Good Roads Everywhere

National Highway Association

Published by National Highway Association, Yarmouth, MA, 1926

About this Item

In the late 1800s, roads were focused on short distances with many directed to feed the railroad stops. The mind of the road-user was centered on the use of the horse. The introduction of the bicycle created a new user focused on the recreational day-trip. The bicyclist was generally a wealthier individual of influence. Recreational use connected central places. The need was immediate to get better quality facilities for use between the towns and villages on the recreational routes. The farmer also benefited from local road improvements. The cyclists had banded together to form the League of American Wheelmen. The local chapters were dedicated to getting better roads for inter-town cycling. They published a magazine called "Good Roads Magazine. By 1895, the magazine had 1,000,000 subscribers. Their influence was considerable. They put the 'good roads movement' on the map. They communicated between chapters quite well. They provided up-to-date road information and directions. They lobbied for legislation to improve local roads. The advent of the automobile created additional demands for improved roads. With Henry Ford introducing a low cost, high-ride chassis car, the need for good roads took on a national aura. The daily urban range of automobile users reorganized the societal concept of travel. The new focus was on connecting towns and bringing the rural populace into the towns from where they had been isolated by distance. The concern for connecting to railroad stops rapidly diminished. The use of federal funds for internal improvement was normalized through land grants to railroads. The concept of federal cash for internal highway improvement was not alien to the populace and their representatives in Washington. The expanding societal consciousness for better road connections was promoted by new associations of interested parties. The National Highway Association(NHA) was founded in 1911 to promote the creation of a national systems of principal roads. They were advocates of four-lane highways covering over 50,000 miles of roads from coast-to-coast and border-to-border. Concurrent with the founding of the NHA, was the founding of numerous groups of like-minded individuals interested in naming and promoting certain long distance highways. The highway associations, such as the Lincoln Highway Association, were successful in getting local participants to link together to provide continuous improved highways. This map shows the proposed national system in context of the contemporary expectations of national government participation. The map was produced concurrently with the introduction of the numbered highway system of the federal improvement plan. The roads were laid out with the population connections in focus. The result is an imbalance of connections in the east and middle west. The west reflects the sparsely settled arid lands. These long distance connections highlighted the importance of good roads. The roadscape of the country was well defined. This beautiful map epitomizes the ideal consensus of many stakeholders. It had a road system as it should be for efficient road travel given the technology of the times. It belongs in a class of promotional materials that moved the country forward into thinking traveling by car was the ideal means of getting between agglomerations of population. It was a window into the future of the interstate highway system commencing in 1956. This is a scarce map of considerable importance. Very good condition having been folded for decades. There is a section of the margin missing in the upper right going to the external neatline. Overall in very good condition. See pics. Seller Inventory # 485

Bibliographic Details

Title: Good Roads Everywhere

Publisher: National Highway Association, Yarmouth, MA

Publication Date: 1926

Binding: 49 1/2 x 34 inches