The familiar marker identifies the old route of the Lincoln Highway across a replacement bridge in southwestern Wyoming .
Evolution of Travel in the Early-20th Century
Interstate transportation was dominated by railroads in the early 1900s , a time when roads , mostly unpaved , were the responsibility of individual communities , counties , townships , or the families that used them . Automobiles had been around since the turn of the century , but most were expensive , and it wasn ’ t until 1908 , when Ford Motor Company began mass-producing the Model T , that middle-class families began purchasing motor cars . The increase in vehicle ownership and the public ’ s desire for more and better roads resulted in governments providing funding matches for financing road construction .
About the same time , businessman Carl Fisher , owner of a firm that manufactured automobile and truck headlights , began promoting a coast-to-coast hard-surface highway . Fisher looked to the automotive and related industries to provide financial support for fulfilling his dream . With pledges from important individuals and businesses the project gained steam and the proposed highway was named after one of Fisher ’ s heroes , Abraham Lincoln .
32 Valdosta Scene | May 2024
The Lincoln Highway traces much of the old
Oregon - California
Trail across Nebraska ’ s Platte River Valley . This section of the original highway is near Kearney , Nebraska .