Lincoln Highway

Tiffanie Yocum
Oregon High School, Oregon

"Lincoln Highway is known as the road that tells the history of transportation, the first paved continental highway in the United States, and the forefather of the modern interstate transportation system as it was originally conceived in 1913." These are the words from a website article about the Lincoln Highway. The 179 miles in Illinois crosses the width of northern Illinois, starting in Lynwood, Illinois, and ending along the Indiana border. The Lincoln Highway was the first example of a transportation system to use the ideas of directional signs and urban bypasses. The remarkable history behind the Lincoln Highway not only affects the Lincoln Highway itself but the whole transportation system of the United States.

Lincoln Highway stretched 3,385 miles between New York City and San Francisco. It was sometimes called the "Main Street of the United States." The highway began construction in 1914. After a national system of route numbers was adopted in 1926, most of what had been completed on the highway was designated as U.S. 30.

The idea of the Lincoln Highway came from the productive mind of Carl Fisher, who is also responsible for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Miami Beach. With a little bit of help from two industrialists, Frank Seiberling and Henry Joy, an improved, hard-surfaced road was envisioned that would stretch almost 3,400 miles from coast to coast, New York to San Francisco, over the shortest practical route. Henry Joy was the president of the Packard Motor Car Company and Frank Seiberling was the president of Goodyear. These two men played a major role in the construction of the Lincoln Highway. Before the hard road was thought of it was easier to get from one place to another by train. At first Fisher's idea was called the "Coast-to-Coast Rock Highway." The graveled road would cost about $10 million dollars, which was a low amount even for 1912. Communities along the route provided the equipment and in return would receive free materials and a place along America's first transcontinental highway. The highway was to be finished in time for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition and would run from the exposition's host city, San Francisco, to New York City. Henry Joy came up with the idea of naming the highway after Abraham Lincoln. He urged Fisher to write a letter of protest to Congress, which was considering spending $1.7 million on a marble memorial that would be dedicated to Lincoln. He believed that a good road across the country would be a better tribute to the president.

The Lincoln Highway entered Illinois from the east on U.S. 30. The route ran west through Chicago Heights, where the highway crossed the Dixie Highway, commemorated at Arche Park. The highway continued west through New Lenox to Joliet, and then northwest, still on U.S. 30, through Plainfield, crossing historic Route 66 on the way to Aurora. From Aurora, the highway took Illinois 31 north towards Geneva. At Geneva, it turned west on Illinois 38 toward DeKalb. It then continued west on Illinois 38 through Rochelle to Franklin Grove, which is the location of the national headquarters of the Lincoln Highway Association. The highway continued west on Illinois 38 through Dixon (which is the location of the Lincoln Monument). West of Sterling, the Lincoln Highway rejoined U.S. 30, and went through Morrison and then Illinois 136 into Fulton. A Lincoln Highway information center is in the windmill near the crossing of the Mississippi River into Iowa.

Along the Lincoln Highway, there are many historic points of interest and recreational activities. Landmarks of the Lincoln Highway include an artery of travel and symbol of American mobility that stretches from one coast to the other before freeways and highways started having numbers instead of names. Franklin Creek State Natural Area where people can enjoy a picnic by the edge of Franklin Creek is another stop. Trails are available there for hiking, skiing, horseback riding, and snowmobiling. Travelers near Chicago can go shopping and be delighted with increased shopping opportunities in places like Chicago Heights or Joliet. Geneva provides a tour of the Japanese Gardens or hiking opportunities on the Riverwalk. When touring each community, people will definitely come across several fascinating activities.

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History of the early settlements can be seen in roads, communities, and historic waterways of Illinois. Drivers will catch a glimpse of the Illinois and Michigan Canal that connects the Great Lakes to the Illinois and the Mississippi rivers. Communities on the byway have combined new innovations with history. Aurora is home to a kinetic water sculpture, while Fulton has a windmill to honor its ancestors. In Dixon, the "Victory Arch" that was built in 1919 spreads over the highway. In Chicago Heights, there is the "Arche Fountain" that commemorates Abraham Lincoln. In Batavia, there are historical markers near the courthouse that honor a past that is far from forgotten.

The goal of the Lincoln Highway is to tell the history of transportation. It set the Field for the communities of transportation. All together the Lincoln Highway accomplished many things. For example, it promoted paved continental highways in the United States, attracted many tourists to the United States, and made many historical landmarks through travel on the Lincoln Highway.—[From Tom Huntington, "From D.C. to the Golden Gate," American History Magazine, Dec. 1997; Ed Holm, "Lincoln Highway," American History Magazine, Aug. 1994; Lincoln Highway Association, "Historical Qualities," www.byways.org (Sept. 18, 2001); Lincoln Highway Home Page, "History of the Lincoln Highway: Origins," www.ugcs.caltech. edu/~jlin/lincoln/history/partl.html (Sept. 13, 2001); Lincoln Highway Home Page, "America's Main Street," The Oakland Tribune, www.ugcd.caltech.edu/~jlin/lincoln/papers/tribune/ (Sept. 13, 2001); Lincoln High-way Association, "Highway Info," www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org/info (Sept. 18, 2001); Bruce E. Seely, "Lincoln Highway."]

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