07/19/2026
LaVale isn't the only place you can find one of the unique federally-built toll houses! This is another survivor in Pennsylvania.
While the Road was being built, superintendent David Shriver asked to collect tolls for necessary ongoing maintenance of the completer sections but Congress refused to allow the National Road to collect tolls under federal ownership. As a condition during the transfer of ownership to the states in the late 1830s, the Army engineers constructed these toll houses so that the states of Maryland and Pennsylvania would be able to collect the tolls for that road maintenance.
Still Here! By the 1940s, the national Road tollhouse at Addison which had opened in 1835 was in Serious disrepair and was about to be demolished for a gas station. The daughters of the American Revolution stepped in and saved it. It’s now a must stop along US 40 National Rd. in Addison PA. There’s also one standing near Cumberland, Maryland and at Searights west of Uniontown. The Great Crossings Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) saved and restored the Addison (also known as Old Petersburg) tollhouse on the National Road.Here are the key details of its preservation:Saved from Demolition: The chapter acquired the 1835 cut-stone structure in the late 1940s to prevent it from being demolished to make room for a service station.Official Transfer: In 1949, the state of Pennsylvania officially transferred ownership to the group.Restoration: The group completed a full restoration of the building in 1997 to return it to its original 19th-century appearance.Current Use: The DAR continues to own and operate it as a historical property, which features original flooring and furniture.
