The United States Rubber Company.
a technical committee of leading engineers.
The General Electric Company.
Built in 1921.
in the world.
Rear sign
Erected by
The Lincoln Highway Association
and the following contributors
(lists states and names of individual contributors)
From Indiana Landmarks.org
here
"Motorists mostly whiz by the scenic roadside memorial nestled on the south side of U.S. 30, historically known as the Lincoln Highway but interest sparked by last month’s Lincoln Highway Adventure inspired a project to restore the monument that memorializes Henry C. Ostermann – a man who died while promoting the nation’s first coast-to-coast road.
As National Field Secretary for the Lincoln Highway Association, Ostermann promoted the highway by traveling the country, leading caravans, meeting influential people, and raising funds for construction. Ostermann’s success may have had its roots in one of his earlier occupations – promoter for the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show. An inveterate entrepreneur, Ostermann also invented a grain door for train cars and ran his own manufacturing company, eventually losing his fortune before joining the Lincoln Highway effort.
Following Ostermann’s death in a 1920 car accident on a stretch of the Lincoln Highway near Tama, Iowa, the Lincoln Highway Association commissioned famed landscape architect Jens Jensen to design the monument for the highway’s “Ideal Section” in Dyer, Indiana – four-lanes of concrete illuminated with electric street lights and bordered by walking paths. Jensen designed the memorial centered on a brown sandstone bench.
The widening of U.S. 30 a few years ago, coupled with the traffic volume, make it difficult to safely reach the bench today. New plans call for refurbishing the monument and its plaques, and creating a nearby parking area and path to the bench for visitors."
I knew about this but was lucky to happen to be driving by when I caught it out of the corner of my eye while heading east. Turned around, parked across the street, risked life & limb to cross and got my pictures. I hope they do get to preserving this interesting, quirky set of markers.
Interestingly, as I put this waymark together I didn't see any mention of Ostermann, the person for whom the marker was supposedly established, in any of the inscriptions I transcribed from my photos. After more searching I found a photo on the Lincoln Highway National Museum & Archives site
here
that showed that there was an additional semicircular plaque on the back monument that contained these words:
"In memory of
Henry C. Ostermann
Vice President and Field Secretary
of the Lincoln Highway Association
killed on the highway in Iowa
June 8, 1920"
They also have a book commemorating Ostermann here