The Lincoln Highway
John Peterson, Special to The Gazette
Thursday, November 20, 2008
HAVE YOU EVER heard of the Lincoln Highway? We hear and read about old US-66. It has been commemorated, but we never seem to hear about the Lincoln Highway. It is the oldest transcontinental road, so it should be commemorated, too. I would tell you about it, if I had my way.
I got into the subject in this fashion. Earlier this year, I wrote two of these columns about my hometown, DeKalb, Ill. One was about it being the place where barbed wire was invented and it, therefore, was called The Barb City.
In that column about The Barb City, I mentioned the Lincoln Highway. I said it was the main street in DeKalb during my youth, but had been moved a few miles south. Well, I was wrong!
My sister, Bonnie, has been a resident of DeKalb all her life. She grew up there — just as I did — and stayed there to teach school until her retirement some years ago. I sent her a copy of that column about The Barb City. My saying that the Lincoln Highway was no longer in DeKalb caught her eye. She sent me a big letter telling me I was wrong and included two big newspaper articles about the highway.
I learned much about the Lincoln Highway that I had either not known or had forgotten. I suspect that those of you who are reading this also know little about it. That is why I am going to tell you about it, if I have my way.
There are things about the Lincoln Highway that I had either not known or had forgotten. I suspect that those of you who are reading this also know little about it. That is why I am going to tell you about it, if I have my way.
First, my sister Bonnie’s correction of my words. The Lincoln Highway is still the main street in DeKalb. Long ago, back in the days of my youth, it was US-30. Also long ago, US-30 was moved south of DeKalb about 10 miles onto an improved road. The Lincoln Highway was named U.S. Highway 38. It was these changes which made my memory make the mistake in that earlier column. The Lincoln Highway was never moved. It was just that the number was changed. It is still DeKalb’s main street.
Now let us talk about the highway. The idea of an “improved” highway running from coast to coast was first proposed by an automobile promoter in 1912. In 1913, a Lincoln Highway Association was organized. President Woodrow Wilson became the first member.
Teddy Roosevelt and Thomas Edison soon became members of the association. The route for the highway was announced in 1913. It was to run from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco. It would cover 3,389 miles and be the first transcontinental highway.
Let me give you an idea of where the highway went. From New York City to Philadelphia, then across Ohio to Fort Wayne, Indiana. Across Illinois — through DeKalb, of course — and across Iowa to Omaha, Neb.
Then, on to just south of Cheyenne, Wyo., and on to Salt Lake City. From there, it was shifted about over the years. It went just south of Reno, Nevada, then to Sacramento, Calif., and down to San Francisco. So, you see, it was really an across-the-country road.
In 1915, a movie star named Anita King was the first person recorded to drive an automobile coast to coast on the Lincoln Highway. In 1919, an army convoy traveled the route as a way of testing military vehicles. Dwight Eisenhower was in the convoy. He was a lieutenant colonel then.
In 1914, there was an event close to DeKalb. A mile of the highway was covered with concrete. This was just past Malta, Illinois, and Malta is just six miles west of DeKalb. How proud I am that the first mile of concrete on any highway was close to my hometown. And even closer to Malta, where my mother grew up.
Thousands of trees were planted along the highway in 1921. They were a memorial to soldiers who had died in World War I. A federal numbering system for American highways was adopted in 1926 and the Lincoln Highway became US-30.
It appears that there are now two commemorative organizations for the highway. In 1996, a National Lincoln Highway Association was established in Franklin Grove, Illinoios. It is on the original highway. Then, in 1999, the Lincoln Highway National Museum and Archives was opened in Galion, Ohio.
So, I hope that I have convinced you that the Lincoln Highway is important in the history of our United States transportation. It was the first road across our country. You would think it was important, if I had my way.
And, of course, it is of special importance to me because it was a part of my growing up. It is a part of my memories. Instead of speaking of our DeKalb main street, we often spoke of the Lincoln Highway. It was a big part of my hometown.
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Posted by rt66prods (anonymous) on November 21, 2008 at 9:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Route 66 was known as the Mother Road. Due to its historical importance and status as the first cross-country highway, the Lincoln Highway is becoming known to some as the Father Road.
Also, it should be pointed out that a mere 10 days ago, the United States Highway System (US-66, 30, and 38 mentioned above) turned 82.
I've traveled the length of 66. I've touched upon quite a few pieces of Lincoln Highway as well. Anyone interested in travel, in my opinion, should consider a long, slow journey down either famed highway. Both are wonderful examples of America today AND from a time long ago.
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