Lincoln Highway Association

Indiana Chapter
vol. 3, #2    Spring, 2000

There will be a state chapter meeting of the Lincoln Highway Association in Goshen, on the original route of the highway, on Saturday, the 29th of April. It will be in the Goshen Public Library, 601 South Fifth Street. That should be easy to find -- on Purl Street between Main and 5th Streets, in the third block south of where U.S. 33 (the LH) heads east.

This meeting will run from about 11 a.m. "to 2:30 p.m." You will have opportunities to learn a bit about the Lincoln Highway, soak up some of Goshen's history, and meet your fellow state chapter members. LHA members, guests, and the general public are all welcome.

A meal is not part of this meeting. As the program, chapter business, and gawking at displays will not take 3½ hours, there is time in there, for those of us who care to, to adjourn to a local eatery.

Goshen is a nifty city, with several beautiful parks, a nice trail system, and of course shopping. If the weather co-operates, this should make for a fun day's excursion.

If you cannot get there right by eleven, that's o.k. This meeting shall be informal. Walk in anytime. If you have to leave before we have wrapped up all our business and the program, you are welcome to leave early, too.


Chesterton Tribune, Thursday, 14 March, 1935
Plan Divided Traffic Lanes for Safety On New Lincoln Highway Routing

Construction of a divided traffic lane highway on a fifteen-mile section of road 30, extending east from road 41, is contemplated by the state highway commission as a means of relieving congestion on this important route and of making it more safe. Preliminary surveys for a relocation of road 30 between Deep River and road 41 are now in progress with a tentative route selected approximately a mile south of the present route.

The plans of the highway commission provide for the paving of two 22-foot traffic lanes, one of which will carry eastbound traffic and the other carry westbound traffic. The two lanes will be separated by a 50-foot strip, which will be landscaped. A right-of-way of 200 feet will be required in case the proposal wins approval.

This section of road 30 carries a daily average traffic load of more than 5,000 vehicles, forming one of the important routes for Chicago traffic and extending across the northern part of Indiana. The widening of road 41 from a point south of the intersection with road 30, to meet increased traffic demands, is a part of the 1935 construction program.

"By dividing these roadways the danger of headon collision would be eliminated; the number of sideswipe accidents would be tremendously reduced," says James D. Adams, chairman of the commission. "The glaring headlight would no longer be a peril to the motorist and it is easy to believe that the number of fatalities will be greatly reduced. The 30 or 40-foot roadway does not eliminate the danger of a crashing headon smashup."


The proposed road mentioned is today's U.S. 30, the original route having since become a series of municipal streets. Even as the old roadway was being replaced by a bypass, the Lincoln Highway was still leading the way for improved highway design in Indiana.

The old route is what our August car convoy will follow east to Deep River (on the Lake-Porter County line.)

Was the median landscaped, as this article reports? Good question. It is simply grass today, with the portion around Southlake Mall having evolved to a more urban nature. There are plenty of little details which will require more research to give us the full story of the Lincoln Highway.

A reader has asked where the abandoned gravel stretch of the original LH is, which was pictured in the last newsletter. That is in Schererville, behind Tiebel's Restaurant at U.S. 41. The snapshot was several years old but the roadway is still there. It is slated for eventual obliteration by development however.

We owe thanks to state chapter members Sharon Nofziger and Ed Dunithan for setting up this meeting for us in Goshen. This newsletter seems to be featuring a lot about the west end of Indiana's Lincoln Highway. Attend the meeting Saturday to get the Elkhart County view of the LH.


close to benchbridge indented logo
bridge west of bench

The LHA's Ohio Chapter is meeting the same day we are. I hope that that meeting being over 260 miles away lessens the conflicts for LH buffs.

Jeanne Dams provided the photos for this issue from a drive she took over to the Ideal Section. State vice-president Art Schweitzer was behind the marking of the bridge and telephone pole. Northwest Indiana Chapter member Ralph Hinkel made the sign appearing over the Ostermann bench. Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed that the monument had not yet been repaired when the snapshot for the last newsletter was taken.

whole Ostermann monument

The enthusiasm the last newsletter was met with was gratifying. The Indiana LHA Chapter can become an active group, enjoying ourselves while accomplishing goals. That is the case in other states along the highway.

Your director (meaning me) presented a talk on the Sauk Trail at a local history conference a couple weeks ago south of Chicago. It was informative talking with others interested in the Lincoln & Dixie Highways and other local history.

One guy likes to use aerial photography to help determine where ancient trails, which preceded our current roads, ran. Archeological digs can then turn up artifacts of early day travelers.

Others enjoy researching old papers or making sense out of old maps. Still others wish to learn just enough to be able to follow today's road. Our interests overlap concerning the Lincoln Highway.

The neighboring Illinois state chapter held a meeting over in Matteson a month ago featuring the history of that town and Park Forest. The Lincoln Highway still runs through those burgs and has been an important part of their histories for over three quarters of a century. The LH played a large role in the stories of the towns along it across Indiana, too.

The Indiana Chapter will have a joint meeting with Illinois on Saturday, the 19th August. More details will be sent out later. We will meet over in Joliet and convoy back to Deep River, Indiana, stopping at sites along the way.

Peter Youngman, 10 Cedar Court, 1115 Ogden Dunes, Ind. 46368-8709
Indiana state director, Lincoln Highway Association
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updated 12th May, 2000; altered 22nd October, 2003