Coast-to-coast rock highway proposed in 1912

LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO

The Athenænum in Indianapolis, site of the meeting in September 1912 that launched what would become the Lincoln Highway.

When automobile pioneer Carl Graham Fisher proposed a coast-to-coast highway in 1912, the idea had been around for more than a decade. But Fisher knew how to get things done: he knew the people who could supply materials and funds and promotion on a nationwide scale. Men like Henry Joy, president of Packard, or Frank Seiberling, president of Goodyear, and just about every other manufacturer of cars and parts and highway materials—save Henry Ford.

AAA had advocated for a cross-country highway from its founding in 1902. A few paths were named, and for a time in 1911, there was even talk of a cross-country “Lincoln Way.” The New York Times said it would be “a great transcontinental highway to be built by the States through which it will pass”—but it was not to be.

A year later, the Old Trails Road (also called the Ocean to Ocean Highway, and later used in parts to lay out Route 66) became the first cross-country route to have an organization behind it, from New York City to Los Angeles. That same spring of 1912, AAA sent renowned pathfinder A.L. Westgard to explore three more possibilities: the Northwest, Overland, and Midland trails.

And in August 1912, still a month before Fisher’s meeting, Frances McEwen Belford had a bill introduced in Congress “establishing the Lincoln memorial highway from Boston, Mass., to San Francisco, Cal., ” though the bill died.

Finally, on September 10, 1912, Fisher and his business partner and best pal James Allison held a dinner at the Deutsche Haus (or German House, now the Athenæum) in Indianapolis for fellow industrialists to hear their dream of a “Coast-to-Coast Rock Highway.” On July 1, 1913, that road that would officially become the Lincoln Highway. It wasn’t first coast-to-coast road, but the other named routes paled in terms of marking, mapping, funding, improvements, and promotion. It might more accurately be called the first improved coast-to-coast highway.

As Fisher told them that night, “Let’s build it before we’re too old to enjoy it.” And a year later to the day, a Proclamation was issued by the Lincoln Highway Association describing the route in general terms. Now the real work would begin….

Utah’s Carl Fisher Monument

LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO

The Carl Fisher Monument, dedicated in 2009, was spearheaded for 10 years by Rollin Southwell. It is on SR 199, mp 12, along Fisher Pass, which was part of a plan by the LHA to shorten its route across the Great Salt Lake Desert. Rollin passed away in 2013 but had sent me notes about the project:

“Carl Fisher’s donation to the State of Utah was the first of a series from automobile manufacturers to improve the roads in Utah and Nevada. Tooele County has more miles of the Lincoln Highway than any other county along the route. It will now be home to the only monument to Fisher, creator of the Lincoln Highway. There are four major parts to the monument:

* The rock was one of the rocks moved in the Devil’s Gate Narrows to make the pass suitable for autos in the construction phase of the Fisher Pass.

* The monument itself tells the story of Carl Fisher’s money, the Lincoln Highway Association, and the State of Utah.

* The beacon represents the Lighthouse that was to be built on the north side of Granite Peak as a guide for tourists across the Great Salt Desert, and was to have used gas from Prest-O-Lite, a company once owned by Fisher.

* The concrete marker recalls the building of the final section, the end of the Goodyear cutoff, and Fisher Pass as part of the Lincoln Highway.”

Carl Fisher featured on Lynwood IL mural

LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
The Village of Lynwood, Illinois, sports the newest mural in the Illinois Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor’s series that spans the 179-mile Illinois byway corridor. Lynwood marks the eastern terminus to the Illinois portion of the Lincoln Highway. The mural wasinstalled October 10, 2012, at 21490 East Lincoln Highway, on Lynwood’s Senior/Youth Center building.

ILHC works with artist Jay Allen (above, installing the mural), owner of ShawCraft Sign Company; every mural is a hand painted, unique work of art.  Upon completion, the series will be one of the largest works of public art in the country. This mural depicts Carl G. Fisher, the “Father of the Lincoln Highway” and elements of his life that helped turn his dream of the first transcontinental highway into a reality.

For more information on the Illinois Lincoln Highway, places to see and things to do, stories of the highway’s significance and history, or to download an Illinois Lincoln Highway Visitor Guide, visit drivelincolnhighway.com. To see the mural larger, visit my Facebook page at facebook.com/groups/28162312417/.

Road trip video: Lincoln Highway over Fisher Pass

A family posted their home video of a road trip in Utah, crossing Fisher Pass on the Lincoln Highway while on their way to Simpson Spring. This was one of the shortcuts sanctioned by the LHA. They even stop briefly at the new monument to Carl Fisher. UPDATE: Sorry, the video has been tagged private.

Fisher Pass monument dedication this Saturday

A monument for Lincoln Highway “father and founder” Carl Fisher will be dedicated this Saturday, October 3, 2009, at Fisher Pass in central Utah. Family member Jerry Fisher, who wrote The Pacesetter biography of Carl, will sign books afterwards. The site of the monument is at a crest on UT route 199 between Clover and Terra, Utah.

Guiding force Rollin Southwell writes:

Its been a long haul and we have lost a few of our committee members that gave their time and first $1000.00 for this project. They are the late Thomas A See and the late Norma Berns. But with the help,support and donations we are ready. A great big thank you goes to Stephen Ehninger of EFT Architects, Jerry Timmins, Jack Mason, Kenn Gillette with UDOT-Region 2, American Road Magazine, National Lincoln Highway Assoc. and State Chapters.

Fisher Pass was part of a plan by the Lincoln Highway Association to shorten the route across the Great Salt Desert. Using what was then calledJohnson Pass and building a road across the great Salt Flat (Goodyear Cutoff) would shorten the distance between Salt Lake City, Ut and Ely, NV by some 50 miles. Though the Cutoff was never compleed, Fisher Pass was finished. The State of Utah received Fisher money with interest, but the agreement was never completed as it was to include a monument to Fisher. The RG Southwell Foundation has led the charge in recent years to finally complete the task. Learn more at fisherpass.com/.

Fisher Lincoln Highway monument in Utah update

Rollin Southwell sent an update on the monument he’s spearheading for Carl Fisher, father of the Lincoln Highway. It is planned for the top of Johnson/Fisher Pass on UT 199 between Clover and Terra, Utah. Architect Steve Ehninger recently announced construction and the dedication dates.

After a decade of planning, they are working on permits and approvals with hopes to be finalized by January 14, 2009. Construction could start April 9 and be completed by July 8. This includes a rock surround, asphalt paving, signage, and a beacon. Dedication is planned for August 12, 2009.

Read more at a site about the Fisher Pass monument or Rollin’s blog for more info on Fisher.

Blog promotes Utah monument to Carl Fisher

Rollin Southwell, aka The Man From Utah, has started a blog to complement his efforts to promote a monument to Lincoln Highway catalyst Carl Fisher. He has been working for the past decade to have the monument erected at Fisher Pass in Utah, 32 miles SW of Tooele. He’s long had a web site that explains that a monument was to be built by the state when the Lincoln Highway was rerouted in 1918 to a straighter path across the Salt Lake Desert.

As Rollin recounts, “Carl G. Fisher donated $25,000.00 to the State of Utah in 1918 to make a short cut on the Transcontinental Lincoln Highway cutting out fifty miles of the worst road conditions then existing on the Lincoln Highway.” He has part of the contract online too:

And Johnson Pass shall hereafter be known as Fisher Pass, or by such other designation as Mr. Carl G. Fisher shall hereafter determine.

Said Seilbering and Fisher are hereby given authority to construct, at their own expense, at the termini of, or at such other places along such sections, suitable markers, monuments or arches for the designation of said respective sections in connection with the work herein referred to.

Rollin says progress is finally being made on permits for the site. He adds, “If anyone has some material about Fisher Pass or the Goodyear Cutoff, feel free to leave it on the blog. We can add it very easy. Photos too. To start getting the blog rolling, we talk about old Betsy and her car connection to Fisher Pass.” Check it out at www.rgsouthwellblog.com/.

Fisher launched highway idea 96 years ago today

On September 10, 1912, Carl Fisher invited auto industry leaders to dinner at Das Deutsche Haus (“The German House,” a community center now called the Athenæum) in Indianapolis to announce his idea for a “coast-to-coast rock highway.” His call to action: “Let’s do it before we’re too old to enjoy it!” It wasn’t the first proposed cross-country highway, nor the first to invoke Lincoln’s name, but as the Lincoln Highway it would become the best-known transcontinental trail.

Carl Fisher. Courtesy University of Michigan, Special Collections Library.

A year later, Fisher was returning from the Conference of Governors in Colorado with LHA president Henry Joy and v-p Arthur Pardington. On the train ride home, they drafted the Proclamation of the Route of the Lincoln Highway that was published September 14. Nonetheless, September 10, 1913, has somehow become an urban legend that web sites incorrectly cite as the “opening” of the Lincoln Highway. The US Census Bureau has gone as far as posting the error in print and audio:
http://www.census.gov/pubinfo/www/broadcast/radio/profile_america/012539.html

There are many dates associated with the establishment of the LH but “opening” is not a term that captures the essence of the road’s genesis as a connection and improvement of existing routes (nor is “completed”).

Interestingly, 20 years to the day after Fisher’s call for action (September 10, 1932), the Westinghouse Bridge above Turtle Creek east of Pittsburgh was dedicated, rerouting US 30 to the massive concrete span and emblematic of the great volume of traffic that the LH had brought to the valley below.

Carl Fisher grave site to be on LHA 09 tour

LHA president Jan Shupert-Arick sent along this photo of Crown Hill Cemetery, the final resting place of Lincoln Highway founder Carl Fisher. It’s on West 38th Street in Indianapolis, Indiana. Dedicated June 1, 1864, Crown Hill’s 555 acres makes it the third largest non-government cemetery in the country. It will be a tour stop during the LHA’s 2009 conference, headquartered in South Bend.

Fisher is listed on their Noted Persons page, though there’s no mention of the Lincoln or Dixie highways that he conceived and nurtured:

Carl Fisher, 1874-1934, Section 13, Lot 42.
Co-Founder of Indianapolis Motor Speedway; developer of Miami Beach, Florida.

Also in the overall list is his infant son by wife Jane.

Another auto-related burial is Edward “Cannonball” Baker, winner of the first race at the Speedway and a racer in the first Indy 500.