Thursday, July 12, 2012

The Lincoln Highway

It's Thursday night...  July 12th
We are in Shawnee State Park in Pennsylvania.

Our drive from our last stop in Indiana was 485 miles and took 
about 9 hours with stops.

Shawnee is a very pretty campground...  I wish we had more time to spend here


The change from the pine forests of the west to the lush deciduous forest here in
the east is a bit of a culture shock when it happens so fast.

Our ride today took us down about 30 miles of the Old Lincoln Highway.

The lincoln highway was the first coast to coast highway.
It was a patchwork of trails and roads and was created in a time when
 some people believed that it was not the job
of government to build highways....   sound familiar?

On Sept 1 1928, Boy Scouts from across the country placed 3,000
stone markers... Custom designed cast concrete with a bronze head of Lincoln,
 the highway logo, and a blue directional arrow one every mile.... 
to mark the entire length of the Lincoln Hwy.


9 years before the Boy Scouts marked the road,
in 1919, a caravan of Army Vehicles struggled to cross 
the US from coast to coast as a demonstration of military preparedness.
It took them about 2 months with many mishaps along the way.
Their struggles were widely publicized and helped shape public opinion
that good roads were needed.

Ironically, a young officer in this 1919 caravan had the opportunity 20+ years later
 during World War II to see the German Autobahns first hand.

Upon his return to the US after the war, using the Autobahns as his inspiration,
 he was able to create and sign the Interstate & Defense Act of 1956 
that created our Interstate Highway System.

That young officer was Dwight Eisenhower.

Today the Lincoln Highway, like route 66 -  is just a memory.
There are some reminders however...
If you travel the side roads of America they are waiting for your discovery.



The Lincoln Highway...
Not Forgotten.

3 comments:

  1. You are in PA...our HOME STATE! Welcome to Green PA, even in the heat wave. Lincoln Highway is a great piece of history, thank you for the wonderful history....how do you learn all of that?
    See you FRIDAY...YEA DAY

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  2. Yay, Pennsylvania. I know right where you are at!!! Kim

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  3. If you folks are planning to visit H&R they are great hosts for the area. We did Valley Forge and then one day in Philly - American History - doesn't get much better than this.

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