A plan for the highway was conceived in 1912, largely to promote automobile sales and use. The highway, dedicated to fallen president Abraham Lincoln, was planned by the "Lincoln Highway Association" (LHA) which formed in Detroit on July 1, 1913. On September 14 of that same year the Association formally proclaimed a 3,389-mile route that would pass through 12 states from New York City to San Francisco. Much of the original route is now designated as US Highway 30.
A great deal of additional Lincoln Highway information can be found on the internet. Start your journey with the Lincoln Highway Association. Also, check out my Lincoln Highway Bug and Lincoln Highway and Bridge - Tama cache if you like.
Along the route there were/are many directional markers to guide travelers and many landmark structures built to shelter and service the motoring public. This mission of this locationless cache is to find and record as many of these markers and landmarks as possible.
What do the old highway markers look like? Check out a couple of the photos I posted here. The concrete marker in my photo is at the published coordinates in front of the new Tama Public Library in Tama, Iowa. The marker has been re-located here as the library is about one-block off the original route of the LH in Tama. The red, white and blue painted marker in my photo is on a wood electric pole just down the street from the library. It is on the original route indicating a right turn at the intersection where it stands.