Murrysville speaker will discuss history of the Lincoln Highway
The American Association of University Women will host a presentation Sept. 11 about the history of the Lincoln Highway, the first cross-country road in the U.S.
Brian Butko, director of publications for the Sen. John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, will present “Greetings From the Lincoln Highway” at 10 a.m. in the Murrysville Community Library.
Butko’s book of the same name is now on its third edition, and he is featured talking about the highway in Pittsburgh documentarian Rick Sebak’s 2009 video, “A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway.”
Built in the early 1900s, the Lincoln Highway’s main booster was automobile equipment manufacturer and Indianapolis Speedway originator Carl G. Fisher. He rallied other sectors of the burgeoning automotive industry for support and to help raise the roughly $10 million it was anticipated to cost.
The Pennsylvania section of the Lincoln Highway was completed between 1910 and 1920.
Below, watch a video chronicling a road trip on the eastern half of the Lincoln Highway.
The Diamond at Ligonier was a long-established stop there, created earlier for stagecoaches and horses while drivers and passengers obtained supplies or food. When the Lincoln Highway reached there in July 1919, arches were erected for a celebration.
In the 1930s, the Westinghouse Bridge was completed and the road was upgraded between Jennerstown and Laurel Mountain. New lanes were built between Latrobe and Ligonier in the mid-1950s, and in 1959 the Greensburg bypass was constructed.
In early August, Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor staff held a public meeting to take input on plans for historic preservation and programming along the highway.
The Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor is one of 12 state-designated heritage areas meant to promote economic development along with various historic, cultural and natural assets.
Butko’s presentation will be at 10 a.m. at the library, 4130 Sardis Road in Murrysville. For more information, visit MurrysvilleLibrary.org.
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.
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