Lincoln Highway

Lincoln Highway. . , Boone County was known in the early days for coal mines, which are what brought the railroad to the area. When planners of the Lincoln Highway were looking for the best route in Iowa, they often followed the railroad and it is hard to separate the history of the two modes of transportation. Today, the City of Boone celebrates the railroad with the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad and Museum. The original Lincoln Highway is marked as the Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway, as it winds through the downtown. As you travel through downtown, notice the seven-story building, which was uncommon in most Iowa communities at the time due to costs to construct. It is evident that Boone saw great economic success in its early coal mining years. , The Lincoln Highway then travels to Ogden. It took many years for the route to be completely paved and Ogden did not pave their portion until 1929. The crew doing the paving had moved down the line and before the pavement dried and cured an appropriate amount of time, someone walked across the road - leaving footprints. Over time, the footprints were filled in with a different consistency of material, so although they were patched, they were still visible. Today, the pavement is wearing down from traffic and they are harder to find. Although, if a visitor knows where to look for the footprints, they may still be seen. A photo of the footprints is on file in the Iowa Department of Transportation Archives. The city of Ogden hopes to remove the footprints and preserve them in a small, nearby park in the downtown area. , [photo captions] , . Lincoln Highway, Boone , . Lincoln Highway through the Des Moines River Valley , Lincoln Highway Heritage , One hundred years ago, the fastest way to cross the country was by train. Roads were only of local interest and were not used to travel long distances. The Lincoln Highway changed all of that when it was completed in 1913. , The Lincoln Highway was the first transcontinental highway to span 14 states and take travelers from New York to San Francisco. Because the Lincoln Highway was a collection of roads and not specially designed like the highways and interstates we know today, traveling it is an exciting and unique adventure full of historical sites. Those who travel the Lincoln Highway through Iowa can follow the original route closely and remember the days of the classic road trip.