683 miles · 9 waypoints · 5 states
Sales feed updates closer to event — check back as May 27–31 approaches.
The Historic National Road Yard Sale is the country's longest cross-state corridor sale — 824 miles of US Route 40 from Baltimore, Maryland to St. Louis, Missouri, hosted every Memorial Day weekend by the National Road Heritage Foundation. The event takes place May 2026 over Memorial Day weekend, with the foundation's anchor sale at the National Road Museum in Boonsboro, Maryland on the Saturday of that weekend, 10 AM – 4 PM. Hundreds of communities, residents, and small businesses across six states — Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois into Missouri — set up sales along the historic byway, the country's first federally funded highway.
The corridor is anchored in this map by nine historic stops: Hagerstown and Cumberland in Maryland; Washington, PA; Zanesville, Columbus, and Dayton in Ohio; Indianapolis and Terre Haute in Indiana; and St. Louis, Missouri. Most shoppers pick one or two states to work — full coverage is a five-day commitment and 12+ hours of driving. The Indiana segment from Richmond through Indianapolis to Terre Haute is one of the densest, with vendor signs visible from the road and many town squares hosting community sales.
This is a long-running annual event, founded in 2003 in Indiana. Resellers favor it for the same reason the route exists: small Midwestern towns built before 1850 still surface farmhouse primitives, cast iron, mid-century glassware, and the occasional architectural salvage piece that hasn't seen the secondary market in decades. Plan early, start at sunup, and follow the brown National Road Scenic Byway signs.
This route runs through these anchor towns. Drive any segment, or the whole route — most folks pick a stretch and work their way through it.
| Distance | 683 mi |
|---|---|
| States | MD · PA · OH · IN · MO |
| Year started | 2003 |
| Typical hours | 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM |
May 2026 — Memorial Day weekend. Most sales run Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with the foundation's anchor museum sale on the Saturday of that weekend from 10 AM to 4 PM at the National Road Museum in Boonsboro, Maryland. Some Indiana and Ohio towns extend through Memorial Day Monday.
Six states: Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois — into Missouri at the St. Louis end. The full route is 824 miles along US Route 40, the country's first federally funded highway (the National Road, 1811).
From east to west: Hagerstown MD, Cumberland MD, Washington PA, Zanesville OH, Columbus OH, Dayton OH, Indianapolis IN, Terre Haute IN, and St. Louis MO. These are the densest clusters; smaller towns and roadside sellers fill the corridor between them.
The National Road Heritage Foundation compiles registered sales onto a list shared on their website and on the official six-state Facebook page. Many sellers don't formally register — they just put out signs day-of. Plan to follow the brown National Road Scenic Byway signs and watch for hand-painted signs at intersections.
The route runs through small towns settled before 1850, so the inventory leans heavily toward American antiques: farmhouse primitives, vintage cast iron (Wagner, Griswold), pre-1970 Pyrex, hand tools, railroad collectibles, and mid-century glassware. The Indiana and Ohio segments are particularly known for kitchen glass and cast iron. Most sellers also carry the usual yard-sale mix — kids' items, clothing, lawn and garden, sporting goods.
The National Road Heritage Foundation, based in Boonsboro, Maryland. Director Reuben Moss can be reached at Director@NationalRdFoundation.org or 240-769-0898. The foundation also operates the National Road Museum at 214 N. Main Street, Boonsboro, MD 21713, which hosts the anchor community sale.
The 2027 route is set for May 27–31, 2027.
See the 2027 Historic National Road Yard Sale route →MarketplaceIQ reads real eBay sold prices from a single photo — scan any item right there at the table.
Common finds along this route: