Allen County, Indiana Places

Lincoln Highway

Several existing places were on the Lincoln Highway such as Cindy's Diner, Five Points, and Holter's Roost.

Zoomable interactive coast-to-coast Google based Offical map of the Lincoln Highway online. Lincoln Highway Association Releases Free Coast-to-Coast Online Map was updated from a February 20, 2024 post by the Indiana Lincoln Highway Association (Group) on Facebook: the turn by turn guides on the INLHA website Map / Directions page have been updated with addresses for points of interest, and with corrections, additions and deletions.
  1. The Indiana Lincoln Highway Association has an Indiana Lincoln Highway Byway map stating: In gearing up for the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln Highway in 2013, the Lincoln Highway Association released a complete, definitive online map of the entire highway, from New York City to San Francisco, freely available on the Association’s Website. The online map represents more than twenty years of historical research and ten years of mapping by over a hundred expert volunteers.
  2. A 1924 Lincoln Highway in Indiana and Indiana’s Lincoln Highway Byway A Turn-by-Turn Road Guide For the 1928 Route on page 12-13 is Fort Wayne and Allen County. They are also on Facebook by the Indiana Lincoln Highway Association.
  3. 2021 INDIANA’S LINCOLN HIGHWAY BYWAY A Turn-by-Turn Road Guide For the 1928 Route West From Ohio to Illinois and INDIANA’S LINCOLN HIGHWAY BYWAY A Turn-by-Turn Road Guide For the 1928 Route East From Illinois to Ohio. Their Lincoln Highway on Facebook page mentions Fort Wayne several times.
  4. Lincoln Highway appears in many photos and discussions on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook.
  5. The Lincoln Highway goes through Fort Wayne along the old two lane portion of U.S. 30 - there used to be a City of Fort Wayne 1915 route map no longer found in 2023. Mayor marks history highway with new signs Route Honoring Lincoln Celebrates Heritage and Invites Tourism at City of Fort Wayne.
  6. Map location of city markers discussed in Lincoln Highway recognition reveals rich legacy - and may benefit economy by Kevin Leininger published May 5, 2009 in The News-Sentinel newspaperarchived on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
  7. Mayor marks history highway with new signs Route Honoring Lincoln Celebrates Heritage and Invites Tourism by City of Fort Wayne.

    Route Honoring Lincoln Celebrates Heritage and Invites Tourism

    Mayor Tom Henry today helped unveil one of the new signs marking the 1915 route of the Lincoln Highway through Fort Wayne. Nearly one hundred years ago, the privately funded highway was the first coast-to-coast route, connecting New York to California, winding through smaller cities and towns in fourteen states. Once called “Main Street Across America,” the route came through Indiana and through Fort Wayne.

    “Heritage tourism is one of our greatest assets,” said Mayor Henry. “With renewed interest in off-interstate travel, people are eager to explore the cultural and historic treasures to be found in communities like Fort Wayne. The treasures to be found along the Lincoln Highway are well worth a family vacation and Fort Wayne is ready to welcome those with an interest in rediscovering the entertainment, culture and history to be found slightly off the beaten path. We welcome travelers' interest and their economic support. It is fitting to kick-off the Memorial Day weekend by once again marking the route of the Lincoln Highway through Fort Wayne; the coast to coast highway was designed as a memorial to Abraham Lincoln.”

    May is National Historic Preservation month, and this year's local celebration highlights the yearlong nation-wide recognition of Abraham Lincoln's 200th Birthday (February 12, 2009). The Hoosier state has many reasons to celebrate President Lincoln; he spent 14 of his most formative years (from age 7 to 21) in southern Indiana. Fort Wayne has embraced Lincoln's legacy with numerous memorials within the City to visit. Among them is the sculpture “The Hoosier Youth” by renowned sculptor Paul Manship (featured on this year's local Historic Preservation Month brochure and poster), the Lincoln Tower, and the historic Lincoln Highway. Soon the former Lincoln archival collection of the Lincoln Financial Foundation will open at the Allen County Public Library.

    “At one time, the Lincoln Highway came in past Memorial Park on the east side of town,” said Mayor Henry. “Visitors were greeted by the imposing statue of General Anthony Wayne at the entrance to Hayden Park. The statue was dedicated there on July 4, 1918. The bronze sculpture was moved to Freimann Square in 1973. The highway passed through downtown, crossed the St. Mary's River on the Lincoln Highway Bridge, and went past the St. Vincent Villa. It passed through Five Points as it left town to the northwest.”

    Mayor Henry and others unveiled the distinctive sign on the historic Lincoln Highway Bridge on Harrison Street, just north of downtown. About 30 signs will mark the 1915 route through Fort Wayne. The Lincoln Highway route was altered in 1928, and additional signs will also mark the later route. The City plans to have the signs in place by mid-June. The Lincoln Highway Association national conference will be held June 16-20 in South Bend; the new signs will help attendees follow the route through Fort Wayne.

  8. Lincoln Hwy sign dedication today in Fort Wayne published May 21, 2009 on Lincoln Highway News has a map showing the location of five markers on the 1915 route.
  9. Former ARCH staffer, president of the Indiana Lincoln Highway Association, Jan Shupert-Arick wrote the book The Lincoln Highway across Indiana and the Community Voice: What happened to the Lincoln Highway arch? published October 20, 2011 i n The News-Sentinel newspaperno longer online. Fort Wayne, Indiana erected two arches over the Lincoln Highway around 1914. Indiana LHA president Jan Shupert-Arick asks whatever happened to them. posted as What happened to Fort Wayne, IN’s Lincoln Highway arches? October 28, 2011 on Lincoln Highway blog linking to the article no longer online.
  10. City's future gets a boost from its past Lincoln 'byway' designation could increase tourism, officials say by Kevin Leininger published October 20, 2011 in The News-Sentinel newspaperno longer online.
  11. Lincoln Highway National Museum & Archives 102 Old Lincoln Way West Galion, Ohio.
  12. Traveling the Lincoln Highway In Indiana Then & Now seven page document by indianalincolnhighway.org.
  13. October 3, 2011 eight page letter by Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman on the State Byway Designation for Indiana Lincoln Highway Byway lists the route county by county through Indiana.
  14. Lincoln Highway Celebrations about the Lincoln Highway Centennial Celebration posted June 12, 2013 by Nancy McCammon-Hansen on History Center Notes & Queries blog.
  15. Lincoln Highway Association sponsored the 2013 Lincoln Highway 100th Anniversary Tour June 21–30 reported on ABC TV as Lincoln Highway Centennial Road Trip and shows a Google map showing the original and modified routes.
  16. Tour shows off our part of old Lincoln Highway July 11, 2013 by Frank Gray of The Journal Gazette newspaper no longer online.
  17. The sculpture serves as a tribute to the historic Lincoln Highway and motorists who have travelled through the intersection over the last 100 years. Goshen Avenue was once part of the Lincoln Highway until 1928. CITY’S PUBLIC WORKS DIVISION, PUBLIC ART COMMISSION COMMEMORATE NEW “5 POINT SPIN” PUBLIC ART SCULPTURE October 18, 2022 City of Fort Wayne. See our Five Points Places section.

100 Years on the Lincoln Highway by Wyoming PBS posted June 1, 2017 on YouTube.
Shared November 30, 2022 by the Indiana Lincoln Highway Association on Facebook.
Before the Interstate Highway System, before famed Route 66, before highways were even numbered, there was one road that started it all, one road that changed America forever: The Lincoln Highway. “100 Years on the Lincoln Highway” is the story of the first coast to coast automobile road in the United States and its impact on Wyoming. Premiered on March 9, 2014. WyomingPBS videos are used in classrooms across the country. Comments inappropriate for a classroom are blocked.

Across the continent by the Lincoln Highway by Gladding, Effie Price Publication date 1915 on Archive.org

The country's first transcontinental road connecting the Atlantic Coast with the Pacific Coast, from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco opened in 1913. The Allen County section was dedicated June 21, 1915. The highway was not built with government contracts or even with taxpayer money. The need for better marking of highways, led the federal government to rename it U.S. Route 30.

Page 119, LINCOLN HIGHWAY STATE CONSUL, W. M. GRIFFIN Fort Wayne, Indiana The Complete official Road Guide of the Lincoln Highway (Third Edition) 1918 on Archive.org. Notice the dirt road in the photo labeled A view of the type of Lincoln Way Indiana is providing for freight and passenger transportation

The Lincoln Highway : the story of a crusade that made transportation history by Lincoln Highway Association Publication date 1935 on Archive.org.

  1. The Lincoln Highway is Stop #14 on ARCH ( Architecture and Community Heritage) Central Downtown Trail.
  2. Lincoln Highway Audio: “Lincoln Highway” featuring Tom Castaldi. Courtesy of WBNI-Fort Wayne on the Central Downtown Trail 19 stops on the Heritage Trail by ARCH ( Architecture and Community Heritage).
  3. The Lincoln Highway opened September 10, 1913 and was celebrated October 31, 1913 in Fort Wayne newspapers and dedicated June 22, 1915 in Fort Wayne.
  4. 1913 - Scenes in Fort Wayne, Churubusco, New Haven Other Points Lincoln Highway Dedicated Friday The Fort Wayne Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Saturday, November 1, 1913, Page 12.

    This newspaper article was discussed in a October 31, 2018 post by Lincoln Highway on Facebook. The photo of a stone house in the lower left is Holter's Roost in New Haven around 6630 Lincoln Highway East which now faces south to Indiana State Road 930 but the original front is actually on the north side at 6611 Old Maumee Avenue formerly the Lincoln Highway.

  5. The Lincoln Highway by Richard F. Weingroff at the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration.
  6. The Allen County Public Library Digital Collections at the Allen County Public Libraryhas almost 200 image results in a Lincoln Highway search and over 100 Lincoln Highway library catalog search results. Some of these images are:

    1. Lincoln Highway with Michael Pullen family taken in 2013 in front of a modern Historic Lincoln Highway 1928 Route sign
    2. In the Monroeville Ternet Collection
      1. Cabins for Rent Lincoln Highway restaurant just west of Townley intersection of 101 and old 30, had cabins available for rent. The cabin at far left is still standing in 2008 and owned by Tom Lortie. Not shown on current Layers aerial view of Townley on Google maps
      2. Lincoln Highway Marker This looked like the ones the Monroeville, Indiana Boy Scouts erected on old highway 30
      3. OBERLEY STATION Oberley Restaurant & Station on Lincoln Highway, Zulu, Indiana on Lincoln Hwy, Zulu 1941
      4. Service Station Bill Fry's service station on Lincoln Highway east of 101, Monroeville, Indiana.
      5. Geodetic Survey Marker located on Lincoln Highway at the corner of the Stephenson (Old Ridge) Cemetery.
      6. Ternet Family - pictured L-R: Jim Ternet, Ralph Ternet, Sol Ternet, Norman Gordon, Mayme Ternet, Lloyd Littlefield holding Beverly Ann Ternet. Photo taken at Sol Ternet's place on 101 just north of Lincoln Highway, Monroeville.
      7. TERNET HOUSE & TAVERN The Charles Ternet House & Tavern located on south east corner of Lincoln Highway and Webster Road. Pictured from left to right: Leslie Ternet (with bicycle), Louise (Townsend) Ternet, Cletus Ternet, Velma (Ternet) Marquart and Charles Ternet.
      8. Townley Station at the corner of 101 and Lincoln Highway. In addition to selling gas, they also rented small cabins at the rear of the property.
      9. 20th Century Luncheon - owned and operated by Mattie Clauss and her two sons, Dougland & Kenneth and her daughter, Connie. The Clauss family started the business at the corner of 101 and Lincoln Highway in Townley in 1959. Sold food and gas. Photo taken in July 1963.
      10. Zulu, Indiana, a small town on the Lincoln Highway, just north-west of Monroeville. Population 34 in 1972. Street View photo on Google maps.
    3. FORT WAYNE. DUMPING AT THE CITY'S EDGE LOCATED DIRECTLY ACROSS THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY FROM THE AUTO GRAVEYARD (MAUMEE AVE. EXTENDED)
    4. FORT WAYNE. THE APPROACH TO MAUMEE AVENUE FROM THE EAST EDGE OF THE CITY LIMITS LINCOLN HIGHWAY 30
    5. Fort Wayne's parks and boulevard system : a centennial perspective, Pelfrey Todd-21 Oct 2011-000, 36-page document in the Quest Club Papers, search finds 2 mentions of Lincoln Highway
    6. Lincoln Highway Bridge, Fort Wayne, IN looking south towards downtown in the Harter Postcard Collection
    7. Lincoln Highway Bridge, Fort Wayne, IN side view in the Harter Postcard Collection
    8. Lincoln Highway construction on a curve in the Who is a Hoosier--Bicentennial Images collection
    9. Lincoln Highway road building equipment in the Who is a Hoosier--Bicentennial Images collection
    10. Our Roads, Schouweiler F Edwin-05 Apr 1957-0001, 26-page document in the Quest Club Papers, search finds 10 mentions of Lincoln Highway
    11. Schoolhouse on Lincoln Highway near Churubusco, Eel River Township, IN, 1915 somewhere north of Carroll Road?
    12. The Lincoln Highway and the American imagination, Seigel Peggy-24 Feb 2012-001, 13-page document in the Quest Club Papers
    13. Two Hundred Years of Fort Wayne Advertising, Griswold Bert T-1915-0001 15-page document in the Quest Club Papers, search finds 2 mentions of Lincoln Highway
  7. Indiana Lincoln Highway Photos by roadfan.com has photos at various locations along the 1913/1928 routes.
  8. Street View photo taken near 9698 Lincoln Highway on Google maps

    Johnson Ditch Old US 33 (Lincoln Highway) bridge. This bridge was built in 1913 and became part of the Lincoln Highway. A new bridge was constructed in 1949 to bypass the older. Johnson Ditch Bridge on HistoricBridges.org and Old Lincoln Highway Bridge (Old US 33) on BridgeHunter.com. Discussed June 18, 2022 and February 25, 2023 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook.

    Lincoln Highway Iron Bridge by Kenneth Burgener Sep 15, 2017 on YouTube.
    This video is about Lincoln Highway Ohio Indiana

  9. Bowser

    S. F. Bowser advertisement Are You on the Lincoln Highway on page 52 of the April 1914 Automobile Trade Journal on HathiTrust.

    Bowser Sentry pump with Lincoln Highway sign

    Photo posted June 28, 2024 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook.

  10. September 3, 2022 post by City of New Haven Indiana on Facebook:

    Fun Fact: In 1914, the Lincoln Highway came to New Haven while being laid between New York City and San Francisco as the first coast-to-coast highway. The road was conceived by Indiana automobile entrepreneur, Carl Fisher. As part of his idea, communities along the route would provide equipment in return for free materials and a place along America’s first transcontinental highway.

  11. 1914 Paving a section of Lincoln Highway East of Fort Wayne

    These History Center Digital Collection on the mDON mastodon Digital Object Network photos labeled Lincoln Highway Road Construction described as 1914 Paving a section of Lincoln Highway East of Fort Wayne halfway between Fort Wayne and New Haven, Ind. were discussed January 28, 2023 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook.

    1914 Paving a section of Lincoln Highway East of Fort Wayne
  12. Across the continent by the Lincoln Highway (1915) by Gladding, Effie Price is on Archive.org.

  13. 1915 photo of Harrison Street Bridge (Old Lincoln Highway Bridge).
    1917 Lincoln Highway arch near Memorial Park
    1917 Lincoln Highway arch near Memorial Park
    Colored postcard of the arch dedicated in 1915 dated June 1917 same as the top image was posted October 26, 2018 in You are positively from Fort Wayne, if you remember... Archived group only visible to existing members on Facebook which has lots of Lincoln Highway posts. One comment posted: THE 1924 LINCOLN HIGHWAY IN INDIANA by Michael Gene Buettner who shows a black and white version of the bottom photo with the same Pop. 80,000 stating: After turns onto Putnam Street, Wells Street, State Boulevard, and finally Goshen Road, we then bore northwesterly while leaving the older part of town. In the early years, a steel arch spanned what is now State Boulevard (originally Pfeiffer Street west of the river?) just west of the Wells Street corner. Back then, Fort Wayne's population was 80,000; now it is more than 173,000. The postcard icon from the article shows the arch that stood on Maumee Avenue at Fort Wayne's eastern city limit.

    The same images were posted November 21, 2021 with a 2021 comment by Creager Smith, Historic Preservation Planner at City of Fort Wayne Government, saying the top photo was taken looking west on Maumee Avenue at or near Memorial Park on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook.

    A comment to the black and white version of the second image posted October 31, 2018 with several other photos by The History Center on Facebook says: According to newspaper accounts, one [arch] was at Maumee and Edsall Ave.

    The June 12, 1915 Fort Wayne Daily News article shown below shows the top photograph stating it is the east entrance to the city. It was electrically lighted with rambler roses planted on both sides to twine up the site. A similar arch was at the western entrance to the city.

  14. Foster Park's Splendid Secret a campground stop on the 1913 Lincoln Highway was by Eric Olson, 21Country Featured ReporterJanuary 26, 2017 on 21AliveNews.comno longer online.
  15. 1915 - Ready For Lincoln Highway Celebration June 21
    Newspaper.com clipping

    Ready For Lincoln Highway Celebration June 21

    Allen County's share of the National Highway

    Clipped from Fort Wayne Daily News

    12 June 1915, Saturday, page 11

    Clipped by StanFollisFW, 17 February 2023

    The article says a parade of 600 automobiles with the horse troups from Culver and two bands was to go through Fort Wayne from the west and was to be filmed with a photographer on Court Street near the grandstand near the south entrance to the courthouse and will be distributed throughout the country. [a comment to the Liberty Bell arrival in Fort Wayne on July 6, 1915 stated: This event coincided with the Lincoln Highway Association's 1915 film of their journey from New York to San Francisco for the PPIE. Fort Wayne was highlighted prominently in the film. Unfortunately, the film did not survive over the years.]

    6 photos titled:

    1. Lincoln highway sign east of the city. A number of these have been erected along the highway in Allen county by the Wayne Oil Tank company. M. H. Luecke, highway booster, is in the machine.

    2. The arch at the east entrance to the city. The arch is to be electrically lighted and rambler roses have been planted at both sides to twine up the sides. In the center of the arch is the inscription, "Fort Wayne, Population 80,000." There is a similar arch at the western entrance to the city.

    3. The committe in charge of the celebration--Rear row, left to right, Ward L. Wilt, William M. Griffin, J. Herman Buert, Edgar H. Kilbourne, Joseph W. Bell, Charles L. Biederwolf, Edward C. Miller, Front row, Van B. Perrine, Martin H. Luecke, Alfred L. Randall, Dr. Edward W. Dodez, Frank E. Bond.

    4. Curve at the Four-Mile house. By refusing the proprietor a license to sell liquor here the commissioners have made the road safer to travel, tourists no longer having to dodge drunk revelers and machines driven by the drink crazed chauffeurs.

    5. A straightaway east of the city. This is an excellent stretch for speed, but is within the jurisdiction of the motorcycle cops and the twenty-mile-an-hour limit is strictly enforced.

    6. Three modes of travel. The Lincoln highway on the left, a section of the old Wabash & Erie canal in the center, and the Nickel Plate tracks on the right.

    Three-Mile Picture Show - 1915 film

    Wayne Oil Tank & Pump Company Fort Wayne, Indiana from Lincoln Highway News
    Lincoln Highway Special automobile Wayne Oil Tank & Pump Company Fort Wayne, Indiana from Lincoln Highway News

    Wayne Oil Pump image from the article: The Lincoln Highway along the Juniata, 1915 March 15, 2019 at LincolnHighwayNews.com stated: From May through August, 1915, LHA vice-president and field secretary Henry Ostermann led a film crew across the Lincoln Highway. The resulting promotion film, the “Three-Mile Picture Show,” was shown for years but no copies are known to have survived.

    Three-mile Picture Show film crew at the Indiana Ohio Line
    Three-mile Picture Show film crew at the Indiana Ohio Line

    Image from page 22 of the 44 page document Lincoln Highway Nation’s First Transcontinental Highway By Dennis E. Horvath, Lead-Author: Indiana Cars: A History of the Automobile in Indiana, Web Publisher: www.Cruise-IN.com, Web Proprietor: www.AutoGiftGarage.com

    A comment to the Liberty Bell arrival in Fort Wayne on July 6, 1915 Timeline post: Fort Wayne was highlighted prominently in the film.

    In 1915 The Lincoln Highway Association sponsored a motion picture caravan to film the highway from New York to San Francisco. The 3-hour (16,000 foot) feature became known as the Three-Mile Picture Show. This was also the first motion picture film ever taken of an automobile trip. Upon reaching the Panama- Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, the film was shown almost continually as an enhancement to the panoramic route map and accompanying photos on display. It also provided advertising for the cities it passed through. During the return trip east, the film was shown in citeies and towns that had sponsored its financing. Copied from page two of the LINCOLN HIGHWAY ASSOCIATION CALIFORNIA CHAPTER NEWS LETTER THE TRAVELER VOL. 9 NO. 2 SPRING APRIL 2008.

     

    The film is also mentioned on page 240 in the Appendix A Lincoln Highway Chronology at LincolnHighwayNebraskaByway.com under 1915:
    The LHA sponsored the Motion Picture Caravan to film the Lincoln Highway, creating the Three-Mile Picture Show.
    The Lincoln Highway (Harrison Street) Bridge was constructed across the St. Mary's River in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

     

    What Ever Happened to The Three Mile Picture Show? October 27, 2011, on the Louis V. Galdieri's Blog.

    The End of the Three Mile Picture Show November 11, 2011 in "Louis V. Galdieri's Blog" states: Natanson and staff packed the film reels in a large case, declared the value of The Three Mile Picture Show at one-thousand dollars, and shipped it Express Collect to Disney. On October 30th, Sheldon wired with this news: four reels of film… have deteriorated to powder and bubbled condition. Extreme explosion or fire hazard. Strongly suggest you grant permission to destroy this material here or will return immediately at your responsibility. Four small rolls of negative in can appear to be alright. On that same day, Natanson wired back: “You may destroy runined [sic] film.” And so they did.

     

    1915 transcontinental film convoy

    The 1915 transcontinental film convoy was a four-month motor convoy beginning August 25 and ending at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. The film crew completed the "Three-Mile Picture Show" (named for the length of film). The film was directed by Henry Ostermann, Consul at Large for the Lincoln Highway Association, who travelled in a Stutz touring car.

    The last known existing copy of "The Three Mile-Picture Show" was in the film storage vaults of The University of Michigan, having been donated to the university by Henry Ostermann, and his associate, Gael Hoag. In 1957 the university was contacted by Walt Disney Productions, who wanted to use a part of the film in their movie "The American Highway". When the University Of Michigan inspected the film for the first time since the 1920s, they found it very deteriorated, and very flammable. They shipped the dangerous film to Disney, who, sadly, only wanted a few "humorous" moments to use in their movie, "The American Highway" (1958). After discussion between The University Of Michigan and film restorers, this copy of "The Three-Mile Picture Show" was then said to have been destroyed.Copied from Transcontinental Motor Convoy at Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

     

    A July 1, 2017 Event: First Saturday: The 1915 Transcontinental Film Convoy by Sparks Museum & Cultural Center

    Lincoln Highway Association member Leon Schegg presents “The Three Mile Picture Show: The 1915 Transcontinental Film Convoy” at 2 p.m. on July 1. This presentation is part of the First Saturday lecture series, where the Sparks Museum presents free programming 2 p.m. on the first Saturday of every month.

    In 1915, a motor film crew directed by Lincoln Highway Consul-At-Large member Henry Ostermann, traveled coast-to-coast for four months recording scenes along the historic route. By contributing to the film’s production, towns along the highway were allowed to proudly promote their communities. The three hour film was shown almost continuously at the Palace of Transportation at the 1915 San Francisco Panama–Pacific International Exposition. After the Expo, the popular film was shown to the public and school children in towns along the Lincoln Highway.

    Lifetime member of the Lincoln Highway Association and former President of the Nevada Chapter of the Lincoln Highway, Leon Schegg, will share the fascinating story about the film crew as they travel along America’s first transcontinental highway. The only brief film footage of the movie will also be shown.

  16. June 15, 2023 post by The History Center on Facebook:

    The links between town and country forged by the Interurban became stronger as the result of another significant transportation milestone—the construction of the Lincoln Highway. Nicknamed the “Main Street across America,” the Lincoln Highway was the first transcontinental highway. Not only did it connect cities all across America, locally it connected Fort Wayne’s surrounding townships to one another. Originally proposed by Indianapolis Motor Speedway founder Carl G. Fisher as a means of encouraging automobile travel and the improvement of highways in the United States, the project generated great enthusiasm and communities across America vied to be included on its route. On June 21, 1915, exactly 108 years ago today, a parade was held to inaugurate the highway coming through Fort Wayne. The Lincoln Highway was gradually replaced with numbered designations after the establishment of the U.S. Numbered Highway System in 1926 and eventually by the Interstate Highway System in the 1950s. #sociallyhistory 

  17. 1915, June 21 - A miles-long parade of automobiles from Fort Wayne to New Haven marked the dedication of the Fort Wayne section of the Lincoln Highway. From 1910 to 1919: Era of industry Timeline: Decade of development and destruction from the Archives of The News-Sentinel newspaper.
  18. November 7, 2017 post by Indiana Lincoln Highway Association on Facebook:

    View of several women, members of the Daughters of the American Revolution, dedicating one mile of pavement of the Lincoln Highway in Fort Wayne, Indiana. American flag displayed on flagpole; onlookers in background. Typed on back: Official Lincoln Highway trip, New York to San Francisco, Summer, 1915." Handwritten on back: "D.A.R., Fort Wayne, Ind., dedicate one mile of L.H. pavement, June 1915. D.A.R. (Daughters of the American Revolution) Ft. Wayne, Ind., dedicate one mile of Lincoln Highway pavement, June, 1915." - From the National Automotive History Collection of the Detroit Public Library:

    Members of the D.A.R. dedicating one mile of pavement of the Lincoln Highway in Fort Wayne, Indiana in the National Automotive History Collection of the Detroit Public Library Digital Collections which has several other Fort Wayne, Indiana results.

    Shared March 6, 2023 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook.

  19. 1915 - Lincoln Life Men View Lincoln Highway
    Newspapers.com clipping

    1915 - Lincoln Life Men View Lincoln Highway

    Clipped from The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette

    15 September 1915, Wednesday, page 13

    Clipped by StanFollisFW, 17 February 2023

    Photo caption:

    Edwin Denby, president of the Hupmobile factory, who was chief speaker at the Lincoln Life banquet: A. E. A Sleeper, of Bad Axe, Mich., one of the guests at the banquet; Dan H. Ninde, chief counsel for the company, and A. L. Randall viewed Fort Wayne from the soft cushions of a Hup during the brief visit of the Michigan men, and the accompanying picture shows them under the arch, marking the entrance to the city of the Lincoln highway Mr Randall is at the wheel with Mr Denby seated with him. In the rear seat are Mr. Sleeper and Mr. Ninde.

  20. October 31, 2018 post by The History Center on Facebook:

    The Lincoln Highway was dedicated one hundred and five years ago today. [October 31, 1915 opened through New Haven and Fort Wayne - coast to coast opened September 10, 1913] Over the next few years, the nation’s first transcontinental highway would stretch from New York to San Francisco, crossing through Indiana and Allen County. Allen County’s section of the highway had its own dedication on June 22, 1915. The Hotel Anthony became a local control station for travelers starting in 1915, charging two dollars a night for a room including a bath. The reinforced concrete Lincoln Highway Bridge (today known as the Harrison Street Bridge), which cost $200,000 to construct, provided safe passage over the St. Mary’s River on the way out of town. In 1928, the Lincoln Highway Association erected concrete posts across the country with the aid of Boy Scouts of America to mark the route. The sections of highway in Allen County were later assigned numbers and became U.S. 30 and U.S. 33. #sociallyhistory

    One comment by Bruce Butgereit on the archway shown here stated: There were two of these illuminated arches in Fort Wayne. They were erected in 1915. According to newspaper accounts, one was at Maumee and Edsall Ave. (when the Lincoln Highway followed Maumee into town (pre-one way streets) and the other was on Wells just south of State. No record has been found as to how long they existed or what happened to them.

    A November 22, 2021 discussion of two different color postcard photos of arches on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebookincludes one comment with a September 15, 1915 Journal Gazette newspaper photo with information.

  21. November 1, 2020 post by the Indiana Lincoln Highway Association on Facebook:

    Visit Fort Wayne has a new page on their website - Drive the Historic Lincoln Highway through Fort Wayne, Indiana:

    Drive the Historic Lincoln Highway through Fort Wayne, Indiana

    Official map of Fort Wayne stops along the Lincoln Highway

  22. November 5, 2021 post by Indiana Lincoln Highway Association on Facebook:

    Odowin Doenges, the Lincoln Highway Kid, walked from Fort Wayne, Indiana to San Francisco and back in 1915 and 1916 with his dog, Bob. Photo courtesy Rick Saaf of the True Fort Wayne Indiana History Group.

    [ photo caption: Odwin Doenges Lincoln Highway Kid and his dog Bob on their return to Ft. Wayne after a hike to San Francisco and back. Left Ft. Wayne April 4, 1915 returned April 23, 1916. Time: 1 year 19 days. Ground covered: 9,000 miles Standish Photo. ]

    February 9, 2024 post by Russell Stephen Rein on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook:

    Lincoln Highway Kids from Fort Wayne:

  23. July 17, 2023 post by Lincoln Highway Experience on Facebook:

    On this day in 1919, the famous Motor Transport Corps convoy was underway, driving over 3,000 miles on the historic Lincoln Highway to study & observe the terrain and the standard army vehicles that traversed it. Notes from July 17th, 1919 indicate the convoy was in Delphos, Ohio making its way to Ft. Wayne, Indiana. The weather was fair & warm, the roads good but dusty. The convoy was escorted through Ft. Wayne by the mayor and, as was often the case during the voyage, served lunch by the local motor service corps and the red cross. #MotorTransportCorpsConvoy

    More photos at the 1919 Transcontinental Motor Convoy at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum, and Boyhood Home Abilene, Kansas.

  24. Opposite page 210 TYPE OF SIGN ERECTED IN 192O, REACHING FROM NEW YORK TO OMAHA, MARKED THE HIGHWAY UNTIL THE ENTIRE STRETCH FROM NEW YORK TO SAN FRANCISCO WAS REMARKED BY THE CONCRETE MARKERS, ERECTED IN 1927
    The first markings were very simple, merely red, white and blue bands painted on a pole, rock or other convenient object. Later the Association designed its official insignia, consisting of red, white and blue rectangles with the letter L and the words Lincoln Highway in blue above and below the letter. The Association provided stencils of the official design and directions as to colors so that the work might be uniform; but the actual painting of the markers was done by good roads enthusiasts, automobile clubs, civic bodies and public- spirited individuals.
    Page 217 Driving through Noble County, Indiana, one day he had noticed that the mortality of signs was especially high and had evolved the idea that as this destruction was apparently the work of boys* maintenance of highway markers might well be made one of the objectives of the Boy Scouts. The article he wrote about the vandalism concluded with the words: What Noble County needs is more Boy Scouts.

  25. Chapman’s Modern Camp – Fort Wayne

    1920s-1930s tourist cabins provided simple overnight accommodations for motor travelers along the Lincoln Highway. Cabin Camp Project Seeking Lost Tourist Cabins by Jan Shupert-Arick on Indiana Lincoln Highway Association blog. The Conoco Travel Bureau published free brochures for various sections of the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. These brochures were available to Conoco customers at gas stations. Indiana cottage camp locations were included in Brochure #5 for the North Central Section of the United States that included Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and Michigan. Over 200 camps with over 225 cabins met Conoco’s approval and were listed for Indiana tourists. Lists: Fort Wayne: Black and White Tourist Camp – 8 cottages at $1.50-$3 (we have photos of this camp) Fort Wayne: Chapman’s Camp – 10 cottages at $1.25 and up (we have a photo of this camp) Fort Wayne: Dixie Camp – 4 cottages at $1.50-$2.50 Fort Wayne: Gay Mill Camp – 19 cottages at $1.50-$3 Fort Wayne: Lincoln Dale Tourist Camp – 13 cottages at $1.50 Fort Wayne: Sunset Cabins – 3 cottages at $1.25-$2.50. New Haven: Basswood Camp – 3 cottages at $1.25-$1.50 New Haven: Gay Mill Camp – 12 cottages at $1.50 and up New Haven: New Haven Tourist Camp – 8 cottages at $1.50 and up.

    North Central Section Indiana Conoco Travel Club map
  26. Dan Baker image

    September 24, 2023 post by Dan Baker on Facebook:

    In August 1923, four young coworkers from Dudlo Manufacturing Company in Fort Wayne took off on the Lincoln Highway in a loaded-down c.1918 Buick. The men: Paul Cochran, Carl Casner, Howard Shondell (my grandfather) and Ed Snyder documented the West as they saw it and lived it. Their adventure that followed the Yellowstone Trail took 76 days and the men visited 15 states, two Canadian Provinces and even Tijuana, Mexico. Their stops included Glacier, Yellowstone, Crater, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon National Parks and a couple that wouldn’t become NP until years later. When they returned to Fort Wayne in late October, they had put 9,055 miles on the poor car. Despite some hardships, mishaps and a car accident that nearly killed my grandfather, all agreed the “time and money couldn’t have been better spent."

    Thanks to Creager Smith for IDing the car!

    [Howard Shondell and Ed Snyder were mentioned in the line" Three inventors, all former DudIo employees, were granted patents; George W. Kierspe for a wire-winding machine; Edward Snyder, a device for sealing electrical coils; Howard Shondell, a winding machine for sheet material and a second patent for a tension device was granted Snyder. The patent rights were assigned to General Cable." on page 38 in the book History of the Dudlo Manufacturing Company by Bates, Roy M; Keller, Kenneth B, Publication date 1965 on Archive.org.]

  27. The Lincoln Highway Digital Image Collection at the University of Michigan has 13 search results for Fort Wayne, 261 search results for Indiana, and 17 search results for Churubusco.

    Churubusco Tire Sign History of the United States

    Undated "History of the United States sign (U.S. Tires billboard) for Fort Wayne, Churubusco, Indiana." In the digital collection Lincoln Highway Digital Image Collection. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/linchigh/x-lhc2355/lhc2355. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 22, 2024. Posted June 22, 2024 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook.

    History of the United States: Fort Wayne 9 miles from here. La Salle visited the locality of Fort Wayne as early as 1670. Originally Fort Wayne was the site of Kekionga, the central city of the once powerfull and warlike Miami Indians.

    1918 - United States Tires

    Article from Jun 20, 1918 The Fort Wayne Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Indiana) 1918, United states tires

    1918 - United States Tires The Fort Wayne Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Thursday, June 20, 1918, Page 8

    Another advertisement is 1917 - United States Tires The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Wednesday, May 30, 1917, Page 3

  28. 1917 Holters Roost east of Fort Wayne near New Haven

    1917 "Packard passing houses east of Fort Wayne, Indiana, 14-foot wide concrete." In the digital collection Lincoln Highway Digital Image Collection. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/linchigh/x-lhc2259/lhc2259. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 23, 2024. This looks like Holter's Roost in New Haven the unique stone house in New Haven. This is the north side while US 930 passes on the south side of the building.

  29. 1918 Packard on Macadam road in Allen County, west of Fort Wayne, Indiana

    1918 "Packard on Macadam road in Allen County, west of Fort Wayne, Indiana." In the digital collection Lincoln Highway Digital Image Collection. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/linchigh/x-lhc2258/lhc2258. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 23, 2024.

    [ Macadam is a type of road construction pioneered by Scottish engineer John Loudon McAdam around 1820, in which crushed stone is placed in shallow, convex layers and compacted thoroughly. From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Now referred to as a gravel road ]

  30. 1921 Ohio and Indiana line

    1921 "Ohio and Indiana state line." In the digital collection Lincoln Highway Digital Image Collection. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/linchigh/x-lhc1419/lhc1419. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 23, 2024.

  31. 1921 Ohio and Indiana line

    Probably 1921 as it appears to be the same car as above? "Ohio and Indiana state line sign." In the digital collection Lincoln Highway Digital Image Collection. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/linchigh/x-lhc1409/lhc1409. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 23, 2024.

    Aerial View from Google Maps doesn't show any of the original Lincoln Highway still existing on the Indiana Ohio State line.

  32. 1924 Parkard at RR underpass 2 miles west of Fort Wayne

    1924 "Packard at underpass 2 miles west of Fort Wayne, Indiana." In the digital collection Lincoln Highway Digital Image Collection. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/linchigh/x-lhc2298/lhc2298. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 23, 2024.

    Is this 2362 Goshen Road as shown on Street View from Google Maps?

  33. 1926 Packard passing cars and farmhouses 4 miles west of Fort Wayne, Indiana

    1926 "Packard passing cars and farmhouses 4 miles west of Fort Wayne, Indiana." In the digital collection Lincoln Highway Digital Image Collection. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/linchigh/x-lhc2319/lhc2319. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 23, 2024.

    [ If the barn is still there it could be possible to identify its current location? ]

  34. September 1, 1928 around 3,000 markers were placed along the highway. The City View video shown below of a 1928 marker dedication in downtown Fort Wayne October 1, 2020 says only about a dozen of the markers are still known, while a September 4, 2022 posts specifies there are 15 markers.
  35. Fort Wayne Government Access - City TV City View Date Created:December 14, 2020 Creator:Patrick Stelte December 2020. Topic this month: Lincoln Highway historical marker and dedication includes news conference and interview with Creager Smith, Historic Preservation Planner.
  36. October 30, 2020 post by Visit Fort Wayne on Facebook:

    Did you know the historic Lincoln Highway runs through the heart of downtown Fort Wayne? Today, the Indiana Lincoln Highway Association installed an original Historic Route Marker in front of the Visitors Center — almost 107 years to the date from the highway's original dedication in 1913. Learn more about driving the historic route through Fort Wayne! >>DRIVE THE HISTORIC LINCOLN HIGHWAY THROUGH FORT WAYNE, INDIANA

    HISTORIC LINCOLN HIGHWAY MARKER AT VISIT FORT WAYNE 927 South Harrison Street, Press Release the Indiana Lincoln Highway Association Installs Historic Route Marker at Fort Wayne Visitors Center posted Oct. 29, 2020 on Visit Fort Wayne.
  37. Photo of the Visitors Center Lincoln Highway marker with podium December 16, 2020 post on the Lincoln Highway group on Facebook references the December 14, 2020 City View video above.
  38. 927 Harrison Street, Street View photo from Google Maps shows the 1928 Lincoln Highway marker in front of Visit Fort Wayne

  39. September 1, 2023 post by Lincoln Highway Experience on Facebook:

    On this day 95 years ago, Boy Scouts across the country permanently marked the Lincoln Highway with concrete posts, placing them into holes dug prior by other troops. At the time, it was noted "this will be one of the most important pieces of service undertaken by the Boy Scouts of America." Some of the iconic posts still remain, almost a hundred years later! The closet post to the museum is located in Youngstown at the intersection of Arnold Palmer Drive and Club Manor Road. The post is located on private property so please be respectful when viewing or taking photos. Picture courtesy of Collegiate Presbyterian Church in Ames, Iowa. #TBT #BoyScouts #LincolnHighwayMarkers

  40. October 22, 2016 post by Indiana Lincoln Highway Association on Facebook:

    In 2010, the Indiana Lincoln Highway Association dedicated this interpretive site in New Haven, IN, at the New Haven City Hall, 815 Lincoln Highway E. It includes an original Lincoln Highway concrete post.

    The mission of the INLHA is to preserve, promote, and mark the Lincoln Highway route across Indiana, and educate the general public of the various routes and related resources.

    You can help us achieve our mission by becoming a member or attending our fundraising event in Goshen on Saturday, October 29, 2016. Can't attend? You can still support our efforts by making a donation.

    Please visit our website for more information on the Goshen event or scroll down to make a donation via PayPal. Thank you!

    http://indianalincolnhighway.org/

     

  41. March 4, 2022 the Lincoln Highway group on Facebook posted a photo by Mike Weigler stating: Wow. Boy Scouts placing a 1928 concrete marker in Allen County, Indiana. Likely somewhere between Besancon and the Ohio state line. He commented to the photo post about my question whether it could be the same marker in front of Visit Fort Wayne as this photo was that it came from Indianapolis. Their Facebook page has many posts with photos referencing Fort Wayne and Lincoln Highway such as December 16, 2020 and November 1, 2020.

    A similar marker was posted in October 2020 in front of the Visit Fort Wayne office.

    It was also shared March 5, 2022 on

    Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana on Facebook. Another March 5, 2022 share on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook generated several comments with more photos including Creager Smith the Visit Fort Wayne marker coordinator. The same photo was posted August 27, 2022 by Lincoln Highway Association (LHA) on Twitter.

    1928 marker comment: There are several of these still standing here in Indiana was in a September 2, 2022 post by Indiana Lincoln Highway Association on Facebook when sharing a photo of a 1928 Gettysburg, Pennsyvania concrete marker in a September 1, 2022 post on Lincoln Highway on Facebook.


  42. September 4, 2022 post by City of New Haven Indiana on Facebook:

    Fun Fact: On display in front of City Hall is a restored 1928 Lincoln Highway concrete marker and descriptive plaque, only a few feet from the road’s original route. The New Haven marker is believed to have been one of two that stood near what is now the Harrison Street bridge just north of downtown Fort Wayne. It’s one of only 15 markers in the state.

    New Haven is new site of old LH marker on Lincoln Highway News reposts a Kevin Leininger The News-Sentinel newspaperarticle.

  43. September 16, 2023 post by the Indiana Lincoln Highway Association on Facebook:

    A landmark adjacent to the Lincoln Highway in Fort Wayne. Great food, great atmosphere! [Cindy's Diner]

  44. Interesting Indiana | Traveling on The Lincoln Highway | Indiana Road Trip December 17, 2014 Interesting Indiana on YouTube.
    Take a ride with us on the Lincoln Highway in Indiana. We'll learn about the Ideal Section of the Lincoln Highway in Dyer, IN. We'll visit the Old Mill in Hobart Indiana, the first industrial business in Lake County Indiana. We'll then take in a vintage baseball game with the Deep River Grinders and learn how wooden baseball bats are made at Hoosier Bat in Valparaiso. Venturing further west we will visit the world's most complete collection of Hallmark ornaments at the Party Shop in Warsaw Indiana, and have fun learning at the Science Center in Fort Wayne. Start your journey now!

    The Lincoln Highway's Ideal Section November 16, 2018 Interesting Indiana on YouTube.
    In the effort to create and promote better roads, the Lincoln Highway Association created a one mile stretch of road in Dyer, Indiana a small town just a stones throw away from Chicago. The road was designed by a team of civil engineers and academics and was once considered the most advanced piece of roadway in the world. Learn the story of the Lincoln Highway and the Ideal Section.

  45. ACPL Presents: Lincoln Highway Across Indiana - Show 13700, 54 minute video - November 27, 2018 lecture recorded at by Access Fort Wayne public television at the Allen County Public Library.
  46. Honest Eats: Celebrating the Rich Food History of Indiana’s Historic Lincoln Highway America’s first coast-to-coast road that passed through Fort Wayne. Authors Laura Weston and Keith Elchert, 2016, M.T. Publishing Company. Holter's Roost is shown in this book.

    Honest Eats by mtpub published May 6, 2016 on YouTube.
    Keith Elchert and Laura Weston-Elchert and M.T. Publishing Company, Inc. have joined forces to bring you Honest Eats – Celebrating the Rich Food History of Indiana’s Historic Lincoln Highway. The book spotlights businesses and their owners; their love of history and the highway helps fuel their passion for both food and nostalgia. Packed with more than 200 contemporary and vintage photographs, Honest Eats also highlights featured locations and places from out of the past. This hardbound 9" x 12" publication contains 144 full-color pages with a color dust jacket.

  47. Newspaper Blurbs about Lincoln Highway in Indiana, Richard M. Simpson, III, Auto Trails, Bridges, Cities/Towns, Counties, Government, Newspapers, People, Roads, State Highways, 14 January 2021, on Indiana Transportation History.
  48. March 13, 2023 post by Heritage Documentation Programs, NPS on Facebook:

    Our fans of the historic Lincoln Highway will enjoy this FREE online recording provided by Society for Commercial Archeology. Join Brian Butko as he takes us on tour of the fabled highway from New York to San Francisco, past mountaintop lookouts, through the gumbo of Iowa, and stopping at vintage cafes and cabin courts

    LEARN MORE

    See HABS/HAER/HALS documentation in The Library of Congress of historic sites along the Lincoln Highway at https://bit.ly/41HEBzK

     

    BRIAN BUTKO: GREETINGS FROM THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY RECORDED WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2022 at SCA-Roadside.org.

  49. Brian Butko – Greetings from the Lincoln Highway08 by SCA Roadside March 2, 2023 on YouTube.
    Three-mile Picture Show
    is mentioned around the 22:00 minute mark
    Join SCA member and journal designer Brian Butko, author of 4 books on the Lincoln Highway, as takes us on tour of the fabled highway from New York to San Francisco, past mountaintop lookouts, through the gumbo of Iowa, and stopping at vintage cafes and cabin courts. We’ll learn where the road went in 1913, and why, and how that all changed with the coming of federal highways in 1926.
    BRIAN BUTKO: GREETINGS FROM THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY RECORDED WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2022 at SCA-Roadside.org.

  50. August 11, 2023 post by Find Your_Adventureis with Joshua Voelker in Fort Wayne, IN post on Facebook:

    1 WEEK from today my Dad and I will begin the adventure we’ve been waiting for!!

    We will be in Times Square at 8:00am to start the real reason behind all the work, awareness for mental health.

    I hope to inspire the people we meet to be more open about the things they struggle with.

    I struggle everyday with my ‘cross of scars’ but now and especially back then the idea of being able to take these types of adventures is exactly what got me through.

    I hope everyone ‘finds the joys of the world by putting themselves in it’ & that you ‘don’t loaf on what matters.’

    Scott Voelker Joshua Voelker

  51. Saturday, June 8, 2024 shared post by Indiana Lincoln Highway Association on Facebook:

    June 8, 2024 post by Nick Jarmusz on Facebook:

    Hey car and/or history buffs! There are two chances to see a 1924 Ford Model T as it passes through Indiana and Illinois on a cross country trip:

    Monday, June 10th: AAA Fort Wayne (607 Northcrest Shopping Center) from 2-3:30pm (local time)

    Tuesday, June 11th: AAA Car Care Plus (35 Illinois Route 59, Aurora)

    The public is welcome to take pics and be part of this historic journey. Please share with anyone you know who might be interested!! from 1-3pm (local time)

  52. Sea to Sea in a Model T 1924
    June 10, 2024 screenshot one of five images in Sea to Sea in a Model T at The Journal Gazette newspaper.
  53. On this day 111 years ago, a group of automobile enthusiasts and industry officials established the Lincoln Highway...

    Posted by Lincoln Highway Experience on Monday, July 1, 2024

    Monday, July 1, 2024 post by the Lincoln Highway Experience on Facebook:

    On this day 111 years ago, a group of automobile enthusiasts and industry officials established the Lincoln Highway Association (LHA) "to procure the establishment of a continuous improved highway from the Atlantic to the Pacific, open to lawful traffic of all description without toll charges." In its time, the Lincoln Highway would become the Nation's premier highway, as well known as U.S. 66 was to be in its day and as well known as I-80 and I-95 are today.

    In 1913, many people thought of interstate roads as "peacock alleys" intended for the enjoyment of wealthy travelers who had time to spend weeks riding around the country in their automobiles.Carl Fisher saw the situation differently. He was an early automobile enthusiast who had been a racer, the manufacturer of Prest-O-Lite compressed carbide-gas headlights used on most early motorcars, and the builder of the Indianapolis Speedway. He believed that, "The automobile won't get anywhere until it has good roads to run on."

    The name & route were the first elements to be established. Selecting the route for the eastern section was relatively easy. To select the best roads for the western section, Fisher and the LHA's "Trail-Blazer" tour set out from Indianapolis in 17 cars and 2 trucks on July 1, 1913, the same day the LHA was established at its headquarters in Detroit.

    The LHA dedicated the route of the Lincoln Highway on October 31, 1913. Bonfires and fireworks marked ceremonies in hundreds of cities in the 13 States along the line. Concerts and parades took place. In at least two locations, the streets were swept and washed so dances could be held on the highway.

    During the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Highway in 1928, the Engineering News-Record pointed out that, "A paved road across any state is a high ambition when the Lincoln Highway was planned as a paved road across a continent. It promises to create new ties to strengthen the nation's unity. The very thought is stupendous!"  

    Stupendous, indeed. We are certainly grateful to visionaries like Carl Fisher and others who dreamed that "there should be a Lincoln Highway across the country is the important thing". Their legacy is certainly one to treasure! #LincolnHighway #LincolnHighwayHistory #LincolnHighwayAssociation

  54. The Lincoln Highway bridge in New Haven is officially complete! https://trib.al/G9gCO0G

    Posted by WANE 15 on Wednesday, October 2, 2024

    Wednesday, October 2, 2024 post by WANE 15on Facebook:

    The Lincoln Highway bridge in New Haven is officially complete! Lincoln Highway bridge complete in New Haven

    The bridge is west of Lincoln Highway’s intersection with Sturm Avenue

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