The National Road was designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1976 and a State Heritage Park in 1994. Along the 90 miles of road in Pennsylvania, 79 sites have been deemed eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Of those, many have already been nominated. In 1995 the Road was designated a State Scenic Byway and it received the National Scenic Byway "All-American Road" designation in 2002.

The passage of the National Road across the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania points to the importance of the region as the original western frontier, fought over by the French and the English to gain control of the interior of a vast continent which would eventually become the United States. The conflict for dominance and empire began at Fort Necessity (1754), which is located along the National Road at Farmington, PA. Operated by the National Park Service, Fort Necessity National Battlefield and its related sites of Jumonville Glen and General Edward Braddock's Grave, afford the opportunity for visitors to learn how the actions of a young lieutenant colonel in the Virginia colonial militia - George Washington - ignited a world war (The French and Indian War), which culminated in an English victory, but also set the stage for the American Revolution. The significance of the National Road in the growth and expansion of the new republic is interpreted at Fort Necessity and also at the adjacent Mount Washington Tavern site.

Although independence from England was achieved in 1783, a short ten years later settlers along the western frontier rebelled against the odious whiskey tax imposted by the federal government on the one commodity western farmers where able to transport relatively cheaply to market. A major figure in the Whiskey Rebellion in Pennsylvania was David Bradford, a wealthy lawyer whose c. 1787, Georgian style town house is located along the National Road in Washington, PA. One of the few rebels not granted amnesty, Bradford was forced to abandon his home and flee to Louisiana in order to avoid arrest. Opened for tours, Bradford's House provides the venue for telling several stories - that of a prominent lawyer who became a rebel and why; and what life was like for a relatively wealthy family on the frontier.

The Whiskey Rebellion was a "wake-up call" for the new republic. Albert Gallatin, a participant in the insurrection, who later became Secretary of the Treasury under President Thomas Jefferson, was a strong advocate for using federal funds to construct a national road that would breach the Appalachian Mountain chain and connect the population centers along the Eastern Seaboard with the growing settlements on the western frontier. Considered the "Father" of the National Road, Gallatin's home, Friendship Hill, located at New Geneva, PA is only a short distance off of the historic roadway he helped to made a reality. This National Park Service site offers visitors insights into a great, but little known American.

After much debate in Congress, construction began in 1811, on the first federally funded, multi-state project in American history. By 1818, the National Road was completed from Cumberland Maryland, through the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania and on to the Ohio River at Wheeling (West) Virginia. Evidence of the National Road as the premier transportation corridors of the early 19th century is abundant along its 90-miles in Pennsylvania. For today's travelers, as of old, each mile of the route is delineated by directional mile markers; approximately 20 percent of which are the restored obelisk-shaped originals.

The route also is lined by some 30 early stone or brick taverns. While many have been converted to private residences, several still cater to travelers, providing food, lodging, and retail sales. Thirteen of these early taverns are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Also listed on the National Register are two of the original six toll houses (Addison and Searights), constructed by the Commonwealth in c.1835, when the road was transferred from federal to state ownership. Weekend tours at the Addison Toll House provide visitors with a view of the limited and modest living accommodation of the toll collector and his family.

The importance of the National Road as a major corridor of western migration is symbolized by the Madonna of the Trails statue, located near Beallsville, in Washington County. A tribute to the spirit of pioneer women, the statue is one of twelve commissioned by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and placed along major cross-county migration routes.

Travelers also learn about the National Road as an Underground Railroad route at the LeMoyne House, located in Washington, PA. The combination residence, medical office and apothecary shop was constructed c. 1812, in the Greek Revival style by Dr. Francis LeMoyne, a prominent physician and abolitionist. Dr. LeMoyne also was a founder of the nearby Washington and Jefferson College.

The impetus for economic growth provided by the National Road in southwestern Pennsylvania is evidenced by the numerous "Pike Towns" which grew up along its 90-mile route. Towns such as Hopwood, Centerville, Beallsville, scenery Hill, Claysville, and West Alexander, offered travelers food, drink, and accommodations. Several still provide hospitality services; scenery Hill is the home of Century Inn, which has served travelers for over 200 years. All have interesting 19th century architecture to offer the traveler, together with a strong sense of the past, when the National Road was America's Main Street . In the larger towns of Uniontown, Brownsville and Washington, early travelers also found a variety of retail stores and the all important wagon repair shops. The 21st century equivalents - motels, restaurants, shopping malls, gas stations and garages - are just as much in evidence today at Uniontown and Washington.

Brownsville occupies a unique position along the Pennsylvania section of the National Road. Located at the junction of the National Road and the Monongahela River, which flows to the Ohio River at Pittsburgh, the town was, for many years prior to the construction of the Road, a transfer point for travelers who wanted to take the faster water route west.