Lincoln Highway Illinois

INTRODUCTION

Established in 1912 by early automotive entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, the Lincoln Highway is regarded as the country’s first transcontinental route and is affectionately known as the “Father Road.” Inspired by the Good Roads Movement and the National Old Trails Road, the Lincoln Highway was also the first route constructed specifically for automobile use, catalyzed by the need for all-weather, hard-surfaced, durable roads and the idea that the route would showcase what roads could be.

Before the Lincoln Highway, many of the nation’s overland routes were a disjointed web of dangerous and impassable dirt and gravel roads.

Using and improving existing roads, Fisher's idea became a reality in just three years, as the Lincoln Highway crossed 3,400 miles from New York to San Francisco when it was completed in 1915. The highway was dedicated to the memory of one of Fisher’s heroes, President Abraham Lincoln, and now connected communities from coast-to-coast through the nation's heartland.

Illinois has the distinguished honor of being the first state to complete its segment through the dedication and hard work of the communities along the route. The first federal highway funding legislation would not be established until the 1916 Federal Aid Road Act was signed into law, which provided federal subsidies for road-building efforts for the first time in the nation's history. Due to the lack of public funding, individuals and communities funded and undertook the physical construction of the Lincoln Highway. In turn, the highway provided an economic boost to the communities located along the route, earning the nickname “The Main Street of America.” The Lincoln Highway assisted in the diversification of the state's predominantly agricultural and industrial economies. Many communities along the route experienced the "Miracle Mile Phenomenon" and the subsequent transformation of commercial development as it shifted from small, centralized main streets to new major vehicular routes, such as the Lincoln Highway, forming the “miracle miles” and shopping centers of the mid-to-late twentieth century.

The Lincoln Highway went on to inspire the creation of future transcontinental routes, including the Yellowstone Trail, Dixie Highway, Meridian Highway, and the Victory Highway, which today provide connecting routes between every rural community and urban metropolis of the nation.

Neglected Road outside of Frankfort, Illinois, early 1900s
University of Michigan Lincoln Highway Digital Image Collection, lhc1243.