When Route 10 opened on June 6, 1925, a celebration was held, which included a parade that traveled through the towns along the roadway. To commemorate that event and celebrate the roadway's 100th anniversary, a group of car enthusiasts, led by Parkesburg resident Jeff Hery from the Delaware Valley Region, Classic Car Club of America, recreated the road's opening celebration on June 7 by holding a parade of vehicles that traveled along Route 10 from Morgantown to Oxford.

The parade of cars, led by Hery in his 1971 Pontiac LeMans, began at the Classic Auto Mall in Morgantown and traveled along Route 10 to Oxford, where participants enjoyed lunch at the Oxford Hotel. Each car was provided with a Route 10 anniversary magnet.

All car owners were presented with a map of the original parade route and a copy of a booklet that was given out that day in 1925. The booklet features ads purchased by local business owners, and it detailed activities that were held along the parade route.

"Originally, when they did it 100 years ago, every town had some activity," said Hery. "They played a baseball game in Parkesburg and had a shooting contest."

According to the booklet, attendees paid 25 cents admission to the baseball game between Parkesburg and New London, with a grandstand admission of 10 cents.

The booklet notes that a portion of Route 10 was originally a Native American trail. "The booklet has a history of the whole Octorara trail and the history of every town," Hery noted. "It has advertisements from all the businesses from 100 years ago."

Towns along the route that took part in the celebration included Plowville, Honey Brook, Compass, Parkesburg, Cochranville and Oxford. Among the advertisers in the booklet was the Hotel Parkesburg, which offered "a good place to eat and a clean place to sleep"; the Chester County Automobile Club, which was "always active in road improvement and caring for the interests of motorists"; and ads from local politicians, including A.H. Swing, who was running for the office of Chester County controller.

There was also an advertisement for an ox roast offered on the day of the celebration in Parkesburg, which read, "immediately after the return of the parade from Oxford, the committee will begin to serve ox roast sandwiches and coffee until the entire supply - about 2000 pounds or one ton of meat - is exhausted."

According to a history of Route 10, the road begins in Oxford and passes through rural areas of western Chester County, including Cochranville, Parkesburg, Compass and Honey Brook. The route passes through a small corner of eastern Lancaster County before it enters Berks County and reaches Morgantown, where it interchanges with Interstate 176.

Members of the Delaware Valley Region, Classic Car Club of America also plan to participate in the 250th anniversary celebration of when Gen. Marquis de Lafayette visited Chester and Lancaster counties this July. To learn more about the club and its activities, visit http://www.dvrccca.org.