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LINCOLN HIGHWAY
wing walls. No road extends east or west of the bridge, but the bridge gives testament that the original Lincoln Highway was located on a slightly different course than today’s Highway 30. Another of the telltale artifacts left from the original Lincoln Highway is a raised berm locat- ed south of Gothenburg, now on private land. The berm marks the original bed of the road, which was most likely rock and gravel, as concrete and asphalt was not yet in existence. Not all the Lincoln Highway was rock and gravel, how- ever. Some sections, known as seedling miles, such as those near Grand Island and Elkhorn were brick. In fact, reconstruc- tion of these sections of what is now Highway 30 was bypassed because of local citizens intent on preserving “their” section of history. Be sure to visit the 100th Me- ridian Museum in Cozad and the Great Platte River Road Museum in Kearney, NE for more informa- tion on the history of this famous highway across our nation.
President William H. Taft agreed it would help unite the nation. Construction on the project began in 1914. In 1919, Dwight Eisenhower led a military cara- van on the Lincoln Highway that came through Cozad. As it was the first highway to connect East and West coasts, the towns and villages through which the Lincoln Highway passed experienced an eco- nomic boom and the Lincoln Highway became affection- ately known as “The Main Street Across America.” Nebraska was no different. Smaller villages, those without hotels, set up free tourist camps to get travelers to remain there, where they would most likely spend money. These days, a few telltale artifacts along Highway 30 are the only reminder of those early days of the Lincoln Highway. A few of those artifacts exist here in Dawson County. Outside Overton, for instance, there is a small cement bridge with the red, white and blue Lincoln Highway logo painted on the
In June 2013, the Lincoln Highway Association celebrated the 100th Anniversary of the Lincoln Highway by conducting an Official Lincoln Highway Cen- tennial Tour of the road. The tour began simultaneously in New York and San Francisco, and met midway, west of Kearney. The Lincoln Highway was the first transcontinental road across America and connects the people and places in Nebraska. In 1912, Carl G. Fisher, the man who created the India-
napolis Motor Speedway, had the idea of a transcontinental highway of good roads that would facilitate easier travel. He pitched the idea to anyone and everyone who would listen. Dur- ing these pitches, he proposed the new highway should be given a patriotic name, so he chose Lincoln, after his favorite president, Abraham Lincoln. Fisher was able to convince a few folks in the auto industry of the need for a highway that stretched coast to coast, and
Enjoy a scenic drive around Cozad, tour our museums and outdoor art, delight in small town shopping, and savor the flavors of dining.
Cozad’s Outdoor Art projects celebrate our art heritage while making art accessible at all times of the day.
“ Cozad Creates ” Paint Palettes
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Rhakenna’s Wings
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• Wilson Public Library Sculpture Garden • Barn Quilts of Dawson County Trail • 50 States Barn Quilt Display
Paid for by Cozad Tourism Funds For more information and maps about Cozad’s Outdoor Art visit barnquiltsdc.com.
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