The system of auto trails was an informal network of marked routes that existed in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
in the early part of the 20th century. Marked with colored bands on
utility pole
A utility pole is a column or post typically made out of wood used to support overhead power lines and various other public utilities, such as electrical cable, optical fiber, fiber optic cable, and related equipment such as Distribution transfor ...
s, the trails were intended to help travellers in the early days of the
automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...
.
Auto trails were usually marked and sometimes maintained by organizations of private individuals. Some, such as the
Lincoln Highway
The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 1913 ...
, maintained by the Lincoln Highway Association, were well-known and well-organized, while others were the work of fly-by-night promoters, to the point that anyone with enough paint and the will to do so could set up a trail. Trails were not usually linked to road improvements, although counties and
states often prioritized road improvements because they were on trails.
In the mid-to-late 1920s, the auto trails were essentially replaced with the
United States Numbered Highway System. The Canadian provinces had also begun implementing similar numbering schemes.
List of auto trails
See also
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List of historic auto trails in Iowa
Prior to the primary highway system which exists in the U.S. state of Iowa today, signed highway routes known as auto trails were registered with the Iowa State Highway Commission. Organizations, such as the Lincoln Highway Association, volunte ...
*
List of U.S. Routes
United States Numbered Highways are components of a national system of highways that is administered by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the various state departments of transportation. These U. ...
*
U.S. Highway association
U.S. Highway associations were organizations to promote business and tourism along specific highways. The earliest ones also worked on interconnecting various state highways to create longer, multi-state highways. Since 1990, new associations h ...
References
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External links
North American Auto Trails*Richard F. Weingroff