The forgotten road that connected America before Route 66

Did you know that there was a forgotten road that once connected America long before the iconic Route 66 came to be?

Built in 1913, the Lincoln Highway once connected 14 states across the United States, starting in New York’s Times Square and finishing in San Francisco’s Lincoln Park.

The highway was built not by government officials, but by a group of industry leaders and auto tycoons, including Henry B. Joy of Packard and Carl G. Fisher, the automaker.

Route 66 is synonymous with American roadside culture, but the Lincoln Highway could be called the trial run, with auto camps, diners, motels, and gas stations lining the historic highway.

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The forgotten road that connected America before Route 66

We all know that Route 66 is the ultimate American road trip and a road that many tourists yearn to travel, but let’s dig a little deeper into the journey of its predecessor.

Back in 1913, the year before the start of the First World War, a group of auto tycoons and industry leaders decided that it was time to make the trip across the US a bit less lengthy.

Before this forgotten road, roads outside cities were often muddy farm tracks, with no signs or bridges, and a full trip took up to a month at just 18-20 mph.

The Auto Tycoon Carl G. Fisher and other industry leaders, such as Packard’s Henry B. Joy, privately planned and funded the highway, naming it the Lincoln Highway as a patriotic tribute to the former President Abraham Lincoln.

In 1913, the Lincoln Highway was born.

US roadside culture was born

Starting in New York City’s iconic Times Square, the Lincoln Highway travelled through 14 states across the width of America and ended in San Francisco’s Lincoln Park.

The highway passed through tourist spots and scenery that was once inaccessible to everyday people, like Gettysburg, the Rockies, Utah’s Salt Flats, and the Sierra Nevada.

Some sections of the highway boasted modern concrete and streetlamps, while other bits remained muddy tracks, and some parts were built using laborers from Nevada prisons.

While now, Route 66 is seen as the ultimate road trip, roadside culture was birthed by the Lincoln Highway, with roadside motels, gas stations, and auto camps making a lot of money from the historic highway.

By 1926, the Lincoln Highway was broken up into different routes, and when Route 66 was born, it was built on the foundations of its historic predecessor.

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