HistoricSiteMarkers
Early Republic

Globe Inn

Washington, Washington County, Pennsylvania

Marker Inscription

Stood on this site. It was opened in 1798 by David Morris. Among the noted guests during the National Road era were five presidents of the U.S. Lafayette was entertained here on May 25, 1825.

Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

The Story

Opened in 1798 by David Morris, the Globe Inn stood at the heart of Washington during the golden age of the National Road, the federal highway that carried a river of travelers, freight, and stagecoaches across the Alleghenies. Its guest register boasted five U.S. presidents, and in May 1825 the inn hosted the Marquis de Lafayette during his triumphant farewell tour of the nation he had helped free. The Globe was a premier stop on one of early America's most important overland routes.

Why it matters

As a celebrated waystation on the National Road, the Globe Inn embodies the era when a single highway knit the young country together and carried its most famous figures westward.

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Related people

  • ¡ David Morris
  • ¡ Marquis de Lafayette

Related events

  • ¡ Lafayette's farewell tour

Themes & tags

TransportationPresidential SitesLandmark

Nearby & related markers

Washington County

Washington, PA ¡ est. 1981

Formed in 1781 from Westmoreland County and named for General George Washington, this southwestern county sat at the heart of frontier unrest. From 1791 to 1794 it became a hotbed of the Whiskey Rebellion, when backcountry farmers rose against a federal excise tax on their distilled grain. The county later straddled the National Road, the great highway that carried the nation west and became U.S. Route 40.

Washington

South Strabane Township, PA ¡ est. 1947

Laid out in 1781 by brothers John and William Hoge, the town of Washington rose on ground long known as the Indian Catfish Camp, a Native gathering place in the Ohio Country borderlands. Chartered as a borough in 1810 and a city in 1923, it became a hub on the National Road — the young republic's great westward artery — and filled with the fine buildings of a thriving crossroads. Its name honored George Washington, whose reputation as a surveyor and soldier had already touched this frontier region.

Washington

East Washington, PA ¡ est. 1947

The Hoge brothers laid out Washington in 1781 on the site of the Indian Catfish Camp, and the settlement matured into a borough in 1810 and a city in 1923. Positioned on the National Road, it thrived as a stopping point for the wagons and travelers pouring west across the Alleghenies. The town took its name from George Washington and preserved a wealth of early buildings from its crossroads heyday.

Washington

North Franklin Township, PA ¡ est. 1947

Founded in 1781 by John and William Hoge on the site of the Native Catfish Camp, Washington grew from a frontier plat into a borough (1810) and later a city (1923). Its fortunes were tied to the National Road, the federally built highway that funneled settlers and commerce westward through southwestern Pennsylvania. Named for George Washington, the town became rich in historic buildings and associations as traffic streamed past its doors.