THE STORY OF LINCOLN WAY

Lincoln Way was once a part of a very important transcontinental highway that linked the east coast to the west. It was the creation of Carl Fisher, president of the Presto-O-Like Company. He dreamed of creating a highway, and, since his idol was Abraham Lincoln, naming it The Lincoln Highway.

Fisher enlisted the assistance of various automobile manufacturers to design the plans and start construction. One enthusiastic leader was the president of the Packard Motor company, who hired the builders of the Indianapolis Speedway to do the initial planning.

Work on the road was begun in June 1913, and by 1915, the route had been carved to the Pan American Exposition in San Francisco. But the road was not completed then. It took several more years and a lot of then-new technology, like asphalt and cement paving, before it was done.

The Lincoln Highway, at its completion, was 3,300 miles long and was in use for 12 years before the advent of the more-famous Route 66, (called the "Mother Road") which is about 2,500 miles long. Route 66 extended from Chicago, Ill., to Santa Monica in Southern California. Although it was eclipsed by Route 66, The Lincoln Highway was the first coast-to-coast highway in the United States.

The Lincoln Highway eventually went from Times Square in New York, to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, California. Following the general route of present-day U.S. Highway 30 and Interstate 80 from downtown Philadelphia, it crossed the tip of West Virginia and passed through the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and California.

Once the highway entered California, it crossed the Sierras and came through Truckee, around Lake Tahoe, down to Strawberry, Riverton, Placerville, Rocklin, Roseville, Sacramento, Elk Grove, McConnell Station, Arno, Galt, Woodbridge, Stockton, Tracy, Oakland and San Francisco.

In 1924, a guide book was issued for the transcontinental tourists. The guide book stated a tourist could drive coast-to-coast in 20-30 days, traveling seven hours per day, and averaging 18 miles per hour. The tourist was reminded to bring along "colored goggles" and was warned, "Don't stop to cool your motor at the top of a hill. Put the car out of gear and coast down to cool the motor."

The Official Guide to the Lincoln Highway listed every town through which the Lincoln Highway passed, with the name of the county; the number of hotels, garages, and cabin camps. The last was a free campground offered by most chambers of commerce where tourists could camp for the night.

Of interest is the fact that in the 1924 Guide, Elk Grove was listed as having a population of 500, an express company, telegraph, and no tourist accommodations, while Arno was listed with a population of 100, with meals, a garage, and gas available, one express company, one telegraph company, telephone, one general business place, and one public school. The same Guide lists Galt with a population of 985 with three hotels, two garages, large fruit orchards, and 'The longest iron bridge in California, one mile south of Galt.

Galt was an important part of the Lincoln Highway since the road bed was cut through the town. Local historian Carl Loll remembers trucks from the Calaveras Cement Company brought cement to pour on the road bed. The cement was given free of charge by many cement companies along the way to introduce the new paving material to the world of transportation. It was at Dry Creek Bridge that Sacramento and San Joaquin Counties had their line. When the Dry Creek Bridge was completed around 1922, it linked together the rest of the Lincoln Highway as it flowed from the north, headed for the west coast. Dignitaries from the State, including the Governor, came to Galt for the opening celebration.

For Galt, the Lincoln Highway, known at that time as "The Main Street Across America," was to change the town's character forever. Instead of Fourth Street and the railroad depot being the heart of Galt's business, it was soon apparent that Galt's businesses were going to move to the east near the highway. Garages, cafes and other tourist stops soon lined the Lincoln Highway as it passed through the town.

In the early 1930's the federal government and the state funds created another state-wide route called Highway 99. The new highway skirted the town of Galt east of the Lincoln Highway. The old Lincoln Highway south of Dry Creek Bridge became known as "Lower Sacramento Road", and that portion of the Lincoln Highway that ran through Galt was named "Lincoln Way" to remind the citizens of the community that Galt had played a significant role in the history of transcontinental transportation.

Recently, when work was done to refinish Lincoln Way, some of the paving that was removed, was the original paving of the Lincoln Highway.

Galt Area Historical Society, Inc
P. O. Box 782
Galt, CA. 95632
(209) 745-0951

Galt Area Historical Society Home page

Last edited 27 February, 2005