Drovers' Trail Scenic Byway

State: Ohio
Length: 39.0 mi / 62.8 km
Time to Allow: Unknown.

The view from SR 147 and SR 800 provides the traveler with an exciting view of Eastern Ohio hill country. From the Ohio River to the uplands via ridge tops the view is memorable for its beauty. Small farms dot the landscape along the route with a variety of crops and livestock. The view in summer is of productive farms and hardwood timber in all their outstanding greenery.

This 39- mile long byway extends from SR 147 from Bellaire to Barnesville and SR 800 from Barnesville to Hendrysburg.

Stories

• Drovers' Trail Overview

  Mar 24, 2005

  When the cattle farmers in the beginning of the 19th Century wanted to move, or drive, their cattle eastward to the market in Baltimore, Maryland, they usually chose the "Grade Road." Not only cattle, but sheep, pigs, horses, mules, and even turkeys drove their way eastward along this road. Because of its popularity, the "Grade Road" became known as the "Drove Road" and the animal traffic flourished until the railroads became competitive in about 1875. Look closely as you drive along the portion of the byway named State Route 147; here you can see deep trenches where the animals' hooves caused depressions as hundreds of thousands of them came through the drove road, a modern remnant of days gone by.