The Lincoln Highway

The Lincoln Highway. Henry C. Ostermann Memorial Seat. , Out of the Mud , The idea that America needed better roads did not originate with the invention of the automobile but with bicyclists known as "wheelmen. "Challenged by rutted roads of gravel and dirt and faced with antagonism from horsemen, wagon drivers, and pedestrians, more than 100,000 cyclists across the United States joined the League of American Wheelmen in 1880., In 1892, the league published Good Roads Magazine to further their cause, and within three years it reportedly had a million subscribers. Particularly notable and influential was a pamphlet published by the league, The Gospel of Good Roads: A Letter to the American Farmer (1891), which emphasized the ways in which better roads would serve farmers and make it easier to get crops to market, families to church, and children to schools. The following year a thousand people came together in Chicago and formed the National League of Good Roads., One of the first of the Good Roads highways was conceived in 1912.It not only promoted the idea of national tourism but also served to publicize the need for federal involvement in road building. Originally called the "Coast-to-Coast Rock Highway,"it was the brainchild of automobile enthusiast and entrepreneur Carl Fisher of Indianapolis, who manufactured automobile headlamps and whose automobile dealership was perhaps the first one in the United States. Fisher had made headlines the year before with another American institution-the brick-paved Indianapolis Motor Speedway and its famed Indianapolis 500 automobile race., A Memorial Highway , Encouraged by Henry Bourne Joy, President of the Detroit-based Packard Motor Car Company, they named the road "The Lincoln Highway." "...Therefore be it Resolved, That the Lincoln Highway now is and henceforth shall be an existing memorial in tribute to the immortal Abraham Lincoln...", The Nation's First Transcontinental Highway , On July 1, 1913, these businessmen created The Lincoln Highway Association to promote the concept and by October of 1913, the Association announced the cities and states through which this memorial highway would run., The original route extended from Times Square in New York City for 3,389 miles to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, passing through 13 states (the route out of Pennsylvania was later routed into Ohio through West Virginia making 14 states) including Indiana. Although the route would not go through Michigan, the offices of the LHA would be headquartered in Detroit. Over time, the Lincoln Highway would be referred to as the "Main Street Across America" and, with realignments for straightening the route, safety, and the increased speed with which new automobiles could travel, the length of the road was shortened to 3,142 miles., The start of the federal-state joint highway effort began in 1916 with the passage of the Federal Aid Road Act. This Act provided funding for the improvement of any rural road over which the U.S. mail was carried. Because aid was provided only if states had a highway department capable of designing, constructing and maintaining designated roads, the Indiana State Highway Commission was established in 1919., Who Is Henry C. Ostermann? , Born in Tell City, Indiana, a young orphaned Henry Charles Ostermann grew up to be a great proponent of the Lincoln Highway and for roadbuilding. In 1913, he became the first Field Secretary for the Lincoln Highway Association. His childhood and early years as a young adult had clearly helped prepare him to be the point man of the Lincoln Highway Association until his death., Henry's Childhood and Other Adventures , At age 6, Henry was a newsboy, probably living in the New York Newsboys' Home. By age 9, he worked in a hotel as a bellboy, then a cash boy and finally a cigar clerk. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy as an apprentice at age 14, stating that he was born July 16, 1874. He served six years and was honorably discharged in California in 1895.Later, when he filled out his World War I draft registration card, he stated a different birthdate as August 29, 1875. This would mean that in July of 1889, he would still have been only 13 and too young to enlist in the Navy. Like many young men have done in every war, he falsified his age so he could serve., After the Navy, Henry worked in a variety of occupations from picking oranges to The Daily Deadwood Pioneer Times April 22, 1913riding with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show to ranching in Wyoming and then working for the Illinois Central Railroad. In 1906, after receiving a patent for a special grain door for freight cars, he created his own company in Chicago that built and repaired freight cars. He retired from that in 1909 and moved to Deadwood, South Dakota where he opened an automobile dealership. He became well-known for his advertising genius and the auto shows he sponsored., Henry and the Lincoln Highway , Henry's success had been very profitable financially until a poor investment in a smelting concern left him near penniless in 1913. Already acquainted with Henry because of his volunteer work for the LHA, the Lincoln Highway Association hired him to be their Field Secretary for $350 per month. By 1918, he also became a Vice-President of the LHA., In his role as field secretary, he traveled the entire length of the Lincoln Highway from coast to coast, two or more times each year, to visit every town and city along the way., His remarkable genius, along with his charming, courteous, and affable personality were perfectly suited to this task. He was accepted and respected by all classes of people along the way. He promoted the Lincoln Highway, sought memberships to the Lincoln Highway Association, and gathered information on his trips including road conditions, service stops, hotel accommodations, local history and other pertinent information for the Lincoln Highway traveler., He worked with the local Lincoln Highway consuls encouraging them to promote the improvement of the road in their area. In 1919, he led the first transcontinental Military Motor Transport Convoy from Washington, D.C. to Gettysburg and then on the Lincoln Highway to California on the Lincoln Highway., Tragic Accident Takes His Life , On June 8, 1920, in Tama, Iowa, Henry's car slid off the road, flipped twice, and killed him instantly. It was a shock to all who knew him., The following letter was published by Henry Joy, President of the LHA: , - "... Yes, he's gone ahead. Devotedly serving the cause of good roads in general and the Lincoln Highway in particular, Henry C. Ostermann, Vice-President of the Lincoln Highway Association, died at his work upon the highway he loved. , - "Almost at the beginning of the Lincoln Highway development Mr. Ostermann volunteered to log the Highway and gather the general data of the developments along the line. He gave his services free for many months while the Lincoln Highway organization was being created. , - "His grasp of its problems and basic principles, his capacity to gain friends for the cause and for himself, his straight thinking, clear judgment and tact soon made him the direct representative of the Lincoln Highway at all public meetings along the 3,300 miles under development. , - "To travel the arid desert in summer heat or fight snow and mud and camp along the route with Mr. Ostermann was a delight. No matter how great the hardships of heat or cold or storm he was always pure sunshine... , - "...The services he rendered in his many trips over the Lincoln Way in bringing unity out of discord, and in negotiations concerning important shortenings of the route and in a thousand ways were invaluable to the work. They could not be paid with money. He became Vice-President of the Association and one of its best advisors and counsellors. , - "He saw the vision of the great national trunk line highway system and could clearly express its future value. The object lesson value of the Lincoln Way as a forerunner of a great national system was the theme he loved best...", Article from the Daily Deadwood Pioneer Times - April 22, 1913 , - The directors passed the following resolution of thanks to Mr. Ostermann and his assistants at the recent auto show: , - Whereas; the recent auto show, given for the benefit of the auditorium, was a financial as well as general success and reflected credit upon the city of Deadwood. , - And whereas; the auditorium was built by the Deadwood Business club for the good of the city of Deadwood. , - And whereas; the success of the auto show was due almost entirely to the ceaseless and unselfish devotion of time and money on the part of H. C. Ostermann, who promoted and managed It. , - Therefore, be it resolved by the Deadwood Business club, that thru its directors it expresses the earnest thanks of the club and all those interested in the welfare of the city, to Mr. Ostermann and his associates for their efforts and in a small measure thus show appreciation for their further evidence of good citizenship., H. C. Ostermann Memorial Seat , Within a month of his death, the leaders of the LHA proclaimed that the "Lincoln Way will forever memorialize the work of H.S. Ostermann." By 1921, the LHA Board of Directors appropriated $500 in funds and received another $774 in donations for a suitable memorial that they would place "somewhere" along the Ideal Section., In December of 1921, Jens Jensen submitted a tentative design for a Memorial Seat to the LHA Board of Directors. The memorial project was set aside during the construction of the Ideal Section and the development of the proposed Ideal Campsite to be built in that area., What Was the Ideal Campsite? , In the early years of auto travel, the roadside motor court was nearly non-existent. Motorists could enjoy an overnight stay in a hotel in most communities for $1-$3.50 per night or take advantage of a tourist campground for free. With a number of such campgrounds already in existence across the Lincoln Highway, the LHA decided that the Ideal Section needed an ideal campsite too., On April 20, 1923, they purchased 17 acres of land from Henry and Katherine Moeller for $3,400. (This land is now the Meyer's Castle and the Castlewood subdivision.), The LHA once again retained Jens Jensen to design the landscaping for the campsites. On Jensen's referral, his close friend, John Van Bergen, designed the plans for the buildings which included a filling station with restroom facilities, a laundry room, and a Lincoln Highway museum., Edsel Ford, a member of the LHA Board of Directors and son of Henry Ford, paid for all of - the expenses for the architectural designs. However, due to the high costs of construction and other factors, the plans for the Ideal Campsite were abandoned by 1928., From Campsite to Memorial Space , No longer needing the property, but still needing a location to place the Henry C. Ostermann Memorial Seat, the LHA delegated that assignment to Jens Jensen and August Stommel, a local banker and also the Lincoln Highway consul in Dyer. During a meeting with Joseph E. Meyer, it was determined that Meyer would purchase the property and then, in turn, deed back to the LHA the space needed for the memorial. On July 1, 1929, the LHA sold the 17 acres to Joseph Meyer for $5.00 and on August 15, 1929, Meyer deeded .013 acre (where you now stand) back to the Lincoln Highway Association for $5.00 for placing the memorial., Joseph E. Meyer, a successful businessman and a banker, came from humble beginnings. His love of nature and study of herbs along with his belief that "God put plants on this earth for man's use" led him to create a business in 1910 called Indiana Herb Gardens. The name later changed to Indiana Botanic Gardens and is still operated by family members., In 1933, Joseph finally began the construction of his estate on the former LHA acreage and it took four years to build. Joseph called it Indian Hill and lived the remainder of his life on the estate tending to his beloved gardens and counseling his sons in the business., The property was once again sold after the death of Joseph's wife Celia (1882-1972) and part of it was subdivided into Castlewood Estates. In 1984, the home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, In 1987, the vacant mansion was purchased by Sergio and Elizabeth Urquiza. The couple and their sons repaired and restored the damaged and neglected property. Today it is a restaurant and banquet facility called Meyer's Castle.