Lincoln Highway

John Peterson writes a column for the Emporia (Ks) Gazette. In his Nov. 20th article, he wrote about his hometown of Dekalb, Illinois, and mentioned that barbed wire was invented there and that the Lincoln Highway had once run through it. His sister, a life time Dekalb resident, informed him he was wrong.

The Lincoln Highway still is Main Street through town. A long time ago, US-30 replaced the Lincoln and was moved ten miles south onto an improved road. The old Lincoln Highway was renamed Illinois Highway 38.

IMPORTANT LINCOLN HIGHWAY DATES

1915-- movie star Anita King became the first person to drive the road coast-to-coast.

1914-- the "Seedling Mile" built at Malta, Illinois (6 miles west of Dekalb).

1919-- An Army convoy with a young Lieutenant Dwight Eisenhower drove the length of the road.

1996-- the National Lincoln Highway Association was established in Franklin Grove, Illinois.

1999-- The Lincoln Highway National Museum and Archives opened in Galbion, Ohio.

I attended college in Dekalb at Northern Illinois University. I knew main street was called Lincoln Highway, but never knew why. We did the Lincoln Crawl many times from one bar to another along the old road. This is the main party strip for the school.

Doin' the Lincoln Crawl. --RoadDog