This page is having a slideshow that uses Javascript. Your browser either doesn't support Javascript or you have it turned off. To see this page as it is meant to appear please use a Javascript enabled browser.

100th Anniversary of the Lincoln Highway
A man changes a flat tire in the mud west of DeKalb. Image courtesy of the Regional History Center at Northern Illinois University.

Why they needed a paved highway

A man changes a flat tire in the mud west of DeKalb. Image courtesy of the Regional History Center ...
This image is of the road after paving. Image courtesy of the Regional History Center at Northern Illinois University.

Section 14 of the paving of the Lincoln Highway

This image is of the road after paving. Image courtesy of the Regional History Center at Northern Illinois University.
Can you guess when this picture was taken of the Aurora Tire & Battery shop? Image from the collection of Ruth Frantz.

Aurora Tire & Battery Shop

Can you guess when this picture was taken of the Aurora Tire & Battery shop? Image from Ruth Frantz.
Smooth Slider

Welcome to the Land of Lincoln Highway, a web site of the Illinois Chapter of the Lincoln Highway Association!

Lincoln Highway, the first improved transcontinental highway in the U.S. forever changed the way Americans saw their country. The first Seedling Mile of this historic highway was laid right here in Illinois, near Malta.

This web site celebrates Lincoln Highway in Illinois through stories, photographs, maps and more. It also keeps its members in touch with news and the latest events.

We hope you enjoy the ride!

Banners and Street Signs Available!

A light post in Franklin Grove sports a new Lincoln Highway sign.

A light post in Franklin Grove sports a new Lincoln Highway sign.

The light post sign in Franklin Grove in front of the Lincoln Highway Headquarters looks great, even on a very windy day.

The light post sign in Franklin Grove in front of the Lincoln Highway Headquarters looks great, even on a very windy day.

For cities and businesses looking for Lincoln Highway banners and signs, they can be ordered from the Lincoln Highway Trading Post. Custom-made signs at reasonable prices are available, too! Franklin Grove has their light post signs up, just in time for the May 18th Second Annual Lincoln Highway Car Show.

For businesses, we will take sponsorships and advertising, at very, very reasonable prices! The month of August for the annual Buy-Way Yard Sale usually yields the most Website visits. Ask about sponsorships and advertising at: kayshelton[at]hotmail.com.

May 18th & 19th 100th Birthday Bash Events!

Illinois Lincoln Highway Birthday Bash!
May 18 & 19
Driving Tour of the Lincoln Highway in Illinois and Other Events
Open to the Public!

The 100th Birthday of the Lincoln Highway will be celebrated in Illinois with a variety of events to fit any schedule and any budget!

There are four free events open to the public:

1.) Saturday, May 18th, 2nd Annual Lincoln Highway Car Show, Downtown Franklin Grove, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Free! No registration required.

2.) Saturday, May 18th, The Lincoln Highway in Creston, Keynote Speaker, Lyle Headon, Creston Opera House, downtown Creston, 6:00 p.m. Free! No registration required.

3.) Saturday, May 18th, Lincoln Highway Evening Car Show, Downtown DeKalb, 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Van Buer Plaza, parking lot across from the Egyptian Theatre, corner of N. 2nd St. and Locust. Free! Winners will be chosen by the audience and announced on stage at the Egyptian Theatre following the music concert beginning at 7:30 p.m.

John O'Halloran's 1948 Hudson in front of the Egyptian Theatre with 'Alice Ramsey'

John O’Halloran’s 1948 Hudson in front of the Egyptian Theatre with ‘Alice Ramsey’

4.) Sunday, May 19th, Book Talks and Signings, The Lincoln Highway Around Chicago by Cynthia Ogorek and The Boys in Chicago Heights: The Forgotten Crew of the Chicago Outfit by Matthew Luzi, 7:30 p.m., Frankfort Park District Founders Room, 140 Oak Street in Frankfort. Free! No registration required.

The 100th Birthday Bash at the Egyptian Theatre will feature the Irish-American band Switchback and Colleen’s School of Clogging & Celtic Dance from Sterling. There are discounted seats to premium seats up front. Alice Ramsey and Carl Fisher will be special guests and Ross Freier from Rochelle will narrate the history of the Lincoln Highway through the music of Switchback. The crowd-pleasing band MahaRa will open and they guarantee the audience will want to give them a standing ovation! This will be a family-friendly event. To order tickets just for the concert, go to the Egyptian Theatre’s Website here for Switchback in Concert.

Illinois Driving Tour, Reasonably Priced!
Hurry, register for dinner by May 1! Find the form as a PDF here: BirthdayBashRegistration
You can choose Saturday, or Sunday, or both depending on your schedule!

1913 Style Driving Tour of the Lincoln Highway in Illinois, $15, includes driving guide and tour of the Lincoln-Manahan Home in Sterling, leave your GPS at home!
Continue reading →

‘Traveling’ Car Shows, Saturday, May 18th

Lincoln Highway Car Show Trophy, for the Saturday, May 18th, 2013 event

Lincoln Highway Car Show Trophy, for the Saturday, May 18th, 2013 event

The 2nd Annual Lincoln Highway Car Show will be held in Franklin Grove on Saturday, May 18th, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. It is not too late to register on site for $12! Find the Website here and the registration form as a PDF.

Also, there will be a Lincoln Highway 100th Birthday Bash Car Show in DeKalb on the same day in DeKalb in the Frank Van Buer Plaza parking lot beginning at 6:00 p.m. The parking lot is across from the Egyptian Theatre on the corner of Locust Street and North 2nd Street, in the 200 block of Locust. The parking lot will be reserved beginning at 4:00 p.m. Registration for the 100th Birthday Bash Car Show will be free! The audience attending the Switchback / MahaRa concert at the Egyptian Theatre at 7:30 p.m. will choose the winning entries! The winners will be announced on stage, immediately following the music.

The DeKalb Car Show is timed so that everyone can participate in both! There will be plenty of time to travel from Franklin Grove to DeKalb and stop for dinner!carshow3KraftModelA

Cars,trucks, and motorcycles of all years are welcome. Because Carl Fisher, the mastermind behind the Lincoln Highway, got his start racing, repairing, and selling bicycles, those are welcome, too! Click here for the DeKalb Car Show Registration Form. Registration for the DeKalb Car Show is free and on site.

Winter 2013 Newsletter

Members should have received their Winter 2013 newsletter weeks ago. For any non-members, here is a peek at our Winter2013NewsletterWinter 2013 newsletter as a PDF. If you have news or pictures that you would like to see in the next newsletter, please send them to: kayshelton[at]hotmail.com. Thanks!

Cece Otto in Dixon, June 2

Cece Otto will be performing songs that date to the beginning of the Lincoln Highway in Dixon on Sunday, June 2 at the Loveland Community House in Dixon. That building was the site of the 2010 Lincoln Highway Association conference. The time is not yet available but the date will be June 2. For more information about Cece’s performances, see her Website at: http://americansongline.net/blog/. The Loveland Community House is at 513 West Second Street in Dixon. West Second Street is not far from the Dixon arch.


Loveland2

Loveland Community House

Radio Station’s Series on the Lincoln Highway

WNIJ broadcasting on FM 89.5 based out of DeKalb will be running a series on the Lincoln Highway called “Peddling the Lincoln Highway.” An English professor at Northern Illinois University is touring the Lincoln Highway in Illinois on his bicycle. The broadcasts will be at 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, April 24-26. For anyone out of range of the FM station, check out the radio station’s Website, which has a link to audio:

http://northernpublicradio.org/post/author-previews-lincoln-highway-series

http://www.northernpublicradio.org/post/traveling-lincoln-highway-sporting-proposition

http://www.northernpublicradio.org/post/journey-pauses-vintage-gas-station

http://northernpublicradio.org/post/lincoln-highways-first-paved-mile

‘Carl Fisher’ Traveling to DeKalb on May 18

Actor Jeff Kuehl as Carl Fisher at the September 2012 Re-enactment of his speech in Indianapolis in which he first outlined his idea for the Lincoln Highway, originally the Coast-to-Coast Rock Highway‘Carl Fisher’ will be traveling to DeKalb on May 18th as part of the Lincoln Highway Birthday Bash for the Switchback concert at 7:30 p.m. at the Egyptian Theatre. Carl Fisher will be portrayed by actor Jeff Kuehl. Carl Fisher will be portrayed by actor Jeff Kuehl

Actor Jeff Kuehl as Carl Fisher at the September 2012 Re-enactment of his speech in Indianapolis in which he first outlined his idea for the Lincoln Highway, originally the Coast-to-Coast Rock Highway.

Illinois Chapter Centennial Celebration

switchback-may18The Illinois Chapter of the Lincoln Highway Association will have its own Centennial Celebration on Saturday and Sunday, May 18th & 19th, with a series of events to fit any schedule! Attend both days or choose from events throughout either day.

Anyone is welcome to join us in this once-in-a-lifetime event! The public is very welcome to attend! Two events are free!!

Sign up now! Click here for the registration form:

Birthday Bash Registration

Events will include a road tour (1913 style–leave your GPS at home!) , and a fun birthday bash at the Egyptian Theatre on Saturday, May 18th at 7:30 p.m. that will be open to the public!

The road tour will include places not seen during the June 2010 LHA Annual Conference. See a detailed list of sights on the road tour below.

There is a block of hotel rooms reserved at the Best Western Inn & Suites DeKalb for Saturday, May 18 with a complimentary breakfast Sunday morning. For reservations at the discounted rate of $79, call the hotel directly at: 815-758-8661 by May 4 and mention the Lincoln Highway.

Carl Fisher and Alice Ramsey are coming in 2013. Will you be there, too?

Save the dates! May 18 & 19, 2013!! Continue reading →