convenient points for the stages, that were constantly arriving and departing." Not everyone, however, was pleased with the road's quality. A familiar chant about the National Road in Indiana went:

The National Road in Indiana traveled due west from the Ohio state line to Indianapolis, passing through such Hoosier cities as Richmond and Centerville, and on to Terre Haute. Huddleston became one of many in Indiana who tried to wring a financial advantage out of the road. Along with his parents and many of his brothers' and sisters' families, he moved his young family to the town of Dublin. In 1838 Huddleston bought seventy acres along the National Road, just west of Cambridge City. His new farm included four acres with frontage along the highway.

The Huddlestons lived in a log house on their farm while a new brick house, barn, and outbuildings were being erected. The 125,000 bricks used for the buildings were fired on-site, and the lumber and stone used in construction were taken from the land and nearby quarries. The Huddleston farm was built to be more than a place for raising crops--it was set up to serve travelers. The barn had extra stalls for tired draft animals, the house contained two basement kitchens for rental by families, and the smokehouse, outdoor oven, and outhouse were all scaled to serve travelers as well as the family.

Although convenient for travelers, the Huddleston Farm's accommodations were far from plush. Families bought food to prepare in the public kitchens or paid to eat at the Huddlestons' table. In bad weather, travelers slept in the barn, on the house's porches, or in its lower level. Usually, they slept in their wagons parked in the barnyard. The Huddleston family's living quarters were on the house's upper two floors.

The former Quaker did well in his new home. By the time the federal agricultural census was taken in 1850 he had one of the most productive farms in the township, producing 20 tons of hay, 200 pounds of cheese, and 100 pounds of butter. Along with his farming and lodging business, Huddleston helped support his family, which eventually numbered twelve children, by carting goods to and from Cincinnati and working on the National Road. Family histories state that Huddleston refused to carry tobacco or liquor on his trips to and from the city. They also report that his work on the road consisted of grading the long hill on Dublin's east side.

Today's visitors to the Huddleston Farmhouse Inn Museum can enjoy permanent and rotating exhibitions on the history of the house, the National Road, and architecture in eastern Indiana. The museum is located on U.S. 40 on Cambridge City's western edge and is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, February through December. In addition, the farm is open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays, May through August. For more information, contact the museum by writing P.O. Box 284, Cambridge City, IN 47327; or call (317) 478-3172.