blacktop/macadam

[Beverly Flanigan]

Wasn't the National Road (now US 40) the first macadamized road?  Since it
was so important to the settlement of the Northwest Territory, that might
explain its longtime use in Ohio (though it's probably not used much anymore?).

At 09:08 PM 12/6/2002 -0500, you wrote:
>DARE has an extensive entry for "macadam," complete with map: it's chiefly
>Northeast, MidAtlantic, and North Central (esp. Ohio) for this definition:
>"originally a road pavement made of layers of packed crushed rock, sometimes
>strengthened by applying a bituminous binder; now usually blacktop or a
>similar paving material."
>No entry for "blacktop," presumably because the editors didn't consider that
>term regional. - Allan Metcalf