Building the Highway - New Oxford, PA
N 39° 51.820 W 077° 03.379
18S E 324118 N 4414649
Have you ever wondered how the Lincoln Highway became to be known as Route 30? What about those concrete markers, ever wonder how they came about? Read about this roadside interpretive and find the answers to these questions.
Waymark Code: WM9RX3
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 09/26/2010
Views: 9
This interpretive and waymark epitomize the spirit of this category. The marker answers many questions about the LIncoln Highway and its historical development. The interpretive is part of a much larger collection made possible by the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor whose purpose it to educate American's about the historical significance of the Highway. The Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor installed 150 Lincoln Highway signs along the Corridor; completed this Interpretive Plan, and is in the process of implementing the 200-mile Roadside Museum with interpretive exhibits and murals.
The location of this sign is along a rotary in the very heart of New Oxford, a town that has stood still and remains firmly in the early 20th century. The 1985 movie, Back to the Future, which took place partly in 1955, could have been shot here. This is an authentic old-fashioned town along the LIncoln Corridor in Eastern Pennsylvania.
The interpretive reads:
Building the Highway
By the end of the 1920s the federal highway system changed names of early routes to a system of standardized numbering. In Pennsylvania and across other states, the Lincoln Highway was renamed U.S. Route 30. This was also the time that the Lincoln Highway Association decided that its goals were met and the organization would dissolve. Before disbanding, the Association decided to erect a series of permanent markers along the route so motorists would never forget the symbolism of the road.
On September 1, 1928, Boy Scouts nationwide installed more that 3,000 concrete mile markers, each bearing a bronze profile of President Abraham Lincoln, a directional arrow, and the Lincoln Highway logo. While the weather, careless drivers, and road-widening projects have taken their toll, motorists can still spot a number of markers along the Lincoln Highway corridor in Pennsylvania.
