Byway
Feature : Columbiana County
The
Lincoln
Historic Highway follows the original 260-mile alignment of the 1928
U.S. Route 30. The byway runs through Van Wert, Allen, Hancock,
Crawford, Richland, Ashland, Wayne, Stark and Columbiana
counties. This newly designated byway was chosen for its historical
significance. As one of the longest routes in the country, beginning
in New York City and stretching westward to San Francisco, it opened
the western portion of the country for development in the early 20th
century. Lincoln Highway stretched 3,385 miles between New York City
and San Francisco. It was sometimes called the "Main Street of
the United States." The highway began construction in 1914.
After a national system of route numbers was adopted in 1926, most
of what had been completed on the highway was designated as U.S. 30.
The history of the Lincoln Highway in
Ohio officially begins September 14, 1913, at the announcement of
the "Proclamation of the Route of The Lincoln Highway." Conceived by
its founders as "a continuous connecting improved highway from the
Atlantic to the Pacific," this first
coast-to-coast route began in New York, and ended 3389 miles
westward in San Francisco, passing through a corridor of the United
States somewhat similar to the route of today's Interstate Route 80.
The original Lincoln Highway route in Ohio was to follow much of
Main Market Route Number Three, which connected several county seats
across the north central part of the state by way of the best roads
at that time. As listed in the proclamation, these cities included
Canton, Mansfield, Marion, Kenton, Lima and Van Wert. Also on that
route, but not listed, were Lisbon, Wooster and Ashland. |
