The Lincoln Highway

The Lincoln Highway ran through the central business districts of hundreds of small towns and cities across the U.S., giving substance to slogans proclaiming the highway as the "Nation's Main Street." , To small-town merchants, the Lincoln Highway meant more customers and trade. They formed organizations to boost the virtues of their towns and attract travelers to local businesses. In Iowa, the route took travelers through nearly 50 towns and down about 45 Main Streets, including Mt. Vernon's First Street. , New kinds of businesses catering to auto travelers sprang up along the route. In Mt. Vernon these included a garage, a gas station, and a tourist camp. , The Lincoln Highway went by many colleges and universities, such as Rutgers and Princeton in New Jersey; Iowa State College in Ames, and the Davis branch of the University of California. Also on the route were the campuses of Cornell College in Mt. Vernon and Coe College in Cedar Rapids. , In Iowa, the highway often crossed railroad tracks, but this small bridge, built circa 1910, eliminated this hazard in Mt. Vernon. Closed to cars in the 1980s but left open for pedestrians, the bridge was restored to its original design in 2001. The brick street leading to the bridge is a remnant of the original highway. , Economic trends have undermined many small-town Main Streets, but Mt. Vernon's First Street remains vibrant, looking much as it did when it was part of the Lincoln Highway. The two main blocks of First Street are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. , The Cornell College campus, which graced five blocks of the Lincoln Highway, is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, virtually unchanged in its appearance over the past one hundred years. , This is one of eight exhibits created by the Linn County Historic Preservation Commission for the purpose of interpreting the historical importance of the Lincoln Highway in Linn County. The interpretive themes and sites of these exhibits (also located by numbers on this map) are as follows:

1. A Highway to Honor Lincoln (Lisbon) , 2. A Highway of Main Streets (Mt. Vernon) , 3. "Seedling Miles" (Abbe Creek School) , 4. Engineering the Highway (Squaw Creek) , 5. The Highway through Marion (Thomas Park) , 6. Accommodating the Motorist (Lincoln Heights) , 7. Promoting the Highway (Haskell Park) , 8. The Enduring Lincoln Highway (State Patrol Station)

, Few other locations today capture so well the authentic look of a town on the old Lincoln Highway or the meaning of that highway's claim to have been the "Main Street" of both Iowa and America. , [marker illustrations] , . The Lincoln Highway in Iowa , 358.3 miles from Clinton to Omaha , . The Lincoln Highway in Linn County , Exhibit panel prepared by Armadillo Arts, Iowa City , Construction and Installation of this sign mount was provided by , Peter Deitrich, Eagle Scout Project, Troop 40.