Wagon Train: Rolling Through History
MORRISTOWN – For more than three decades, a spring feature in Belmont County is a wagon train honoring the early pioneers and “the spirit of the historic National Road”.
Originally associated with the former multi-state National Pike Festival that now runs from western Maryland through Pennsylvania on the third week of May, the project was promoted by former Belmont County Tourism Director Eugene “Doc” Householder.
The 2026 Belmont County wagon train was a two-day event, Saturday and Sunday, May 30-31. Participants gathered at Morristown’s Lynn Hunkler Park on Friday where they set up camp.
On Saturday, the wagons headed east to the Shaeffer-Campbell Bridge on the campus of Ohio University Eastern before they were hosted to a lunch at the Cumberland Pointe Care Center. Wagons also passed through Lloydsville and Bannock before returning to Morristown.
Saturday night music was enjoyed at the park with a performance by the Deep Down County band.
“We’ve been doing this for 30 to 35 years now. I think we missed one year during Covid,” Belmont County resident and wagon master Dick Gummere said on Sunday at Epworth Park.
There were 13 wagons in the train this year. “One fella came here from Kansas, a friend of Terry’s, riding a team,” Gummere said. The majority were folks from Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Wagon train teams pull covered wagons through Epworth Park. ©Barnesville Area News Company Photos
The number of teams dropped to 10 on Sunday due to lame horses and other unexpected developments.
The group originally camped overnight at the Belmont County Saddle club. “When Morristown got involved, they let us stay behind the Black Horse Inn until they built a nearby group home,” Gummere said.
©Barnesville Area News Company Photos
On Sunday, wagons headed south to Bethesda’s Epworth Park where participants were treated to lunch by the Union Local Rotary Club at Epworth. The wagon train headed north on Route 26 to Lynn Hunkler Park where the event ended.
The event was sponsored by Quiznos, Bel-Morr Market, Union Local Rotary, Papa D’s Pizza, Route 40 LumberJaxe, Cumberland Pointe Care Center, Bashline Massage Therapy and Belmont Mills.
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