Lincoln Highway Part 1 - May 9th: Cruising It

Lincoln Highway was the nation's first transcontinental highway, dating from 1913. As such, it predates the arrival of US-66 and the rest of the numbered US highway system by 13 years. Much of the former LH alignment has been subplanted by US-30 and now, I-80.

Left on May 9th and took Il-47 to Plank Road, the way we used to go from Palatine to NIU during our college days. Back then there wasn't much along the length, other than the town of Burlington. When you get to the other end by Sycamore, and Il-23, there wasn't anything back then, but now it's just one subdivision after another. Chicago's sprawl has gotten this far out. I pity the people who have to drive way back toward Chicago for their jobs with this current BIG OIL Gas Gouge!!!!! Home prices are more reasonable way out here, but then there's the gas problem. Plank Road got its name because at one time it was actually a road with planks.

We got onto the old Lincoln Highway in DeKalb, taking it out past Malta and the "Seedling Mile" where, back in the 1910s, a one mile stretch was paved with Portland Concrete to show how great driving would be once the entire length of Lincoln Highway was paved from Times Square in NYC all the way to San Francisco. It is just to the east of Kishwaukee College and there is a plaque located on the grounds explaining the Seedling Mile.

For this stretch of the LH it runs along Illinois Highway 38.

Continued on through the Hub City, Rochelle, Illinois, so named for the number of trains passing through it every day. They even have a Railroad Park, where you can go to see the 100+ trains that pass through each day. This is a railroad buff's nirvana. All along this stretch of LH, there are lots of moving trains just to the south of the road.

Stopped at the 1850s Lincoln Building in Franklin Grove, which serves as the headquarters of the Lincoln Highway Association. The LHA was reformed in 1990 and now has 3000 members throughout the US and the world. I needed to find out the time and location of this Saturday's joint meeting of the Illinois and Iowa chapters of the LHA.

--RoadDog