The Dixie Highway and Illinois Hwy 1

This past weekend, towns along Illinois' eastern border celebrated both the Dixie Highway and Illinois' Highway 1.

Over the years, it has been a buffalo trail, native American trade route, fur trading path, pioneer livestock drive, and Illinois Hwy 1. Other names have been the Vincennes Trail and the Hubbard Trail.

In 1914, it became part of the Dixie Highway that connected Sault Ste Marie and Florida. This was the brainchild of Indiana auto industrialist Carl G. Fisher, who also started the Lincoln-Highway, America's very first tanscontinental highway, and the Indianapolis 500. He figured these would be good for investors and business.

The 7th annual "Driving the Dixie" was held this past weekend from Blue Island to Danville.

These days, Elaine Egdoff has assumed Fisher's mantle as biggest promoter of the Dixie. She is a member of Homewood, Illinois' Heritage Committe and the Dixie was the city's main street.

Last year 135 cars started the drive and others joined along the way.

The town of Momenee is getting involved and had "Dixie Daze" from 10 AM to midnight Saturday with live music, an art fair, and trolley tours to historic sites. The city of Rossville had a three day festival. Others that had their own celebrations in conjunction were Beecher, Grant Park, Milford, and Hoopestown.

There is a drive to establish a Dixie Highway Association (like the already reformed Lincoln Highway Association to which I belong). Once that is accomplished, the next object will be to get a National Dixie Highway Historic Road designation.

This past April, I got together with a group of road folk from the American Road Magazine and we drove a stretch of the Dixie from Cave City (where we stayed at the famous Wigwam Village) to Elizabethtown, Ky. It was during this trip that I started this blog.

TRIANGLE TOUR

There is now a Triangle Tour in northeast Illinois. It covers 110 miles and includes three of the best-known old roads: Lincoln Highway, Dixie Highway, and Route 66. Noted Illinois Route 66 author, John Weiss has a new book out about it titled "Traveling the Historic Three".

Information from the June 14th Kankakee Daily Journal. "Dixie Highway festival celebrates Ill. Route 1" by Robert Themer.

Hey, I'm From NC, So Like the Term Dixie Anyway. --RoadDog