National Old Trails Road Association

National Old Trails Road Association The National Old Trails Road Association was an early 20th-century American organization that promoted and helped mark a transcontinental highway stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Founded amid the Good Roads Movement and the rise of automobile travel, the association interacted with figures and institutions such as Benton MacKaye, William Jennings Bryan, Harvey Samuel Firestone, Carl G. Fisher, and municipal authorities in cities like New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Its activities connected with broader campaigns involving the Lincoln Highway Association, the Automobile Club of America, and federal initiatives such as the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916.

History

The association emerged in 1912 during the maturation of the Good Roads Movement and against the backdrop of events like the Progressive Era reforms, the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, and national attention to long-distance routes exemplified by the Lincoln Highway. Prominent contemporaries included the American Automobile Association, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Old Trails Club of America, while national civic leaders such as William H. Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, and Woodrow Wilson shaped infrastructure debates that affected the association's agenda. Early projects were influenced by explorers and promoters including John D. Spreckels, Ansel Adams (photography popularization), and road advocates like Good Roads Association founders and regional boosters in Ohio, Indiana, and Missouri. The association coordinated with state highway departments in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania and interfaced with legislation such as the Federal Highway Act movements and municipal initiatives in Denver and St. Louis.

Route and Alignment

The association promoted a route roughly following portions of earlier trails such as the National Road, the Santa Fe Trail, and the Old Spanish Trail, passing through notable waypoints including Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, Columbus, Ohio, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Springfield, Missouri, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Flagstaff, Arizona, and Los Angeles. It sought alignments that connected with established road projects like the Lincoln Highway, the Dixie Highway, and later the U.S. Route 66 corridor, while overlapping with rail hubs such as the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, and the Southern Pacific Railroad. The route incorporated scenic and historic corridors linked to Pony Express stations, Mormon Trail segments, and landmarks such as the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, and Zuni Pueblo, engaging heritage organizations like the American Antiquarian Society and local chambers of commerce in cities from Philadelphia to San Diego.

Organization and Leadership

Leadership included regional boosters, civic clubs, and named presidents who worked with national figures such as Carl G. Fisher of the Lincoln Highway Association and business leaders from the Packard Motor Car Company and Ford Motor Company. The association collaborated with clubs including the Automobile Club of Southern California, the Chicago Motor Club, and the Indiana State Automobile Association, and sought endorsements from cultural institutions like the Smithsonian Institution and Library of Congress for historical validation of the road’s routing. Local directors often included mayors and businessmen from Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Albuquerque, Phoenix, Arizona, and Sacramento who coordinated with state highway officials and county commissioners in Maricopa County, Coconino County, and Los Angeles County. Fundraising and publicity involved contacts with publishing houses such as Harper & Brothers and newspapers like the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Chicago Tribune.

Promotion and Impact

The association mounted campaigns using map publication, roadside markers, and promotional tours involving automobilists and motor clubs connected to events like the Panama-California Exposition and the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition. It influenced tourism to destinations such as Grand Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, and Yellowstone National Park, and interacted with early federal conservation policies promoted by figures like Gifford Pinchot and John Muir. The association’s marking efforts paralleled corporate promotional tactics used by Harvey S. Firestone and civic boosterism seen in Chamber of Commerce drives, affecting the routing of later numbered highways like U.S. Route 66 and U.S. Route 40. Its publicity tied into cultural phenomena including automobile reliability trials, endurance runs linked to automotive firms like Studebaker Corporation and Packard, and travelogues published by authors in periodicals such as National Geographic Magazine and The Saturday Evening Post.

Decline and Legacy

After the enactment of federal programs including the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 and the establishment of the United States Numbered Highway System in 1926, many of the association’s functions were superseded by state and federal agencies and by associations such as the American Association of State Highway Officials. The rise of standardized numbering with routes like U.S. Route 66 and U.S. Route 40 reduced the need for named trail advocacy, while professional highway engineers educated at institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Cornell University took primary roles. Nevertheless, the association’s work contributed to the preservation and commemoration of segments associated with the Santa Fe Trail, the National Road, and early auto trails; its legacy survives in municipal histories of Los Angeles County, Cuyahoga County, and Maricopa County and in heritage tourism programs run by organizations like the National Trust for Historic Preservation and local Historical societies.

Category:Historic trails in the United States