How Bad Was It? Lincoln Highway in 1915-- Part 2

Continuing with the photos in the Spring 2009 Lincoln Highway Forum of Henry Joy's 1915 trip by auto from Detroit to San Francisco for the Panama-Pacific Exposition. This being back in the real early days of the nation's road system, conditions were extremely bad, especially in Iowa which had had torrential rains turning the dirt Lincoln Highway into a regular quagmire.

Pictures of the car showed chains on it to get through the mud. At one place east of Marshalltoen May 31st, it took four hours to get dislodged. A team of horses is present (horses to pull a car out). Another photo is of "The new Fill east of Marshalltown where we were sunk the night of the 30th" according to Joy's caption. This photo showed a team of four horses pulling a flat board over some huge ruts with water clearly standing in it.

And breakfasts in this stretch were taken alongside the road, not in some nice restaurant. I guess no Made-Rite loose meat sandwiches for them.

First entry Dec. 15th.

Out Stuck in the Mud for Some More. --RoadDog