Backroad Trips
Backroad Trips
The Lincoln Historic Highway follows the original 260-mile alignment of the 1928 U.S. Route 30. The byway runs through Van Wert, Allen, Hancock, Crawford, Richland, Ashland, Wayne, Stark and Columbiana counties. This newly designated byway was chosen for its historical significance. As one of the longest routes in the country, beginning in New York City and stretching westward to San Francisco, it opened the western portion of the country for development in the early 20th century. Lincoln Highway stretched 3,385 miles between New York City and San Francisco. It was sometimes called the "Main Street of the United States." The highway began construction in 1914. After a national system of route numbers was adopted in 1926, most of what had been completed on the highway was designated as U.S. 30.
The history of the Lincoln Highway in Ohio officially begins September 14, 1913, at the announcement of the "Proclamation of the Route of The Lincoln Highway." Conceived by its founders as "a continuous connecting improved highway from the Atlantic to the Pacific," this first coast-to-coast route began in New York, and ended 3389 miles westward in San Francisco, passing through a corridor of the United States somewhat similar to the route of today's Interstate Route 80. The original Lincoln Highway route in Ohio was to follow much of Main Market Route Number Three, which connected several county seats across the north central part of the state by way of the best roads at that time. As listed in the proclamation, these cities included Canton, Mansfield, Marion, Kenton, Lima and Van Wert. Also on that route, but not listed, were Lisbon, Wooster and Ashland.
A historical marker along the south side of the roadway (toward the river marks the Point of Beginning of the United States Public lands Surveys. This is the ‘initial point” for all the rectangular systems of surveys (one-mile square sections of land, etc.) that are typical in most of the central and western United States. Tourists of the Lincoln Highway will learn to appreciate these surveys when traveling through northwestern Ohio, especially between upper Sandusky and Cairo.
The beginning of the charted course for the grand tour of the Lincoln Highway across Ohio is in downtown East Liverpool, at the intersection of Fifth Street and Broadway. At the southeast corner of this intersection is the city's old post office, which is now the Museum of Ceramics, operated by the Ohio Historical Society. Also on this corner is one of the concrete Lincoln Highway posts that were set along the 1928 version of the route—the featured route in this road guide. Although not in its original position, this now-reinforced post is in good condition, and an appropriate point to begin this 241-mile tour.