About Us
The National Road Heritage Corridor is one of Pennsylvania’s 12 Heritage Areas as well as a National Scenic Byway "All American Road".
The Pennsylvania Heritage Areas Program is a multi-region asset-based economic development program rooted in the commonwealth’s rich natural, cultural, and industrial history. Heritage Areas create cross-sector partnerships that enhance a region’s “sense of place” and strengthen regional economies.
These partnerships create vibrant livable communities that attract private investment and house the products and places that drive Pennsylvania’s tourism industry. DCNR’s Bureau of Recreation and Conservation administers the Pennsylvania Heritage Areas Program.
One of 12 Heritage Areas in the Commonwealth, the National Road Heritage Corridor celebrates the legacy of America’s first federally-funded highway and its impact on our country.
Pennsylvania’s portion of the National Road crosses Somerset, Fayette, and Washington counties. NRHC believes that history education & preservation, recreation & conservation, and cultural & heritage tourism are key to the vitality of the corridor’s economy and communities.
Since its path was first laid, the National Road has been an economic driver for residents and communities along it. As the role of the Road has changed over time, so too have its towns evolved to meet new opportunities and travelers. The National Road Heritage Corridor is proud to be a key cultural heritage partner in this Region of Reinvention and works to keep the National Road driving economic opportunity for decades to come.
Our goals are simple: increase the corridor’s perceived and actual value as a regional asset & destination, and remain a valued partner, trusted advisor, and catalytic agent in the region.
- We treat Pennsylvania’s portion of the National Road as a 90-mile museum, offering inclusive, immersive educational experiences that create deeper connections to the heritage of our region and tell a more robust story than typical roadside markers allow.
- We work with cultural assets and communities to preserve and celebrate their heritage and bring it to the attention of visitors (and locals).
- We support artists and makers to ensure they continue to call our region home by linking them with resources, access to markets and capital, and opportunities to create impactful connections within their communities.