How did highways come about – especially the Dixie Bee Line Highway coming through Springfield?
Back in the 1800s, the government took little interest in our interstate roads. Most travel was done by railroad. Trails began to take on names back in the 1800s. No highway numbers back then like now.
Colorful names were given roads and boosters promoted the routes and collected dues from businesses and towns along the way. Trail guides were published because there were no road maps then. The purposes of the boosters were to promote travel on certain trails to help the economy for the businesses and cities.
By 1920, the trail associations had named over 250 routes. Names came into existence such as the Dixie Overland Highway, the Lee Highway, the Old Spanish Trail and the Yellowstone Trail. Shorter routes began to be named such as the Mohawk Trail and the Three C Highway (Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio)…