The Lincoln Highway

The Lincoln Highway. The Land of Goshen, Indiana. , Goshen, Indiana , The Maple City , Until the early 1800’s, the original inhabitants of the Goshen area were the Potawatomi Indians. It was a little more than a decade after Indiana became a state in 1816, before pioneers began settling in the area known as the Elkhart Prairie. Around 1829, there were enough settlers to create a county and on April 1, 1830, Elkhart County was officially established; the city of Goshen was platted in 1831., In 1913, Goshen was one of the fortunate cities that was named as part of the route for the Lincoln Highway. The population of Goshen at that time was 10,000., In nearly every community along the route of the Lincoln Highway, there was a Control Station where the traveler could check in, ask questions, or reset their odometer to coordinate with the guidebooks which were periodically published by the Lincoln Highway Association., An individual, called a Consul, was selected in the various cities and towns along the route, who was available to provide local information to travelers on supplies, meals, lodging, and very importantly…road conditions ahead. In Goshen around 1914, that man was Charles E. Gorham. He was very active from the beginning in promoting the Lincoln Highway., [Caption]: Charles E. Gorham , June 16, 1863 – February 27, 1952, Consul for the LHA in Goshen , Vice President of Goshen Veneer Co. , Vice President of the News Printing Co. , The image on the left was believed to have been taken on Madison St. during the one-year anniversary of the Lincoln Highway in 1914. The image on the right shows the official LHA Packard near a Lincoln Highway sign at an unidentified location in Goshen., Newspaper article on September 8, 1914 – “Five ornamental Lincoln highway signs for the guidance of auto tourists have been placed in this city, two at Main and Pike Streets, two at Main and Madison Streets and one at the Wurster turn.” This turn is across from the Goshen High School and is 11th and Madison Streets (approximately 1.3 miles north of where you are now)., The route through Goshen and then on to Elkhart changed several times before U.S. 33 was constructed. At one time, a detour route was necessary because the double-span iron truss bridge over the Elkhart River on Pike Street (two photos on the left) could not handle the weight and increased traffic and needed to be replaced. This route included North 1st St. to River Ave. to Indiana Ave. to Chicago Avenue. (The photo on right is the current bridge in front of the Bag Factory.), Built in 1896 for the Cosmo Buttermilk Soap Co., the building was converted in 1910 to the Chicago-Detroit Bag Co. and in 1924, the Chase Bag Co. used the building. The range of bags extended from waterproof burlap sacks to the fine, sheer paper used in Hershey’s Kiss wrappers., With better roads and more freedom to travel, tourism began to boom by the 1920’s. People traveled farther from home and the need for overnight lodging became more important than ever., As a result, tourist camps began springing up along the road in local communities where auto travelers could camp for the night. Providing a campground for tourists brought economic advantages to local businesses and also helped prevent unwanted tourists from “squatting” on private property. , Goshen allowed the use of Rogers Park at Pike and Chicago Avenue for a Tourist Camp. Hotel rooms were available downtown for $2 and $3 per night with meals for 75 cents., . 1830 – Elkhart formed by the Indiana General Assembly , . First count seat located in Concord Township , . 1831 – County commissioners relocated county seat to Goshen , . 1833 – First brick courthouse built , . 1870 – Second brick courthouse built , . 1909 – Courthouse redesigned and enlarged incorporating original 1870 clock , . 1910 – Candy maker Joseph Polezoes arrive in Goshen and opened a store downtown , . 1912 – Polezoes presents city with Neptune Fountain as a gift , . 1939 – Goshen Police Booth constructed as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project , To find a service station in the middle of a downtown retail district might seem odd today but not during the years of 1910-1960. This building with its artistic façade can still be found downtown at 224 South Main Street., Rieth-Riley Construction Company, Albert A. Rieth established the firm in 1916 in Goshen and was joined two years later by partner George Riley. Albert first conducted business out of his home and eventually established their first offices in Goshen at 115 E. Washington Street., In 1919, Rieth-Riley submitted a bid for $249,000 for a 6.35-mile concrete portion of the Lincoln Highway in Elkhart County. This contract was the Indiana State Highway Commission’s (now INDOT) first federal-aid contract for building a road., In 1985, Rieth-Riley became one of the first employee-owned construction companies in the United States., Photo Credits – , Map, Charles Gorham, Auto Images with signage, Control Station sign, and two Bridge images with Autos: Courtesy of the University of Michigan Special Collections Library., Rogers Park photo, Service Station Images, Bag Factory, and 1914 Auto Parade: Courtesy of Goshen Historical Museum., Rogers Park postcard, Pike Street Bridge (river view), Courthouse, and Neptune: Courtesy of Dan West Postcard Collection., Road Construction Images and Log pages: Courtesy of Rieth-Riley and Karla Rieth. ,