Thinkin' Lincoln: Focus on the Father Road

Western Nebraska is muddy no more. Yet the memories of the Father Road still stick to one's wheels. This article reports on the completion of the Lincoln Highway, a stretch of 3,100 miles, finally finished in 1935, that crossed the United States. The last six miles were paved in North Platte, Nebraska and the author focuses on the area from Nebraska westward to California. Topics include problems with mud and other road conditions before the Highway was paved, the problem of the Colorado Loop and the path chosen for this transcontinental road, and the sights and conditions remaining along the Lincoln Highway (which now follows US Route 30), including old culvert concrete spikes that once guided snowplows on the Lincoln Highway in Nebraska. Other historical tidbits are included, such as the first woman to drive across the United States (Alice Huyler Ramsey, in 1909), the experiences of the 1919 Transcontinental Motor Convoy, and the return of parts of the land to pasture and grasslands. The article is illustrated with historical and modern photographs.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/15424316
• Authors:
  • Franzwa, Gregory
• Publication Date: 2005

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Photos;
• Pagination: pp 20-22
• Serial:
  • American Road
  • Volume: 3
  • Issue Number: 2
  • Publisher: Mock Turtle Press
  • ISSN: 1542-4316
  • Serial URL: http://www.americanroadmagazine.com/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Highways; Historic sites; History; Regional development; Roadside improvement; Travel behavior
• Identifier Terms: Lincoln Highway
• Uncontrolled Terms: Transcontinental highways
• Geographic Terms: Nebraska
• Subject Areas: Design; Economics; Environment; Highways; History; Planning and Forecasting; Society; I10: Economics and Administration; I21: Planning of Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01003939
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 20 2005 10:48AM