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“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Near Crofton in Cedar County, Nebraska — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
 

Meridian Highway

 
 
Meridian Highway Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Ruth VanSteenwyk, May 22, 2016
1. Meridian Highway Marker
Inscription.
You are within sight and sound of a Midwestern dream come true - the Meridian Highway.

In 1911 a group of Kansans and Nebraskans drafted a plan for a highway paralleling the sixth principal meridian through America's heartland from Canada to Mexico. The path of their Meridian Highway followed an Indian trade route that later served as the Chisholm Trail, the famous cattle drive route from Texas through Indian Territory to the stockyards in Kansas.

The highway was completed in 1924 with the opening of the Meridian Bridge at Yankton, South Dakota. America's love affair with cars and the open road was in full bloom.

picture inset
Motorists collected pennants as they traveled from town to town along the Meridian Highway, the "Main Street of North America."

map inset
Pan American Highway
In 1936, the Meridian Highway (U.S. 81) became known as the Pan American Highway. Today, the highway extends 17,000 miles from Winnipeg, Manitoba, to the southern tip of South America.

Missouri National Recreational River

Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
 
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Roads & Vehicles
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. A significant historical year for this entry is 1911.
 
Location. 42° 49.729′ N, 97° 24.229′ W. Marker is near Crofton, Nebraska, in Cedar County. Marker can be reached from U.S. 81, 1˝ miles south of 898th Rd.. This marker is located at the Corps of Discovery Welcome Center. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 89705 US-81, Crofton NE 68730, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Scenic Missouri Valley (here, next to this marker); Meeting the Yankton Sioux (here, next to this marker); The Great Missouri River (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Historic Missouri Valley (about 500 feet away); Flood of 1881 Leaves Lost Settlements in its Wake (approx. 2˝ miles away in South Dakota); Crossroads of Culture (approx. 2.6 miles away in South Dakota); USS Scorpion (SS-278) (approx. 2.7 miles away in South Dakota); William H. McMaster (approx. 2.7 miles away in South Dakota). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Crofton.
 
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on September 7, 2021. It was originally submitted on February 14, 2017, by Ruth VanSteenwyk of Aberdeen, South Dakota. This page has been viewed 891 times since then and 29 times this year. Photo   1. submitted on February 14, 2017, by Ruth VanSteenwyk of Aberdeen, South Dakota. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
 
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Mar. 29, 2024