Ohio Lincoln Highway Historic Byway
The Ohio Lincoln Highway "History Primer Tour"

Departure: Point of Beginning Survey Marker, Ohio
Destination: Downtown Van Wert, Ohio
Time to allow: 2 days

Traveling from east to west, you will see into the past, witnessing actual remnants of the early highway, and also have a chance to experience memorabilia and see ephemera that has been carefully preserved to tell Ohio's unique history of how motor transportation, and specifically the Lincoln Highway, was the precursor to the interstate roads we have today.

A detailed set of specific directions and maps are available online at: www.lincolnhighwayoh.com/articles.html courtesy of Michael G. Buettner from his book, A History and Road Guide of the Lincoln Highway in Ohio.

Day 1

  • Start: Point of Beginning Survey Marker

    Suggested time at this stop: 30 minutes

    Stop one; (approx. 8 a.m.); leave Chester, West Virginia, and travel on WV S.R. 2 to cross the Newell Bridge. There is a $.50 toll at the East Liverpool side. (This bridge was used temporarily as the Lincoln Highway route between the dismantling of the Chester Bridge and the building of the four-lane Jennings-Randolph bridge.) If the weather permits, travel this with windows down and the radio off...this steel-grate bridge lends a feel for what crossing a great body of water in the early 1900s must have been like. Backtrack to the earlier alignment of the Lincoln Highway (now S.R. 39) and proceed northeast to the Pennsylvania state line to see the Point of Beginning Survey marker, on the right.

  • Stop 2: Lisbon Old Stone House

    From previous stop: 20 minutes / 18 mi (28.8 km)
    Directions:

    Proceed westward from East Liverpool on the Lincoln Highway to downtown Lisbon.
    Suggested time at this stop: 1 hour

    Built in 1805, Lisbon (Historical Society) Old Stone House is one of the earliest Ohio dwellings.

  • Stop 3: Hanoverton "Heights"

    From previous stop: 12 minutes / 10 mi (16.0 km)
    Directions:

    Continue west on the Lincoln Highway to Hanoverton, noting that the curvy road gradually transforms to a straighter, more "western" style road -- the first sections of road to follow section lines in a straight path.
    Suggested time at this stop: 30 minutes

    Departing the highway you can stop at Hanoverton by turning right onto Plymouth Street. Visit the restored 1837 Spread Eagle Tavern and Inn at the top of the hill. Along with a cluster of ten national historic trust buildings adjacent to the tavern and other Federalist style homes making up "Brick Row", this area was built by the nouveau riche of the canal days of the 1840's. One home here was built specifically to hide escaping slaves on the underground railroad.

  • Stop 4: Baywood and Cindell Streets

    From previous stop: 15 minutes / 10 mi (16.0 km)
    Directions:

    Proceed along the Highway to Minerva, noting the remnants of the Sandy and Beaver canal paralleling the road and passing through the once canal towns of Kensington and East Rochester. Rochester.
    Suggested time at this stop: 15 minutes

    Upon entering Minerva notice the old restored gas station which was actually built even before the transcontinental route was established. The station became a control station at the corner of Market Street and Lincoln Way. Continuing onward several miles west of Minerva, turn left onto one of the most amazing remnants of the highway, now named Baywood Street, and bypassed in the 30s. This country road is a fine example of a brick paved street, and still in good condition.

  • Stop 5: Downtown Canton

    From previous stop: 30 minutes / 22 mi (35.2 km)
    Directions:

    Follow Baywood into the town of Robertsville and rejoin current US Route 30 into East Canton. Pass an original 1928 concrete Lincoln Highway marker post on your left at Nassau Street (one of three remaining in Ohio).
    Suggested time at this stop: 3 hours

    You've traveled into Canton and are now on Tuscarawas Avenue, once Ohio's most bustling metropolitan stretch along the Lincoln Highway. You will pass by the Landmark Building two blocks east of Market Street, on the national register of historic places, once a roadhouse on the road that would become the Lincoln Highway...almost 80 years later. Once at Market Street, stop at the Canton Classic Car Museum, where a great collection of cars and petroliana, Lincoln Highway memorabilia, and other auto-related fun will entertain you. After seeing this, if you are really a car buff, you may want to walk across the street and into the lower level of the McKinley Grand Hotel to Motorcar Portfolio to purchase a Lincoln Highway era restored car.

    The National First Ladies Library across the street from the McKinley Grand Hotel is an afternoon must-see with guided tours Tuesday through Saturday and Sunday, during the summer.

  • Navigation: Dalton and Wooster

    From previous stop: 40 minutes / 35 mi (56.0 km)
    Directions:

    Travel west on Tuscarawas Avenue, which becomes marked Lincoln Way, and look for the Lincoln Highway signs, era buildings and "Lincoln" names through Perry Heights, Massillon, and on to Dalton.

    Dalton is one of the Lincoln Highway's finest examples of a "Main Street of America" with its tree-lined streets. At the center of town is the origin of the Sippo Valley Trail. Rejoin the Lincoln Highway's earliest "Bypass" around Dalton west of town, and travel through Wooster.

  • Stop 6: Dinner at Oak Park Tavern

    From previous stop: 35 minutes / 25 mi (40.0 km)
    Directions:

    There are two routes to take west of Wooster. Take the old Lincoln Way through Reedsburg and Jeromesville (road now marked C.R. 30A), across the four-lane US 30, and through Hayesville and Mifflin.
    Suggested time at this stop: 1 hour 30 minutes

    After enjoying the countryside of rural rolling hills and small towns (and possibly the closest in appearance to how traveling along the highway looked in 1928), entering Mifflin, notice the second original marker post on the left at Alaska Street. Proceed out of town past Charles Mill Lake and State Park. On your right, up ahead, lies dinner. The Oak Park Tavern was an original gas stop on the Lincoln Highway and is a small, charming surprise for a relaxing dinner.

  • Stop 7: Mansfield

    From previous stop: 20 minutes / 9 mi (14.4 km)
    Directions:

    Travel westward on S.R. 430 into downtown Mansfield.
    Suggested time at this stop: 3 hours

    Mansfield has many attractions including the Renaissance Theater, attached to the Holiday Inn; Mr. T's Coffee Shop, a diner from the 50s; and the defunct Reed's Department Store building, once a grand department store of the area. There is also a replica Lincoln Highway "Boy Scout" marker on the lawn at the Square, as well as a monument to Abraham Lincoln.

    Walking north two blocks along North Main Street is a trip back in time as the Richland Carousel Park opens its doors mid-morning with 52 hand-carved horses and other animals. Children of all ages can enjoy this "turn of the century" entertainment.

    At 1:00 pm, back on Park Avenue, the amazing "old" Mansfield Museum opens for your exploration. Opened in 1889, closed in the 50s, re-opened in 1999, and showcasing the same items in the same "Victorian" style, you will find many botanical, taxidermy, and veteran-related items among the collection.

  • Navigation: Crestline to Bucyrus

    From previous stop: 22 minutes / 18 mi (28.8 km)
    Directions:

    Proceed on West Fourth Street (Lincoln Highway) into Crestline. Head west through Crestline, stopping briefly three blocks west of the center of town to note two unusual brick pillars honoring Lincoln Highway officials at Clink Boulevard. Proceed through Leesville to Bucyrus.

  • Stop 8: Bucyrus Hopley Monument

    From previous stop: 25 minutes / 16 mi (25.6 km)
    Directions:

    Proceed through Leesville, noting the J and M Trading Post on the left, a National Register building of 1840 that houses an antique shop; on the right at the intersection of S.R. 598 is the replica post rededicated in 2004. Continue on to Bucyrus on the Lincoln Highway.
    Suggested time at this stop: 20 minutes

    The Hopley Monument is a significant Lincoln Highway monument created from stones from the world over and dedicated to local John Hopley, first Ohio Consul to the Lincoln Highway. Also, the traveler may wish to drive to the center of town at Washington Square to observe the tromploy-style mural depicting Bucyrus' history.

  • Stop 9: Delphos, Miami, and Erie Canal

    From previous stop: 1 hour 15 minutes / 60 mi (96.0 km)
    Directions:

    Travel west through Upper Sandusky, being sure to catch a glimpse of the great Second Empire style Wyandot County Courthouse. Proceed along US Route 30 noting the long-abandoned Bon-Air Motel with its neon sign on the right, just west of Williamstown. Stay on the old Lincoln Way through New Stark, Beaverdam, Cairo, and Gomer. Past Gomer one mile, you'll drive over what Lake Erie once covered.
    Suggested time at this stop: 30 minutes

    In Delphos, turn north on 3rd Street, then west. Here you can see the remnants of the Miami and Erie Canal. Delphos also has a unique Postal Museum. It is at 131 North Main Street.

  • End: Downtown Van Wert

    From previous stop: 120 mi (192.0 km)
    Directions:

    Travel west on the Lincoln Highway to Van Wert.
    Suggested time at this stop: 3 hours

    The grand, Second Empire style Van Wert Courthouse is the first of the city's attractions you will come upon. Across the street is the Marsh Hotel, once a Lincoln Highway Control Station and a warm welcome to travelers. (It is now open for various activities on a reservations basis). Next to the courthouse a lunch or dinner of fried chicken and steamy pie awaits you: Balyeat's Coffee Shop has been in business since 1924. Afterwards you may want to walk west along Main Street and see the Brumback Library, the first county library in Ohio.

Totals for Day 1

Total Distance Traveled: 343 miles / 548.8 km
Total Travel Time: 4 hours 54 minutes
Total Stopping Time: 13 hours 35 minutes