Left : Authors David and Kay Scott visit vintage tourist cabins beside the Lincoln Highway in southwestern Wyoming . Built in 1929 and refurbished in 2009 , the cabins were once an extension of a hotel .
Bottom left : An original mid-1930s Lincoln Highway service station in Grand Island , Nebraska , continues in operation .
Bottom right : This post in San Francisco ’ s Lincoln Park marks the western terminus of the Lincoln Highway . The post is nearly 3,400 miles distant from the eastern terminus in New York City ’ s Times Square .
Photos by David and Kay Scott distance decreased over the years .
Traffic was sparse during first few years after the highway ’ s completion , but journeys picked up after the Lincoln Highway Association began publishing a guide containing information about towns along the way . The guide also offered driving advice and suggestions for spare equipment to take along . Depending on the number and length of side-trips , the journey required from 20 to 30 days , assuming a 10-hour day at an average speed of 18 miles-per-hour .
By the mid-1920 ’ s numerous municipal campgrounds had been established along the route . These were followed by private cabin camps , also referred to as tourist camps or motor courts , on the edge of towns .
One of the final acts of the Lincoln Highway Association was designating a marker — a bronze head of Lincoln with the highway logo and a blue directional arrow — for the Lincoln Highway . On Sept . 1 , 1928 , at 9 a . m ., 3,000
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concrete makers were placed coast-tocoast by members of the Boy Scouts at one-mile intervals along the highway ’ s original route . Some of these historical markers remain today to mark our country ’ s first transcontinental highway .
For today ’ s traveler , the Lincoln Highway offers one of America ’ s premiere extended road trips . From New York City ’ s Times Square to San Francisco ’ s Lincoln Park the highway passes through 12 states , each with interesting attractions that include the Thomas Edison Monument ( Edison , New Jersey ), The Coffee Pot ( Bedford , Pennsylvania ), Pro Football Hall of Fame ( Canton , Ohio ), Studebaker National Museum ( South Bend , Indiana ), Fort Bridger ( Wyoming ), and the original road over California ’ s Donner Pass .
The Lincoln Highway parallels much of the Oregon-California Trail across Nebraska and the famed “ Loneliest Road in America ( U . S . 50 ) through Central Nevada .
The time required for driving the entire length of the highway depends on how much someone wants to see . According to Kay Shelton Kozak of the Lincoln Highway Association , the drive could be done in about 10 days if someone make few stops other than for fuel , food and sleep . Seeing some places , but not everything , should take about two weeks . Taking time to explore plenty of places would likely consume about three weeks . Those who complete the trip are eligible to receive an award from the association .
For more information including maps , points of interest and history , visit the Lincoln Highway Association website at lincolnhighwayassoc . org .
Kay and David Scott are authors of “ Exploring the Oregon Trail : America ’ s Historic Road Trip ” ( Globe Pequot ). The Scotts live in Valdosta , Georgia . Visit them at blog . valdosta . edu / dlscott .