The History of the Lincoln Highway

This event does not require registration.

Explore the history of DeKalb’s most famous road! The Lincoln Highway is a fascinating highway with a great story. Retired history teacher and docent Karl Bruhn will share stories and images of its history, from its inception to its final mile.

While Route 66 tends to receive more publicity, The Lincoln Highway was the first transcontinental U.S. highway designed for automobiles. It crosses our great nation from coast to coast, New York City to San Francisco, even pre-dating the Golden Gate Bridge. This “Main Street Across America” brought prosperity and recognition to many towns and villages along its route, including our own.

Karl Bruhn is a retired history and English teacher living in Batavia. Since retirement, he has been a docent for the Chicago Architecture Center, leading walking tours in The Loop. He also serves as a docent at the Fabyan Villa in Geneva. He has lived in Batavia (just two blocks “off” The Lincoln Highway) for 42 years. His connection to the Lincoln Highway stretches back to its very first “seedling mile”, which was built just two months before his mother was born in DeKalb.

This program is free and open to all ages. There will be time for questions after the initial 60-minute presentation.

This program is part of the America 250 initiative, celebrating our nation throughout the year.

For additional information, please contact Chelsea at [email protected] or at (815) 756-9568 ext. 1700.