Lincoln Highway

Western Archaeological Services

The Lincoln Highway was America’s first transcontinental automobile highway.  The road ran some 3300 miles from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco.  It was intended to be the most direct route possible from the east coast to the west coast. The highway crossed 13 states between New York and California and ran through such major cities as New York, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, and Oakland/San Francisco. The Lincoln Highway grew out of the Good Roads Movement of the late nineteenth century.  Originally intended to promote bicycle traffic in larger cities and the movement of produce from farms to markets, the Good Roads Movement in the early twentieth century came to reflect the rapidly increasing use of automobiles and the need for greatly improved local, state, and interstate highway systems.  In 1913, the Lincoln Highway Association (LHA) was formed to promote and develop the highway.  The LHA was heavily influenced by the automobile industry.  Its founder was Carl Fisher who manufactured automobile head lights, and was supported by Henry Joy of the Packard Motor Car Company and Frank Sieberling of Goodyear Tire and Rubber.  The LHA was the principal booster of the Lincoln Highway from 1913 to 1928.  By the mid-1920s it was apparent that building and maintaining highways was beyond the capacity of any organization short of the federal government and the states.  As state and federal funding became prevalent in the late 1920s, the LHA discontinued operations in 1928.

During the summer of 1913, Fisher and the LHA traveled the country looking for the optimal route for the Lincoln Highway. Geography was an important consideration for the location of the Lincoln Highway, and there were few areas along the highway where geography played a more important role than in the crossing of the Rocky Mountains.  The location of the Rocky Mountain crossing would determine the route of the Lincoln Highway from the Missouri River to the Great Salt Lake. Since the 1840s, the easiest crossing of the Rocky Mountains was found in modern Wyoming with the Oregon/California Trail, the Overland Trail, the Cherokee Trail, and the Union Pacific Railroad all passing through the state. This was due to the Wyoming Basin which formed a broad gap in the Rocky Mountains between Colorado and Montana. For this reason, the Lincoln Highway also crossed through Wyoming bypassing Denver and the high mountain passes of Colorado.

Approximately 450 miles of the Lincoln Highway ran through Wyoming. There are three phases/generations of development for the Lincoln Highway in Wyoming.  The first phase or first-generation Lincoln Highway was the route established by Fisher and the LHA in 1913.  This consisted entirely of existing roads including city streets in urban areas and two-track wagon roads in rural areas. Rural roads were selected based on the roads running in the direction people wanted to go.  There was no continuous preexisting route and little or no original road construction. The quality of the road varied greatly through Wyoming. The route was winding and narrow and featured very many railroad crossings.  Signage was infrequent and informal.  Guidebooks were a necessity and in the early years, it was not unusually to hire local guides to navigate the route.  Wooden bridges and culverts were built along the route, but these were often poorly made and frequently collapsed due to traffic.  A common complaint was the necessity to open and close gates in barbed wire fences which crossed the route.   The best segments of the first-generation Lincoln Highway were recycled Union Pacific railroad grades. These were built in 1868 and were used as the railroad mainline until the early twentieth century when portions of the railroad were rerouted and these segments were abandoned.  These recycled railroad segments were widened for automobile use but were still narrow with steep-sides.  A motorist had to drive very carefully to not run off the road especially in rainy weather.

An important episode along the early Lincoln Highway was the 1919 U.S. Army Military Convoy. Motor vehicles had become important to the U.S. Army during World War I and after the war, the Army was interested in further testing the new vehicles. Examples of virtually every available type of army wheeled vehicle from large Mack AC Bulldogs to Harley Davidson and Indian motorcycles were assembled and sent over the Lincoln Highway during the summer of 1919. Progress was slow through Wyoming averaging 60 to 70 miles per day with frequent delays to repair broken-down vehicles, pull trucks back onto the road, and repair or rebuild damaged or collapsed bridges and culverts. The experiment was considered a sucesss and provided much information on the logistics of moving army equipment by truck over long distances and poor roads. It also helped determine which vehicles were well-suited or poorly-suited to the road conditions. 4WD trucks were particularly well-suited to travel along the early Lincoln Highway as was the Militor, a four wheel drive tractor designed to pull heavy artillery. It was very useful as a tow-truck pulling trucks back onto the road or hauling broken-down vehicles to a garage if required. The convoy greatly influenced one Army participant, Lt. Col. Dwight Eisenhower.

Major improvements to the Lincoln Highway in Wyoming began in the early to mid-1920s. with the first episodes of original road construction.  This second-generation Lincoln Highway consisted of a 24-foot-wide boulevard with a gravel berm and shallow borrow ditches on either side. The road bed was covered with crushed rock derived from quarries between Cheyenne and Laramie or in places with scoria from exposed burnt coal seams. Surfaces were covered with oil or macadam but asphalt paving was not generally used until the 1930s except for city streets. More substantial wood, stone, and concrete culverts, bridges, and viaducts replaced earlier wood structures crossing smaller creeks and dry washes, while large steel and concrete bridges were built over major rivers including the North Platte, Green, and Blacks Fork Rivers. An infrastructure of gas stations, garages, travel camps, and eating establishments began to be developed during the 1920s in rural areas as well as cities and towns. As cars and trucks became larger and more powerful, earlier sections of the first-generation Lincoln Highway were either rebuilt to second-generation standards or were replaced.  The recycled railroad grades saw continued use through the 1920s. In 1925, the Lincoln Highway was designated U.S. 30.  At Granger, Wyoming, U.S. 30 divided into two routes, U.S. 30N provided a route to the Pacific Northwest while U.S. 30S continued the route of the Lincoln Highway to Utah. U.S. 30N is not considered part of the Lincoln Highway.

More extensive improvements to the Lincoln Highway were built in the 1930s and early 1940s with more original road construction. The third-generation Lincoln Highway, now designated U.S. Highway 30 consisted of a 36-foot-wide two-lane asphalt paved highway.  Very little of the Lincoln Highway in Wyoming was paved with concrete. Large sections of the 1920s second-generation Lincoln Highway, including the recycled railroad grades, were abandoned and bypassed at this time.  The travel-related infrastructure reached it greatest extent during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s particularly in the rural areas. In 1956, the development of the Interstate Highway system began.  In Wyoming, I-80 was built through the 1960s being completed in the early 1970s.  Many sections of U.S. 30 were bypassed and abandoned.  Others were incorporated into the Interstate.  The longest section of U.S. 30 bypassed by I-80 is located between Laramie and Walcott Junction.  This section can be considered to be a fourth-generation Lincoln Highway segment and remains in use at present.

    

Historical Photographs: Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Modern Photographs: Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

  

                   

Historical Photos of the Lincoln Highway

“A journey from the Atlantic to the Pacific by motor car is still something of a sporting proposition.  You must cheerfully put up with some unpleasantness, as you would on a shooting trip into the Maine woods for example.  Yet there are no hardships nor experiences which make the trip one of undue severity” (The Complete Road Guide to the Lincoln Highway 1916).

Wyoming - Nebraska State Line

As the traveler’s infrastructure began to develop along the Lincoln Highway, signage began to appear which became more formal as time went by.  This photo of the Wyoming/Nebraska state line shows several signs along the highway.  The most formal is the metal state border sign with the Lincoln Highway Association logo. Also present are wooden mileage signs, hand painted store advertisements, and a crude hand-drawn sign for a local garage. 

Cheyenne

1923

Granite Canyon Station

1921

Ames Monument

The Ames Monument was built by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1882 to commemorate two of its founders, Oakes and Oliver Ames.  The monument was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson with bas-relief sculptures by Augustus Saint-Gaudens.  The monument was located near the original route of the Union Pacific, however, by the early twentieth century, the railroad had been relocated and the monument was no longer visible from the trains. The Ames Monument was located approximately ½ mile south of the first-generation Lincoln Highway and was a frequently visited landmark. The second- and third-generation Lincoln Highway segments were relocated more than a mile to the north of the monument.

Laramie

A view of the second-generation Lincoln Highway near Laramie, Albany County. The view shows the typical bladed 24 foot wide boulevard found across most of Wyoming in the 1920s. Building and maintaining the early Lincoln Highway in Wyoming had its share of difficulties. In addition to the extremes of winter and summer weather, building and maintaining the road was difficult due the long length of the road in Wyoming and the low population which made it hard to obtain adequate funding. This was one reason why the 24 foot wide boulevard was the standard for the Lincoln Highway across the state. It was not until the 1930s third- generation highway that asphalt paving was used to any great extent and concrete was very rarely found on the Lincoln Highway in Wyoming.

Approaching Rock River from the East 1924

A view of the second-generation Lincoln Highway in Albany County near the town of Rock River. The flat terrain and well built road belies the difficulties found in this area a decade earlier. In 1909 when Alice Ramsey crossed this area, she needed a guide from Cheyenne to lead the way. The guide managed to get his car stuck in an irrigation ditch and had to be pulled out. In another instance, she had to cross a 60 foot deep arroyo. The track they were following descended and asscended the arroyo diagonally. The road was loose gravel making traction difficult. In order to climb out of the arroyo, the drivers had to gun the engines in order to advance a few inches. The wheels were then blocked to prevent the car from rolling backwards. This processs was repeated over and over until the cars reached the top. Ten years later, the road was scarcely any better. The 1919 Military Convoy repaired 12 weak wooden bridgers between Laramie and Medicine Bow.

New Construction 2 Miles West of Rock River 1923

A view of the recently completed second generation Lincoln Highway in Albany County. The photo shows how far the Lincoln Highway had advanced in the decade since the route was established by the LHA. In the 1920s, the Lincoln Highway in rural Wyoming was classified as a 24 foot wide boulevard. This was due to several factors. The length of the rural highway in Wyoming was one of the longest in the nation at around 450 miles. The state population was one of the lowest in the country making it difficult to fund construction along the entire route, especially when other Wyoming roads were competing for limited resources. Certain sections of the Lincoln Highway were more difficult to maintain then others and local groups attempted to develop competing routes to bypass poor Lincoln Highway sections and to benefit regions not on the Lincoln Highway. One competing route went west from Laramie crossing the Medicine Bow Mountains to Saratoga. Travelers could either turn north to Wacott or continue west to Baggs and then turn north to Wamsutter. Despite the efforts of boosters, this road never became a serious rival to the Lincoln Highway.

Rock River

1922

Rock River

The Lincoln Highway between Rock River and Medicine Bow was susceptible to rapid flooding.  In August, 1921, a Mrs. Killman and her seven-month-old daughter were drowned and her husband and 2½ year old daughter were rescued when their car was caught in a flood on the Lincoln Highway, 10 miles west of Rock River.

The Virginian Hotel

The Virginian Hotel was built in Medicine Bow, Wyoming in 1911 and at the time was the largest hotel between Cheyenne and Salt Lake City. It was named for the Owen Wister novel published in 1902. The novel which opens in Medicine Bow was one of the earliest important western novels. The 1916 Complete Official Road Guide of the Lincoln Highway describes the Virginian Hotel as "A $65,000 Hotel, Modern in Every Detail" and claims that "the manuscript of which [the novel] was written here", even though the hotel opened nine years after The Virginian was published. A barbeque and street dance was held at the Virginian Hotel on August 11, 1919 for the personnel of the U.S. Army Military Convoy which was camped outside of town. The Virginian Hotel is still open at present.

Medicine Bow

A modern photo of Medicine Bow taken along a variant of the second-generation Lincoln Highway. Medicine Bow was founded along the Union Pacific Railroad in 1868. The town became a center for timber cutting and wool, both of which were brought to town to be loaded onto railroad trains. Pre-Lincoln Highway roads and the first- and the third-generation Lincoln Highway followed the railroad tracks west to Hanna and Walcott as does modern Highway 30. The second-generation Lincoln Highway route built in the early 1920s turned south from Medicine Bow and followed abandoned railroad grades west through the old coal mining town of Carbon before continuing on to Walcott.

East of Hanna

A modern photo of the third-generation Lincoln Highway east of Hanna. The asphalt paving has been removed however the segment is otherwise intact. This segment was bypassed by modern Highway 30 in the 1950s. Hanna was an important coal mining town for the Union Pacific Coal Company (UPCC) from the 1890s to the 1950s. On June 30, 1903, the UPCC Hanna Number 1 Mine exploded killing 169 miners, the worst mine disaster in Wyoming history. Five years later on March 28, 1908 a two explosions rocked the Hanna Number 1 Mine killing 59 miners including rescue crews. Many bodies could not be recovered. This was the third worse mining disaster in Wyoming. The Hanna Number 1 Mine never reopened.

Coyote Springs

A modern photo of the third-generation Lincoln Highway between Hanna and Walcott.  The buildings in the distance are the original Coyote Springs Gas Station which was established along this route in the 1930s.  The gas station operated along this route of the Lincoln Highway until it was bypassed in the 1950s by modern U.S. 30.

Walcott

A modern picture of the third-generation Lincoln Highway at Walcott. Walcott began as a station along the Union Pacific Railroad. It took the place of  the Union Pacific depot at Fort Steele after the U.S. Army post closed in 1886.  The Lincoln Highway between Medicine Bow, Hanna, and Walcott was one of the most complex stretches of highway in Wyoming.  Pre-Lincoln Highway routes and the 1913 first-generation followed the Union Pacific through Hanna.  The 1920s second-generation route followed the abandoned Union Pacific railroad grade through the old coal mining town at Carbon. The third-generation route returned to Hanna, and a fourth-generation route, which is now modern U.S.30, replaced the third-generation route.  All converged at Walcott.

Walcott to Fort Steele

1915

West of Walcott

A modern photo of the first- and second-generation Lincoln Highway between Walcott and Fort Steele, Carbon County.  In 1909, Alice Ramsey and her party followed this route but could not use the vehicle bridge at Fort Steele because it had washed out.  She was forced to drive across the single-track railroad bridge after having received permission from the Union Pacific dispatcher in Laramie. The railroad bridge had no guardrails making the crossing hazardous for autos. The automobile bridge at Fort Steele would be rebuilt a year later and served the Lincoln Highway until 1939.

Walcott to Fort Steele

1915

Fort Steele

A modern photo of the third-generation Lincoln Highway east of the North Platte River crossing.  This segment was built at the same time as the 1939 North Platte River Bridge which is located approximately ½ miles west of this point.  Although the asphalt pavement has been removed, the segment is otherwise largely intact. This segment was originally a 36-foot-wide two-lane paved highway and was in use up until the construction of I-80 in the 1960s.

Fort Steele Bridge

A wooden bridge crossing a dry wash approximately one mile east of the third-generation Lincoln Highway crossing of the North Platte River two miles south of Fort Steele, Carbon County.  This crossing of the North Platte River was built in 1939 and replaced the earlier first- and second-generation crossing two miles to the north.  These simple wood frame bridges were commonly used across Wyoming to span small drainages and dry washes.

North Platte River Bridge

A modern photo of the third-generation Lincoln Highway crossing of the North Platte River.  The bridge replaced the original 1909 highway bridge located approximately two miles north near Fort Steele. This bridge was built in 1939.  It is a Parker Through Truss single span, rigid-connected steel bridge. It remained the primary highway route until I-80 was built in the 1960s. The Lincoln Highway route is currently used as a frontage road and the bridge is maintained.

Hotel at Parco

1925

Creston Junction

A modern photo of the first- and second-generation Lincoln Highway near Creston Junction, Sweetwater County.  The Lincoln Highway at Creston Junction utilized a recycled Union Pacific Railroad grade.  The railroad grade was constructed in the summer of 1868 as a single track mainline.  It was used by the railroad until 1900 when the tracks were moved to the south and the original railroad route was abandoned.  In 1913, the unused railroad grade was incorporated into the Lincoln Highway. The crest of the railroad berm was flattened and widened for use as a two-lane road, however, it was still very narrow making it difficult for opposing traffic to pass. During the 1910s and 1920s, Lincoln Highway segments made from recycled railroad grades were considered to be some of the best road segments available in Wyoming at the time.

Creston Culvert

A culvert located along the recycled railroad grade near Creston Junction, Sweetwater County.  The culvert consists of a 24-inch-diameter brown salt-glazed stoneware pipe with stone facings on either side of the railroad/highway berm.  Identical stoneware pipes were noted along railroad grade segments which were not converted into the Lincoln Highway indicating that this feature was originally a railroad culvert rather than a Lincoln Highway culvert.  The 1919 U.S. Army military convoy crossed this area on August 13.  “Old right-of-way single track most of way and many high, dangerous fills and a number of deep sand areas and holes were encountered”.  Three Army trucks ran off the road along this segment and had to be towed back onto the berm.  One tank truck rolled completely over.  Some Army trucks were described as top-heavy and difficult to steer on this narrow grade although driver inexperience was also considered to be a factor.

Tipton

A modern photo of a segment of the third-generation Lincoln Highway west of Tipton, Sweetwater County.  The segment consists of an intact 36-foot-wide roadbed with asphalt paving. Traces of painted lines are present, but the asphalt has broken up into large chunks.  The segment was replaced by I-80 in the 1960s.

Bitter Creek to Table Rock

A modern photo of the second-generation Lincoln Highway crossing the western end of the Red Desert, Sweetwater County.  The road segment has been somewhat modified by modern traffic, but is overall a good representation of the Lincoln Highway in rural Wyoming in the 1920s. 

Bitter Creek to Red Hill

A modern photo of the second-generation Lincoln Highway located at the west edge of the Red Desert in Sweetwater County.  The segment is located just west of the Continental Divide.  This segment has seen little or no significant impacts other than erosion since it was bypassed by the third-generation Lincoln Highway in the 1930s. This segment is one of the best-preserved second-generation Lincoln Highway segments in southwestern Wyoming.

Red Hill Road Camp

A modern photo of an informal camping area along the second-generation Lincoln Highway.  The highway runs diagonally across the center of the photo.  Archaeological remains indicate that motorists stopped at this spot to eat their lunch or dinner.  They may also have camped here overnight. No formal camping buildings or utilities were ever placed here and the nearest town is nine miles away. Lincoln Highway travelers carved their names, points of origin, and dates into the soft sandstone outcrops on either side of the road in the 1910s and 1920s, just as Oregon Trail emigrants did at Independence Rock 60 years prior. The third-generation highway was moved to the south edge of the site but people still stopped here through the 1950s. The construction of I-80 ended the use of this site.

Red Hill Road Lincoln Highway Inscriptions

A panel on a sandstone outcrop at the camping area along the second-generation Lincoln Highway segment east of Point of Rocks. The inscriptions include names or initials of Lincoln Highway travelers.  One date of 1918 corresponds to the first-generation use of the Lincoln Highway.  Also present is a Masonic symbol.  The inscriptions were carved into the rock with broken fragments of bottle glass and ceramic tableware.

Black Butte

1922

Black Butte Bridge

A modern photo of the same stone and concrete viaduct photographed in 1922.  Other than the missing guardrails and some structural decay, the viaduct is completely intact.  The second-generation road segment has been bypassed and no longer carries traffic.

Point of Rocks Bridge

A second stone and concrete viaduct located approximately 4500 feet northwest of the Black Butte Bridge.  It is also located along a second-generation Lincoln Highway segment.  The 1919 U.S. Army military convoy's heavy trucks damaged or destroyed many wooden bridges and culverts which they repaired or rebuilt as they travelled.  In the 1920s, new stone, concrete, or steel bridges and culverts were built along the highway.  Some of these 1920s concrete overpasses are still intact a century later.  They show that great efforts were made to ensure that the Lincoln Highway could handle whatever traffic crossed it.

Black Butte to Point of Rocks

A modern photo of the second-generation Lincoln Highway east of Point of Rocks, Sweetwater County.  The area around Point of Rocks has numerous exposed coal seams, some of which are burnt producing a hard reddish material called scoria.  Portions of the second-generation Lincoln Highway around Point of Rocks were surfaced with this scoria.

Point of Rocks

A well-preserved segment of the first-generation Lincoln Highway east of Point of Rocks, Sweetwater County.  The segment consists of a broad swale created by vehicle traffic, but with little or no engineered construction.  The segment was bypassed by the second-generation highway which is located at either end of this first-generation swale.

Thayer

A photo of the first- or second-generation Lincoln Highway near Thayer Junction in Sweetwater County taken in the 1920s.  The road is typical of early rural second-generation highway segments in Wyoming in that is shows very minimal amounts of road construction. The Lincoln Highway in this area follows the route of the nineteenth century Overland Trail stagecoach and wagon road.

Salt Wells

A modern photo of the second-generation Lincoln Highway in the Salt Wells area east of Rock Springs, Sweetwater County.  A Lincoln Highway Oasis consisting of a store and cabins was located near here in 1939, but little is known of this site.  The third-generation highway was built at that time and is now the I-80 service road between Rock Springs and Point of Rocks. The third-generation highway bypassed the Oasis.

Rock Springs

A modern photo of a well-preserved second-generation segment of the Lincoln Highway in the Bitter Creek valley west of Rock Springs, Sweetwater County. 

Bitter Creek Bridge

A modern photo of the second-generation 1920s Lincoln Highway crossing Bitter Creek west of Rock Springs.  These simple wooden bridges are common on 1920s roads in Sweetwater County.  They are not limited to the Lincoln Highway but are also found on roads leading north and south from Rock Springs. The bridges are preserved on road segments which were abandoned and bypassed from the 1930s on.  In the 1920s, road and bridge work was conducted through competitive bids overseen by the Sweetwater County Commission and bid on by companies from Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah.  In June 1916, Sweetwater County issued bids to re-deck three bridges including the Four Mile Bridge over Bitter Creek, four miles west of Rock Springs.  This bridge is in that approximate location.  These bridges reflect some of the oldest surviving engineered structures on the Lincoln Highway in Wyoming.

Rock Springs to Green River

A photo of the second-generation Lincoln Highway between Rock Springs and Green River, Sweetwater County.  The road is located within the valley of Bitter Creek with White Mountain to the north and the creek channel to the south.  The valley is also the route of the nineteenth century Overland Trail and the Union Pacific Railroad.  These photos show the full extent of the 1920s upgrades to the Lincoln Highway in the form of a 24-foot-wide gravel boulevard.  This section of the highway was not paved until the 1930s.

Rock Springs to Green River

A modern photo of a well-preserved second- and third-generation segment of the Lincoln Highway east of Green River, Sweetwater County.  The roadway was cut through a bedrock outcrop along the south side of White Mountain.  This segment was used until the construction of I-80 in the 1960s.

Green River to Rock Springs

Another view of the second-generation Lincoln Highway between Rock Springs and Green River.  Although this photo shows the highway only a few miles east of Green River, it is a very lonely and open expanse.

Bitter Creek Valley

A modern photo of the second- and third-generation Lincoln Highway in the Bitter Creek valley between Rock Springs and Green River. Bitter Creek was a large creek which flowed from east to west into the Green River.  As the name indicates the water was impregnated with alkali and was very bitter.  Despite the fact that Bitter Creek water was almost undrinkable, the valley became a major transportation route with the Overland Trail, Union Pacific Railroad, and Lincoln Highway running along it and the towns of Rock Springs and Point of Rocks situated on it.  Potable water was obtained through pipelines, wells, rain barrels, and even railroad tank car trains.

Green River

1924

Green River Bridge

A photo of the second generation bridge over the Green River three miles west of Green River City. The photo was taken shortly after the completion of the bridge in the spring of 1924.  The bridge was a graceful steel deck arch bridge resting on two large concrete piers.  Cantilever arms extend back into the bank.  The bridge was 300 feet long and rose 30 feet above the river.  The bridge was the final link in the second-generation Lincoln Highway route west of Green River.  It replaced the first-generation route through Telephone Canyon which was described at the time as one of the worse segments of the Lincoln Highway in Wyoming. 

West of Green River

1924

Bryan

A modern photo of the first- and second-generation Lincoln Highway near Bryan, west of Green River, Sweetwater County.  This segment of the Lincoln Highway utilized another recycled Union Pacific Railroad grade.  The railroad grade was constructed in the fall of 1868 and was used as the railroad mainline until the early 1900s when the railroad was relocated to is present location and the old railroad grade was abandoned.  In 1913, this abandoned railroad grade was incorporated into the first-generation Lincoln Highway.  The Lincoln Highway followed this route until it was replaced in the early 1940s by the third-generation route which is currently State Highway 374, the I-80 frontage road.

Blacks Fork River Bridge

1926

Blacks Fork River Bridge

1926

Little America

  A modern photo of the second-generation Lincoln Highway east of Granger, Sweetwater County.  This segment has extensive asphalt paving which is uncommon for a second-generation Lincoln Highway segment in Wyoming.  The third-generation Lincoln Highway/U.S. 30 between Green River and Granger was not completed until the early 1940s so this second-generation route remained in use for most of the 1930s.  The third-generation Lincoln Highway is currently State Highway 374, the I-80 frontage road.

Granger

1927

Green River to Lyman

1926

Lyman to Granger

1926

Oregon Trail

A modern photo taken between Granger and Church Butte near the Sweetwater/Uinta County Line.  The concrete marker identifies this segment as the Oregon Trail, but it is actually the first-generation Lincoln Highway built on the Oregon Trail route.  The segment consists of a low berm and shallow borrow ditches which indicates an early twentieth century upgraded road. The first-generation Lincoln Highway was replaced by the second-generation route which is the modern Old Little America/Granger Road in the 1920s.  The third-generation route was built in the early 1940s along modern I-80.

Church Butte 1915

A view of the first-generation Lincoln Highway near Church Butte, Uinta County.  The original Lincoln Highway used the nineteenth century route of the Oregon/California Trail.  This photo shows the Lincoln Highway just two years after the establishment of the route by the Lincoln Highway Association.  No substantial road improvement had as yet been undertaken. Note the similarity between this road and the modern Oregon Trail photo above.

Church Butte 1915

A photo of the first-generation Lincoln Highway at Church Butte, Uinta County.  Church Butte was a prominent landmark on the Lincoln Highway as well as on the Oregon/California Trail in the 1840s and 1850s.  The original first-generation Lincoln Highway used the Oregon Trail from Granger west toward Lyman and the second-generation highway closely paralleled the earlier trail.  This route became U.S. 30S.  A gas station, restaurant, and cabins known as Naggi’s were located at Church Butte during the 1920s and 1930s.  These buildings were demolished by the 1970s.

Church Butte to Lyman

A modern photo of a paved segment of the second-generation Lincoln Highway east of Lyman, Uinta County. Like many second-generation Lincoln Highway segments, this one saw use through the 1930s due to the third generation route not being built until the early 1940s. Asphalt surfacing was used to upgrade the 24 ft wide boulevards to 1930s standards.

West of Fort Bridger

A view of the second-generation Lincoln Highway in Uinta County in the 1920s.  Like the Oregon Trail 70 years before, travel on the early Lincoln Highway involved crossing wide open spaces with few settlements and little support.  Gas stations and travel camps were the early Lincoln Highway equivalent of Oregon Trail stage stations and trading posts.  In half the time it took to progress from the Oregon Trail to the early Lincoln Highway, travel through rural Wyoming advanced from few facilities outside major towns to the modern Interstate Highways.

West of Fort Bridger

A modern photo of the third-generation Lincoln Highway west of Fort Bridger. The segment was paved with asphalt which has largely disintegrated.

Historical Photos of the Lincoln Highway

“A journey from the Atlantic to the Pacific by motor car is still something of a sporting proposition.  You must cheerfully put up with some unpleasantness, as you would on a shooting trip into the Maine woods for example.  Yet there are no hardships nor experiences which make the trip one of undue severity” (The Complete Road Guide to the Lincoln Highway 1916).

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Wyoming - Nebraska State Line

As the traveler’s infrastructure began to develop along the Lincoln Highway, signage began to appear which became more formal as time went by.  This photo of the Wyoming/Nebraska state line shows several signs along the highway.  The most formal is the metal state border sign with the Lincoln Highway Association logo. Also present are wooden mileage signs, hand painted store advertisements, and a crude hand-drawn sign for a local garage. 

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Cheyenne

1923

A large wooden billboard illustrating the route of the Lincoln Highway through Wyoming and Nebraska, along with roads from Cheyenne, Rawlins, and Rock Springs to Yellowstone National Park, and from Cheyenne to Denver. The billboard reflects the importance of tourism to the use of the Lincoln Highway.  Unlike the wagon roads of the nineteenth century, recreation was as important (or maybe more) to the development of the Lincoln Highway as commerce and settlement was.

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Granite Canyon Station

1921

A view of a second-generation Lincoln Highway segment at Granite Canyon, Laramie County.  Granite Canyon was the source for crushed rock used as ballast by the Union Pacific Railroad.  It  was also used for surfacing the early Lincoln Highway during the 1920s and early 1930s.

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Ames Monument

The Ames Monument was built by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1882 to commemorate two of its founders, Oakes and Oliver Ames.  The monument was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson with bas-relief sculptures by Augustus Saint-Gaudens.  The monument was located near the original route of the Union Pacific, however, by the early twentieth century, the railroad had been relocated and the monument was no longer visible from the trains. The Ames Monument was located approximately ½ mile south of the first-generation Lincoln Highway and was a frequently visited landmark. The second- and third-generation Lincoln Highway segments were relocated more than a mile to the north of the monument.

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Laramie

A view of the second-generation Lincoln Highway near Laramie, Albany County. The view shows the typical bladed 24 foot wide boulevard found across most of Wyoming in the 1920s. Building and maintaining the early Lincoln Highway in Wyoming had its share of difficulties. In addition to the extremes of winter and summer weather, building and maintaining the road was difficult due the long length of the road in Wyoming and the low population which made it hard to obtain adequate funding. This was one reason why the 24 foot wide boulevard was the standard for the Lincoln Highway across the state. It was not until the 1930s third- generation highway that asphalt paving was used to any great extent and concrete was very rarely found on the Lincoln Highway in Wyoming.

The Lincoln Highway in Wyoming also had to compete with a network of other roads crossing the state. Multiple roads to Yellowstone were being built to facilitate increasing tourism created by the Lincoln Highway. New oil and natural gas fields were being opened across Wyoming in the 1920s with equipment being shipped along roads branching off from the Lincoln Highway. The Lincoln Highway's contribution to Wyoming was not just automobile traffic, it impacted all aspects of social, cultural, and economic life in the state.

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Approaching Rock River from the East 1924

A view of the second-generation Lincoln Highway in Albany County near the town of Rock River. The flat terrain and well built road belies the difficulties found in this area a decade earlier. In 1909 when Alice Ramsey crossed this area, she needed a guide from Cheyenne to lead the way. The guide managed to get his car stuck in an irrigation ditch and had to be pulled out. In another instance, she had to cross a 60 foot deep arroyo. The track they were following descended and asscended the arroyo diagonally. The road was loose gravel making traction difficult. In order to climb out of the arroyo, the drivers had to gun the engines in order to advance a few inches. The wheels were then blocked to prevent the car from rolling backwards. This processs was repeated over and over until the cars reached the top. Ten years later, the road was scarcely any better. The 1919 Military Convoy repaired 12 weak wooden bridgers between Laramie and Medicine Bow.

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

New Construction 2 Miles West of Rock River 1923

A view of the recently completed second generation Lincoln Highway in Albany County. The photo shows how far the Lincoln Highway had advanced in the decade since the route was established by the LHA. In the 1920s, the Lincoln Highway in rural Wyoming was classified as a 24 foot wide boulevard. This was due to several factors. The length of the rural highway in Wyoming was one of the longest in the nation at around 450 miles. The state population was one of the lowest in the country making it difficult to fund construction along the entire route, especially when other Wyoming roads were competing for limited resources. Certain sections of the Lincoln Highway were more difficult to maintain then others and local groups attempted to develop competing routes to bypass poor Lincoln Highway sections and to benefit regions not on the Lincoln Highway. One competing route went west from Laramie crossing the Medicine Bow Mountains to Saratoga. Travelers could either turn north to Wacott or continue west to Baggs and then turn north to Wamsutter. Despite the efforts of boosters, this road never became a serious rival to the Lincoln Highway.

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Rock River

1922

A view of the second-generation Lincoln Highway, 13 miles west of Rock River, Albany and Carbon Counties.  The Complete Official Road Guide to the Lincoln Highway (1916) states “  If we assume that the tourist encounters perfect weather entirely across the country, no difficulties may be considered. Practically the only difficulties at present attendant upon a transcontinental drive over the Lincoln Highway are the result of unfavorable weather conditions.  It is wise for the transcontinental motorist to take as a precept a statement that when it rains in the middle west or west, the thing to do is to stop and not attempt to continue the journey until the rainy spell is over and the roads have had a day or two to dry up.”

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Rock River

The Lincoln Highway between Rock River and Medicine Bow was susceptible to rapid flooding.  In August, 1921, a Mrs. Killman and her seven-month-old daughter were drowned and her husband and 2½ year old daughter were rescued when their car was caught in a flood on the Lincoln Highway, 10 miles west of Rock River.

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

The Virginian Hotel

The Virginian Hotel was built in Medicine Bow, Wyoming in 1911 and at the time was the largest hotel between Cheyenne and Salt Lake City. It was named for the Owen Wister novel published in 1902. The novel which opens in Medicine Bow was one of the earliest important western novels. The 1916 Complete Official Road Guide of the Lincoln Highway describes the Virginian Hotel as "A $65,000 Hotel, Modern in Every Detail" and claims that "the manuscript of which [the novel] was written here", even though the hotel opened nine years after The Virginian was published. A barbeque and street dance was held at the Virginian Hotel on August 11, 1919 for the personnel of the U.S. Army Military Convoy which was camped outside of town. The Virginian Hotel is still open at present.

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Medicine Bow

A modern photo of Medicine Bow taken along a variant of the second-generation Lincoln Highway. Medicine Bow was founded along the Union Pacific Railroad in 1868. The town became a center for timber cutting and wool, both of which were brought to town to be loaded onto railroad trains. Pre-Lincoln Highway roads and the first- and the third-generation Lincoln Highway followed the railroad tracks west to Hanna and Walcott as does modern Highway 30. The second-generation Lincoln Highway route built in the early 1920s turned south from Medicine Bow and followed abandoned railroad grades west through the old coal mining town of Carbon before continuing on to Walcott.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

East of Hanna

A modern photo of the third-generation Lincoln Highway east of Hanna. The asphalt paving has been removed however the segment is otherwise intact. This segment was bypassed by modern Highway 30 in the 1950s. Hanna was an important coal mining town for the Union Pacific Coal Company (UPCC) from the 1890s to the 1950s. On June 30, 1903, the UPCC Hanna Number 1 Mine exploded killing 169 miners, the worst mine disaster in Wyoming history. Five years later on March 28, 1908 a two explosions rocked the Hanna Number 1 Mine killing 59 miners including rescue crews. Many bodies could not be recovered. This was the third worse mining disaster in Wyoming. The Hanna Number 1 Mine never reopened.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Coyote Springs

A modern photo of the third-generation Lincoln Highway between Hanna and Walcott.  The buildings in the distance are the original Coyote Springs Gas Station which was established along this route in the 1930s.  The gas station operated along this route of the Lincoln Highway until it was bypassed in the 1950s by modern U.S. 30.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Walcott

A modern picture of the third-generation Lincoln Highway at Walcott. Walcott began as a station along the Union Pacific Railroad. It took the place of  the Union Pacific depot at Fort Steele after the U.S. Army post closed in 1886.  The Lincoln Highway between Medicine Bow, Hanna, and Walcott was one of the most complex stretches of highway in Wyoming.  Pre-Lincoln Highway routes and the 1913 first-generation followed the Union Pacific through Hanna.  The 1920s second-generation route followed the abandoned Union Pacific railroad grade through the old coal mining town at Carbon. The third-generation route returned to Hanna, and a fourth-generation route, which is now modern U.S.30, replaced the third-generation route.  All converged at Walcott.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Walcott to Fort Steele

1915

A road sign along the first-generation Lincoln Highway in eastern Carbon County between the towns of Walcott and Fort Steele in 1915.  The sign indicates that there are no gates on this route. Gates through fenced grazing areas were a frequent nuisance along the earliest Lincoln Highway routes.  The road shows only minimal amounts of development. There is no visible berm or borrow ditches, only a flat-bladed unpaved swale which was characteristic of the rural Lincoln Highway in the 1910s and early 1920s.  The car shows how difficult the trip on the early Lincoln Highway was.  Note the multiple spare tires and large milk can on the fender which held extra water for the car's radiator.

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

West of Walcott

A modern photo of the first- and second-generation Lincoln Highway between Walcott and Fort Steele, Carbon County.  In 1909, Alice Ramsey and her party followed this route but could not use the vehicle bridge at Fort Steele because it had washed out.  She was forced to drive across the single-track railroad bridge after having received permission from the Union Pacific dispatcher in Laramie. The railroad bridge had no guardrails making the crossing hazardous for autos. The automobile bridge at Fort Steele would be rebuilt a year later and served the Lincoln Highway until 1939.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Walcott to Fort Steele

1915

A photo along the first- generation Lincoln Highway between Walcott and Fort Steele.  Fort Steele was established to guard the Union Pacific Railroad in 1868.  The military outpost was closed in 1886, but civilian traffic continued.  Fort Steele became an important stepping-off point for people, goods and supplies moving to the rural areas north and south of the railroad.  A trail trending southeast from the fort in 1882 originally led to the hot springs and spa at Saratoga.  In the early 1890s gold discoveries in the Medicine Bow Mountains led to further traffic on this trail.  In 1913, the trail from Fort Steele was incorporated into the original Lincoln Highway and is shown in this photo.  In 1939 the Lincoln Highway was relocated two miles south to a river crossing near modern I-80.

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Fort Steele

A modern photo of the third-generation Lincoln Highway east of the North Platte River crossing.  This segment was built at the same time as the 1939 North Platte River Bridge which is located approximately ½ miles west of this point.  Although the asphalt pavement has been removed, the segment is otherwise largely intact. This segment was originally a 36-foot-wide two-lane paved highway and was in use up until the construction of I-80 in the 1960s.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Fort Steele Bridge

A wooden bridge crossing a dry wash approximately one mile east of the third-generation Lincoln Highway crossing of the North Platte River two miles south of Fort Steele, Carbon County.  This crossing of the North Platte River was built in 1939 and replaced the earlier first- and second-generation crossing two miles to the north.  These simple wood frame bridges were commonly used across Wyoming to span small drainages and dry washes.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

North Platte River Bridge

A modern photo of the third-generation Lincoln Highway crossing of the North Platte River.  The bridge replaced the original 1909 highway bridge located approximately two miles north near Fort Steele. This bridge was built in 1939.  It is a Parker Through Truss single span, rigid-connected steel bridge. It remained the primary highway route until I-80 was built in the 1960s. The Lincoln Highway route is currently used as a frontage road and the bridge is maintained.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Hotel at Parco

1925

Parco, now Sinclair, was originally developed as a company town supporting an oil and gas refinery.  Parco referred to the Producers And Refiners Company which established the plant and associated housing and commercial buildings including the hotel and ball room in 1922.  The company hired architects from Denver to design the public buildings, the inn, a theatre, a church and company housing in the Spanish Colonial motif, which was uncommon in Wyoming.  The Parco Inn was one of the finest hotel accommodations on the Lincoln Highway in Wyoming west of Cheyenne. The Producers And Refiners Company went out of business during the 1930s and was bought by Sinclair in 1943.  The refinery is still in operation, but the Parco Inn is closed.

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Creston Junction

A modern photo of the first- and second-generation Lincoln Highway near Creston Junction, Sweetwater County.  The Lincoln Highway at Creston Junction utilized a recycled Union Pacific Railroad grade.  The railroad grade was constructed in the summer of 1868 as a single track mainline.  It was used by the railroad until 1900 when the tracks were moved to the south and the original railroad route was abandoned.  In 1913, the unused railroad grade was incorporated into the Lincoln Highway. The crest of the railroad berm was flattened and widened for use as a two-lane road, however, it was still very narrow making it difficult for opposing traffic to pass. During the 1910s and 1920s, Lincoln Highway segments made from recycled railroad grades were considered to be some of the best road segments available in Wyoming at the time.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Creston Culvert

A culvert located along the recycled railroad grade near Creston Junction, Sweetwater County.  The culvert consists of a 24-inch-diameter brown salt-glazed stoneware pipe with stone facings on either side of the railroad/highway berm.  Identical stoneware pipes were noted along railroad grade segments which were not converted into the Lincoln Highway indicating that this feature was originally a railroad culvert rather than a Lincoln Highway culvert.  The 1919 U.S. Army military convoy crossed this area on August 13.  “Old right-of-way single track most of way and many high, dangerous fills and a number of deep sand areas and holes were encountered”.  Three Army trucks ran off the road along this segment and had to be towed back onto the berm.  One tank truck rolled completely over.  Some Army trucks were described as top-heavy and difficult to steer on this narrow grade although driver inexperience was also considered to be a factor.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Tipton

A modern photo of a segment of the third-generation Lincoln Highway west of Tipton, Sweetwater County.  The segment consists of an intact 36-foot-wide roadbed with asphalt paving. Traces of painted lines are present, but the asphalt has broken up into large chunks.  The segment was replaced by I-80 in the 1960s.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Bitter Creek to Table Rock

A modern photo of the second-generation Lincoln Highway crossing the western end of the Red Desert, Sweetwater County.  The road segment has been somewhat modified by modern traffic, but is overall a good representation of the Lincoln Highway in rural Wyoming in the 1920s. 

The Red Desert, or Great Divide Basin, is an inward draining basin which straddles the Continental Divide. The Lincoln Highway crossed the Continental Divide twice, once approximately 10 miles west of Rawlins at the east edge of the Red Desert and a second time 12 miles east of Point of Rocks at the west edge of the Red Desert. The distance across the Red Desert on the Lincoln Highway was some 65 miles.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Bitter Creek to Red Hill

A modern photo of the second-generation Lincoln Highway located at the west edge of the Red Desert in Sweetwater County.  The segment is located just west of the Continental Divide.  This segment has seen little or no significant impacts other than erosion since it was bypassed by the third-generation Lincoln Highway in the 1930s. This segment is one of the best-preserved second-generation Lincoln Highway segments in southwestern Wyoming.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Red Hill Road Camp

A modern photo of an informal camping area along the second-generation Lincoln Highway.  The highway runs diagonally across the center of the photo.  Archaeological remains indicate that motorists stopped at this spot to eat their lunch or dinner.  They may also have camped here overnight. No formal camping buildings or utilities were ever placed here and the nearest town is nine miles away. Lincoln Highway travelers carved their names, points of origin, and dates into the soft sandstone outcrops on either side of the road in the 1910s and 1920s, just as Oregon Trail emigrants did at Independence Rock 60 years prior. The third-generation highway was moved to the south edge of the site but people still stopped here through the 1950s. The construction of I-80 ended the use of this site.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Red Hill Road Lincoln Highway Inscriptions

A panel on a sandstone outcrop at the camping area along the second-generation Lincoln Highway segment east of Point of Rocks. The inscriptions include names or initials of Lincoln Highway travelers.  One date of 1918 corresponds to the first-generation use of the Lincoln Highway.  Also present is a Masonic symbol.  The inscriptions were carved into the rock with broken fragments of bottle glass and ceramic tableware.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Black Butte

1922

A picture of the second-generation 1920s route of the Lincoln Highway east of Point of Rocks, Sweetwater County.  This small concrete and stone viaduct crossed over a dry wash. There are four of these viaducts known to exist on 1920s Lincoln Highway segments, three are located along a 10-mile stretch of the highway east of Point of Rocks and one located west of Medicine Bow in Carbon County. They are all still intact at present.  No examples of this type of viaduct are known to be found on first- or third-generation segments.

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Black Butte Bridge

A modern photo of the same stone and concrete viaduct photographed in 1922.  Other than the missing guardrails and some structural decay, the viaduct is completely intact.  The second-generation road segment has been bypassed and no longer carries traffic.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Point of Rocks Bridge

A second stone and concrete viaduct located approximately 4500 feet northwest of the Black Butte Bridge.  It is also located along a second-generation Lincoln Highway segment.  The 1919 U.S. Army military convoy's heavy trucks damaged or destroyed many wooden bridges and culverts which they repaired or rebuilt as they travelled.  In the 1920s, new stone, concrete, or steel bridges and culverts were built along the highway.  Some of these 1920s concrete overpasses are still intact a century later.  They show that great efforts were made to ensure that the Lincoln Highway could handle whatever traffic crossed it.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Black Butte to Point of Rocks

A modern photo of the second-generation Lincoln Highway east of Point of Rocks, Sweetwater County.  The area around Point of Rocks has numerous exposed coal seams, some of which are burnt producing a hard reddish material called scoria.  Portions of the second-generation Lincoln Highway around Point of Rocks were surfaced with this scoria.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Point of Rocks

A well-preserved segment of the first-generation Lincoln Highway east of Point of Rocks, Sweetwater County.  The segment consists of a broad swale created by vehicle traffic, but with little or no engineered construction.  The segment was bypassed by the second-generation highway which is located at either end of this first-generation swale.

 Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Thayer

A photo of the first- or second-generation Lincoln Highway near Thayer Junction in Sweetwater County taken in the 1920s.  The road is typical of early rural second-generation highway segments in Wyoming in that is shows very minimal amounts of road construction. The Lincoln Highway in this area follows the route of the nineteenth century Overland Trail stagecoach and wagon road.

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Salt Wells

A modern photo of the second-generation Lincoln Highway in the Salt Wells area east of Rock Springs, Sweetwater County.  A Lincoln Highway Oasis consisting of a store and cabins was located near here in 1939, but little is known of this site.  The third-generation highway was built at that time and is now the I-80 service road between Rock Springs and Point of Rocks. The third-generation highway bypassed the Oasis.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Rock Springs

A modern photo of a well-preserved second-generation segment of the Lincoln Highway in the Bitter Creek valley west of Rock Springs, Sweetwater County. 

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Bitter Creek Bridge

A modern photo of the second-generation 1920s Lincoln Highway crossing Bitter Creek west of Rock Springs.  These simple wooden bridges are common on 1920s roads in Sweetwater County.  They are not limited to the Lincoln Highway but are also found on roads leading north and south from Rock Springs. The bridges are preserved on road segments which were abandoned and bypassed from the 1930s on.  In the 1920s, road and bridge work was conducted through competitive bids overseen by the Sweetwater County Commission and bid on by companies from Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah.  In June 1916, Sweetwater County issued bids to re-deck three bridges including the Four Mile Bridge over Bitter Creek, four miles west of Rock Springs.  This bridge is in that approximate location.  These bridges reflect some of the oldest surviving engineered structures on the Lincoln Highway in Wyoming.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Rock Springs to Green River

A photo of the second-generation Lincoln Highway between Rock Springs and Green River, Sweetwater County.  The road is located within the valley of Bitter Creek with White Mountain to the north and the creek channel to the south.  The valley is also the route of the nineteenth century Overland Trail and the Union Pacific Railroad.  These photos show the full extent of the 1920s upgrades to the Lincoln Highway in the form of a 24-foot-wide gravel boulevard.  This section of the highway was not paved until the 1930s.

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Rock Springs to Green River

A modern photo of a well-preserved second- and third-generation segment of the Lincoln Highway east of Green River, Sweetwater County.  The roadway was cut through a bedrock outcrop along the south side of White Mountain.  This segment was used until the construction of I-80 in the 1960s.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Green River to Rock Springs

Another view of the second-generation Lincoln Highway between Rock Springs and Green River.  Although this photo shows the highway only a few miles east of Green River, it is a very lonely and open expanse.

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Bitter Creek Valley

A modern photo of the second- and third-generation Lincoln Highway in the Bitter Creek valley between Rock Springs and Green River. Bitter Creek was a large creek which flowed from east to west into the Green River.  As the name indicates the water was impregnated with alkali and was very bitter.  Despite the fact that Bitter Creek water was almost undrinkable, the valley became a major transportation route with the Overland Trail, Union Pacific Railroad, and Lincoln Highway running along it and the towns of Rock Springs and Point of Rocks situated on it.  Potable water was obtained through pipelines, wells, rain barrels, and even railroad tank car trains.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Green River

1924

The first-generation Lincoln Highway running up Telephone Canyon west of Green River.  The earliest route of the Lincoln Highway followed the route of the Overland Trail stagecoach and wagon road of the 1860s.  The first-generation Lincoln Highway typically used existing wagon roads as it’s route.  This ranged from major transcontinental trails such as the Overland Trail, to short unnamed wagon roads which happened to run in the desired direction. Abandoned Union Pacific railroad grades were also used when available.  Between Green River and Granger, the first-generation Lincoln Highway used both the Overland Trail and a recycled Union Pacific railroad grade.

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Green River Bridge

A photo of the second generation bridge over the Green River three miles west of Green River City. The photo was taken shortly after the completion of the bridge in the spring of 1924.  The bridge was a graceful steel deck arch bridge resting on two large concrete piers.  Cantilever arms extend back into the bank.  The bridge was 300 feet long and rose 30 feet above the river.  The bridge was the final link in the second-generation Lincoln Highway route west of Green River.  It replaced the first-generation route through Telephone Canyon which was described at the time as one of the worse segments of the Lincoln Highway in Wyoming. 

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

West of Green River

1924

The original first-generation route of the Lincoln Highway west of Green River through Telephone Canyon was replaced by a new second generation route completed in 1924.  The new route ran through the city along Flaming Gorge Way and continued along the east and north banks of the Green River to a new river crossing three miles west of town on a graceful steel arch span.  The second-generation route climbed out of the valley of the Green River and then turned to intersect an abandoned Union Pacific railroad grade. The third-generation Lincoln Highway also used this route beginning in the early 1940s but bypassed the old railroad grade.  The third-generation route is maintained as State Highway 374.

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Bryan

A modern photo of the first- and second-generation Lincoln Highway near Bryan, west of Green River, Sweetwater County.  This segment of the Lincoln Highway utilized another recycled Union Pacific Railroad grade.  The railroad grade was constructed in the fall of 1868 and was used as the railroad mainline until the early 1900s when the railroad was relocated to is present location and the old railroad grade was abandoned.  In 1913, this abandoned railroad grade was incorporated into the first-generation Lincoln Highway.  The Lincoln Highway followed this route until it was replaced in the early 1940s by the third-generation route which is currently State Highway 374, the I-80 frontage road.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Blacks Fork River Bridge

1926

The second-generation Lincoln Highway bridge over the Blacks Fork River near Bryan, Sweetwater County.  The bridge is a steel Warren Truss bridge supported by concrete piers and approaches.  The bridge was replaced by the third-generation river crossing in the early 1940s which is now the I-80 Frontage Road.  The 1920s truss bridge has been removed, but the concrete piers are still in place.

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Blacks Fork River Bridge

1926

The second-generation Lincoln Highway bridge over the Blacks Fork River near Bryan, Sweetwater County. Comparing this bridge with the bridges over the North Platte and Green Rivers show that there was little standardization in road and bridge design.  Counties and states oversaw construction which was performed by companies bidding on contracts.  There were no standardized sets of designs or construction criteria.

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Little America

  A modern photo of the second-generation Lincoln Highway east of Granger, Sweetwater County.  This segment has extensive asphalt paving which is uncommon for a second-generation Lincoln Highway segment in Wyoming.  The third-generation Lincoln Highway/U.S. 30 between Green River and Granger was not completed until the early 1940s so this second-generation route remained in use for most of the 1930s.  The third-generation Lincoln Highway is currently State Highway 374, the I-80 frontage road.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Granger

1927

A photo of the second-generation Lincoln Highway two miles south of Granger at the point where U.S. Highway 30N (right) and U.S. Highway 30S (left) divided. The U.S. highway designation was created between 1925 and 1926.  The Lincoln Highway was largely designated U.S. 30, however, at this point near Granger, the routes divided with U.S. 30N running northwest through Idaho, Oregon, and Washington while U.S. 30S continued the Lincoln Highway route west to Salt Lake City.  U.S. 30N is not part of the Lincoln Highway.

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Green River to Lyman

1926

A view of the second-generation Lincoln Highway between Granger and Lyman, Sweetwater and Uinta Counties taken in the 1920s.  The photo shows the simple roadbed crossing through some unspoiled badlands terrain which adds to the scenic nature of the early highway.

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Lyman to Granger

1926

A photo of the second-generation Lincoln Highway in the badland areas between Granger and Lyman, Sweetwater/Uinta County.  This photo is another illustration of the low levels of road construction associated with the Lincoln Highway in rural Wyoming in the 1920s.

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Oregon Trail

A modern photo taken between Granger and Church Butte near the Sweetwater/Uinta County Line.  The concrete marker identifies this segment as the Oregon Trail, but it is actually the first-generation Lincoln Highway built on the Oregon Trail route.  The segment consists of a low berm and shallow borrow ditches which indicates an early twentieth century upgraded road. The first-generation Lincoln Highway was replaced by the second-generation route which is the modern Old Little America/Granger Road in the 1920s.  The third-generation route was built in the early 1940s along modern I-80.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Church Butte 1915

A view of the first-generation Lincoln Highway near Church Butte, Uinta County.  The original Lincoln Highway used the nineteenth century route of the Oregon/California Trail.  This photo shows the Lincoln Highway just two years after the establishment of the route by the Lincoln Highway Association.  No substantial road improvement had as yet been undertaken. Note the similarity between this road and the modern Oregon Trail photo above.

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Church Butte 1915

A photo of the first-generation Lincoln Highway at Church Butte, Uinta County.  Church Butte was a prominent landmark on the Lincoln Highway as well as on the Oregon/California Trail in the 1840s and 1850s.  The original first-generation Lincoln Highway used the Oregon Trail from Granger west toward Lyman and the second-generation highway closely paralleled the earlier trail.  This route became U.S. 30S.  A gas station, restaurant, and cabins known as Naggi’s were located at Church Butte during the 1920s and 1930s.  These buildings were demolished by the 1970s.

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Church Butte to Lyman

A modern photo of a paved segment of the second-generation Lincoln Highway east of Lyman, Uinta County. Like many second-generation Lincoln Highway segments, this one saw use through the 1930s due to the third generation route not being built until the early 1940s. Asphalt surfacing was used to upgrade the 24 ft wide boulevards to 1930s standards.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

West of Fort Bridger

A view of the second-generation Lincoln Highway in Uinta County in the 1920s.  Like the Oregon Trail 70 years before, travel on the early Lincoln Highway involved crossing wide open spaces with few settlements and little support.  Gas stations and travel camps were the early Lincoln Highway equivalent of Oregon Trail stage stations and trading posts.  In half the time it took to progress from the Oregon Trail to the early Lincoln Highway, travel through rural Wyoming advanced from few facilities outside major towns to the modern Interstate Highways.

Lincoln Highway Association Collection, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

West of Fort Bridger

A modern photo of the third-generation Lincoln Highway west of Fort Bridger. The segment was paved with asphalt which has largely disintegrated.

Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Historical Photos Provided by University of Michigan Library (Special Collections Research Center).

Modern Photos and Text Provided by Dave Johnson with Western Archaeological Services, Rock Springs, Wyoming.