Historic Lincoln Highway panels installed in Bourbon
Ceremony held Tuesday
Bourbon Town Council President Ward Byers welcomed those who attended a ceremony to dedicate historic panels commemorating the Historic Lincoln Highway as it passes through Bourbon. “The Lincoln Highway, as many of you know, is the longest and first monument dedicated to our 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln.”
Byers continued, “That monument still stands today. A roadway that traverses the United States from coast to coast. The very first paved roadway that opened up commerce and travel in this country.” He noted that the highway improved the economies of Bourbon and other small towns with opportunities for retail, restaurants, hotels and gas stations with increased visitors seeking entertainment, leisure and lodging.
The panels were installed to remember and honor the history of the highway and the impact it had on Bourbon.
Kurt Garner connected the town with representatives from the Lincoln Highway Association over a year ago. “It’s hard for us to conceive that Marshall County was at the heart of this important crossroads so many years ago. We still are. The idea is how do we celebrate that history but then also build on our future? I think that this goes a long way to help point us in the right direction. I think it’s an under
“The traffic last Sunday and Monday was the heaviest that ever passed through Bourbon. Federal Road 30 was as if an endless funeral procession was passing and car after car, up into the thousands passed and reposed on their way to their homes after the Labor Day holiday. The intersection of Main and center streets [where you are standing reading this] was a sight worth seeing as the hundreds and hundreds of cars passed all day and at night. Since the transfer of much of the Lincoln Highway has taken place to this road the traffic has constantly grown until it is one of the busiest thoroughfares in this part of the state. There are cars from almost all over the world passing through. Last week a car from the Hawaiian Islands came by, stopped for repairs at one of the garages, and then went on its way. From Maine to California, from Canada to the Gulf there are cars passing as ships in the night.” — Taken from a newspaper story from the Bourbon News Mirror on September 6, 1928 included on the panel.
“The Lincoln Highway is extremely important. It’s something that we need to commemorate, we need to remember and we need to honor.” — Ward Byers, President of Bourbon Town Council
standing of our roots that allows us to move ahead and think of it still as economic development.”
Jeff Blair of the Lincoln Highway Association noted that Bourbon was the smallest town that the commemorative panels have been installed.
Byers stated, “These will stand for years to come as a historical location for the Lincoln Highway. We do hope that many folks stop and read those and enjoy the beauty of these panels.”