US-50 · Romney to Mount Storm

The old Northwestern Turnpike, one way: from Romney the route follows US-50 west through the Patterson Creek valley to Burlington and climbs the Allegheny Front to Mount Storm. It's 34 miles. It's a through route with heavy trucks, and the wind blows hard on the Allegheny Front. The route ends in Mount Storm on purpose: west of there US-50 crosses a stretch of Maryland.

US-50 in West Virginia follows the old Northwestern Turnpike, a stage road the Commonwealth of Virginia finished in 1838. Romney, where the route starts, was chartered in 1762 and argues with Shepherdstown over which is the state's oldest town. It sat right on the turnpike, so during the Civil War it changed hands again and again; the state marker says 56 times, a number historians dispute.

West of Romney the road follows the Patterson Creek valley to Burlington and then climbs the Allegheny Front to the high plateau at Mount Storm, where US-50 meets WV-42. It's a one-way ride of 34 miles. This is a through route with heavy trucks, and the wind can be strong on the Front. West of Mount Storm US-50 crosses a stretch of Maryland, so the route ends there.