The Lincoln Highway - Ogallala, Nebraska
Posted by: 
gparkes
N 41° 07.472 W 101° 43.187
14T E 271681 N 4556147
The town of Ogallala, Nebraska, before it was a town, was an intersection of many trails and rivers. This series of markers throughout town explain the history of the evolution of rivers to trails to rails to highways and finally interstate.
Waymark Code: WM856P
Location: Nebraska, United States
Date Posted: 01/30/2010
Views: 8
Marker text states:
The Lincoln Highway
The Lincoln Highway was proclaimed the nation’s first coast-to-coast highway in 1913. It connected New York City with San Francisco, crossing twelve states and spanning 3,300 miles. The Lincoln Highway was created by an association of automobile enthusiasts and manufacturers who mapped connecting roadways across the country. Through much of Nebraska the Lincoln Highway followed the Great Platte River Road used earlier by fur traders, overland emigrants, and the Union Pacific Railroad. In Keith County, the highway was gravel until replaced by asphalt in 1933 and concrete in 1949.
The Lincoln Highway (now U.S. 30) entered Ogallala at East 4th Street and exited on West 5th Street near the fairgrounds. Early coast-to-coast travelers often stopped at campgrounds established for the auto adventurers. In the summer of 1919 Lieutenant Colonel Dwight D. Eisenhower led an eighty-one-vehicle military convoy through Ogallala on the Lincoln Highway. The trip promoted the importance of interstate travel by the military, and helped popularized the route for thousands of civilians who followed.