Painting Lincoln Highway Logo, Newcastle 1910 bridge.

Over the weekend, Monica and I painted another Lincoln Highway "L" on the auto subway in Newcastle, California. The particular crossing may be the oldest auto subway in California, built in 1910, making it four years older than The Lincoln Highway. This project was great fun as there was a gentle breeze passing through the tunnel making for comfortable conditions.

Monica touching up the Lincoln Highway “L”.

This is a photo of the same bridge taken sometime in 1920.

1920’s Newcastle Auto Subway, headed west.

Interstate Highway system signed in law on this date, 1956

The Lincoln Highway was the first transcontinental highway in The United States. In 1919 a young army officer by the name of Dwight D. Eisenhower joined with a group of fellow army soldiers who were going to attempt to cross the country, in a convoy of 80 trucks, motorcycles, and other vehicles, using the route of The Lincoln Highway. It was quite the slog with bridges that didn't hold the weight of the vehicles, or their size, and roads that were more mud than dirt. At that time in the early 20th Century, The Lincoln Highway was a series of roads stitched together by The Lincoln Highway Association and their map into a single route to follow from Times Square in New York to Lincoln Park in San Francisco. Here is a great link to more on that famous trip.

The Interstate Highway Law.

Eisenhower's experiences on that trip left a mark, when as President, on June 29th, 1956 he signed into law The Interstate Highway System. The bill created a 41,000-mile "National System of Interstate and Defense Highways" that would, according to Eisenhower, eliminate unsafe roads, inefficient routes, traffic jams and all of the other things that got in the way of "speedy, safe transcontinental travel."

Bachelor Buttons for emergency repairs

The "Hint's to Tourists on The Lincoln Highway" guide mentions the various items to bring along for the Transcontinental trip. Most of the things are recognizable, like scissor (small), or a camera. Some items are less recognizable for their uses. A Rubber Sheet 6x7, yellow goggles, or "bachelor buttons?"

Bachelor Buttons, in this case, are buttons that use a stud pressed through the fabric and into a top button. They were sold extensively in the late 1800s and early 1900s as emergency buttons. There is a poem, "A Bachelor's Button," which is a lament by a man whose lover never sewed his button on his coat and had to use a bachelor's button to repair it. Haven't been able to find a copy of that poem.

Who invented the "rearview mirror"?

Did you know that rearview mirrors were not on automobiles until 1914, or that Dorothy Levitt, a pioneer of female independence and female motoring, is credited with inventing it, in 1909!

In my last post, we discussed a small manual printed in 1914, by F.M. Trego, Chief Engineer of The Lincoln Highway Association. Titled, "Hints to Transcontinental Tourists Travelling on The Lincoln Highway," the small booklet described the items one might find necessary to bring with them while adventuring in the auto. One such thing to bring was a small mirror.

Page from the 1914 booklet, “Hints to Transcontinental Tourists Travelling on The Lincoln Highway.”

Dorothy Levitt working on her automobile.

In 1909 Dorothy Levitt wrote a booklet titled, "The Woman and the Car: A Chatty Little Handbook for all Women Who Motor or Who Want to Motor. "The booklet was for "those [women] who would like to (motor), but either dare not because of nervousness, or who imagine it is too difficult to understand the many necessary technical details." Photographs illustrating the topics that Levitt describes, including recommended motoring dress, adjusting the footbrake and changing a spark plug.

One of the items she mentions is a mirror. "The mirror should be fairly large to be really useful, and it is better to have one with a handle. Just before starting take the glass out of the little drawer and put it into the little flap pocket of the car. You will find it useful to have handy, not only for personal use, but to occasionally hold up to see what behind you.” Yes, Dorthy Levitt had invented the rearview mirror, five years before it's adoption as a standard part of an auto. That is why Trego mentions bringing a mirror along on your Transcontinental journey.

You can read Levitt’s booklet here, at the National Archives. 

Lincoln Highway Travelers Guide

Pictured here is an excerpt from a small guide that was published in 1914 advising potential Transcontinental Tourists on The Lincoln Highway, of hints and suggestions for making the trip. Here is a page from the little booklet concerning provisions that should be taken along for the journey. I find it fascinating to see what folks had to bring with them before the advent of plastics.

Love the “gauntlet gloves,” which look so cool. How about the specific brand “Ingersoll” watch, and the pair of “yellow” and “white goggles.” Don’t forget a package of “bachelor buttons,” which I assume are not the flowers, but replacement buttons?

The next paragraph recommends what types of food to pack along including, “Slab Best Bacon,” “10 lbs Potatoes”, and of course “surgeons plaster” for sealing those tin cans. As mentioned in the pamphlet, these provisions are to be kept with the car at “…all times, west of Omaha Neb.”

There is more to the book, which I’ll cover in the next issue. This booklet comes to you when you join The Lincoln Highway Association here: Lincoln Highway Association

Click photo for a larger view!

Gold Discovery Centennial Celebration in Coloma, California

Gold Discovery Centennial Celebration in Coloma, California filmed in 16 mm, 1948. Participant filmed vignettes of the 1948 centennial celebration of the discovery of gold. Scenes mostly in Coloma, CA with a couple snippets from Placerville CA. Parade floats, speakers, participants, spectators. Gold panning.

From the California State Archives. https://archive.org/details/caclmmgd_000010

Odd Fellows Lodge, Georgetown

Monica and I had the privilege of visiting the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Lodge, located in Georgetown, California. The Odd Fellows are ubiquitous in the gold country, having been an early fraternal society in the state. The Georgetown Parlor has been meeting in the 1855 IOOF Hall since the 1880’s and their meeting room is like stepping back in time. The lower floor of the building, which is rented out by the lodge, has been used for various events for years. It’s a local landmark that has become a symbol of Georgetown and the surrounding region.

Georgetown Native Son’s of the Golden West, 1800’s, and their banner.

The historical photo above shows the Native Son’s of the Golden West on parade, holding their banner. The Native Son’s (NSGW) have used the IOOF hall as their meeting place since the beginning. The IOOF and NSGW are tied at the hip when it comes to Georgetown’s History and The IOOF Hall.

Native Sons of The Golden West banner from the 1980’s on display.

The NSGW Banner is in need of repair. The fabric is starting to come apart, as seen in the above photo lower left, blue fabric. Costs estimates to bring it back to museum standards is approximately $5000, of which the NSGW and IOOF are lacking at this time. The insurance on the old building just went up, and the difference will have to be made up somewhere. I wonder how we could gather the monies necessary to fix this treasured piece of Georgetown and California History.

Adventures in California History, Lincoln Highway style

The Lincoln Highway in Verdi, at the border with Nevada.

Over the last couple of years, Monica and I have been recording our “Adventures in California History” where we share our love of history and travel. Often, we find ourselves driving on The Lincoln Highway, which often seems close at hand as we trace the old wagon roads and emigrant trails across the Sierra. It turns out The Lincoln Highway was America’s first Transcontinental Highway traveling from Times Square in New York to Lincoln Park in San Francisco. Since this was America’s first cross country highway, started in 1913, it would often take the same routes as the earlier travelers took over the Sierra Summit’s, patching together a road as it went.

Present day Highway 50, and Highway 80 roughly follow the Lincoln Highway over the summits and into Sacramento. California is the only one of 14 states The Lincoln crosses that has two designated routes one could follow. The Pioneer Route of The Lincoln crosses over Donner Pass, while The Highway 50, or “Scenic” route crosses over Johnson’s Pass, near Echo Summit. Both paths eventually came together in Sacramento where the old road continued to San Francisco, via The Altamont Pass.

Trey and Monica at The Palace of the Legion of Honor standing next to the Lincoln Highway Terminus marker.

We love exploring the Lincoln Highway as it takes you off the “beaten path” into a time when auto travel was at a much slower pace, 25 MPH was a typical speed limit. In our neck of the woods, the highway climbs up to some of the most spectacular vistas The State of California can offer. We discover relics from earlier times, as well as artifacts from the time after The Lincoln ended, and became Highway 40 over Donner while becoming Highway 50 where it crosses near Echo Summit.

Monica at Donner Summit and the snowed in Lincoln Highway., May 2019

Join Monica and I as we trace the California sections of The Lincoln Highway at its border with Nevada, all the way to the highway’s terminus at The Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. We will look at the road today as well as it’s history. Much of the fun of traveling The Lincoln is driving sections that take you back to an era of slower travel, when people stopped their car, got out and took in the beauty surrounding them. The trip, not just the destination, was a great adventure. We’ll see if we can recapture a bit of that and perhaps inspire you to hit the Lincoln Highway this year for a great experience.

If you would like to learn a bit more about the history of The Lincoln Highway, check out this 57-minute video by PBS.

Ranger Survey Ship, and sailors 1890

View of four sailors standing on rigging on bow of ship; one man, African American; on back of card, "Stiffler & Morgan, Longmont, Colo."; pencil note, "San Diego, Ranger Survey Ship"; ca. 1890.

Fingal, Riverside County, Sunset Limited train 1898

Here is another on of Mr Thomas Edison’s movie films, this time of The Sunset Llimited Southern Pacific Trains passing through Fingal, now a ghost town that was once a railroad construction site and site of the side track. One train is on a side track while another goes speeding by. We see many people hanging out the doors and windows waving at the camera. Some are in white coats, so it’s assumed they are porters or dinning staff.