Old Carbon and Hanna on the Lincoln Highway

Page by Daryl Billings with contributions from Bob Leathers

1913

1913 December, the Lincoln Highway was designated by Wyoming as a transcontinental highway, the first to be so designated in the U.S.

1913: The first transcontinental highway - The Lincoln Highway - was established. The highway followed the Union Pacific Railroad and ran through Old Carbon and later Hanna.

An old racetrack has long since disappeared from the brush where miners used to run horses on Sunday afternoon. A second sport in 1883 was the holding of pigeon-shooting contests. The birds were released into the air after tobacco juice had been squirted into their eyes. The Carbon graveyard, which is still visited on Memorial Day by hundreds of people from all over the entire state to pay tribute, stands isolated from the ruins of the old town. Sunken and unmarked graves suggest the remains of travelers who were found scalped by the Indians. People who wish to be interred near old friends and relatives are still buried at Carbon. Travelers at one time carried away many old markers and souvenirs of the locale when the Lincoln highway passed the town. A leaning fence and a thin line of rusty rails, almost alone, remain to suggest the passing of this phase of western settlement. Coal reigned as king for a day, but circumstances rang down the curtain and left but a trace of the stage and the setting. (UPCCEM, May 1945)

When driving from the east going west the Lincoln Highway passed through Cheyenne. by Lincoln Monument which was at one time the highest elevation of the highway. Highway ran through Cheyenne, by the Ames Monument which was used as a marker, by the Fossil Cabin near Medicine Bow, Medicine Bow, Elmo, Hanna, Fort Steele, Sinclair, Rawlins, Fort Bridger.

More at: The Lincoln Highway in Wyoming

The postcard below reads: Riding the Lincoln Highway in Wyoming.

Lincoln Highway in Wyoming. Daryl Billings. 2023.

1910

The Biggest Hotel in the Littlest Town in the World. Medicine Bow, Wyo.

Postcard. Virginian Hotel. Medicine Bow, Wyoming. 1910. (Provided by Daryl Billings)

July 29, 1910. (To: Mrs. Fritz Miller, Lebanon, Kansas) Here is where we will stay the night. We expected to be in Cheyenne tonight, but instead we are 127 miles away. The roads have been terrible and it has rained most of the time since we left Ogden, but we just drop the curtains and traveled along in a slow way. Want to be at Glady's in Denver Mon. in time for Nol. 40. (Signed Mertle Peebles.)

1912

Lincoln Highway. (Packards of Chicago. Facebook)

In 1912, a Packard truck travelled from New York City to San Francisco in 16 days, carrying a load of three tons. This trip was successful based on the durability of the Packard itself, and the ongoing construction of the first transcontinental highway, the Lincoln Highway (formally dedicated in 1913). This trip was designed to showcase the strength and durability of the Packard vehicles, just in time for the mobilization efforts of World War I. (Packards of Chicago. Facebook)

The car below is a 1908 Maxwell Roadster on the Lincoln Highway in Carbon County.

On the Lincoln Highway. (Gert Milliken Collection from Gary Milliken)

1915

St. Joseph to Frisco. 1915. View from Pikes Peak. Continental Divide. in Wyoming. (Daryl Billings)

The Ames Monument was used for wayfinding on the Lincoln Highway.

Postcard. Ames Monument on Sherman Hill. Elevation 8000 feet. Monument 65 feet. Rocky Mts. 1915. (Daryl Billings)

1922

Aero Filling Station at Fort Steele, Wyoming (Postcard from Daryl Billings)

Fort Fred Steele was commissioned on June 30, 1868 and abandoned on August 7, 1886. When the Fort was abandoned the grounds and buildings were turned over to the locals in hopes the Fort remained a town. In 1922 the Lincoln Highway was realigned to pass through Fort Steele. One of the businesses at Fort Steele was the Aero Filling Station.

1923

Lincoln Highwa in. Wyoming. 1923. (Image from Daryl Bullings)

1926

Fort Steel Gas Station and Motel. (About 1926) (University of Wyoming - American Heritage Center)

Fort Steele on the Lincoln Highway

1927

Postcard. Ames Monument. On the Lincoln Highway. 1927. (Deryl Billings)

1930's

The image below is an interesting postcard photo labeled Steele State Park. On the back is printed Wyoming. It could be the Lincoln Highway in the background. The image shows a 48 star flag, cars and clothing that indicate the image was probably taken in the early 1930's. It is not known what event is going on in the picture, but it could have been a political event or dedication of some sort.

Postcard. Steele State Park. (Daryl Billings)

1937

1937: Images below show the Lincoln Highway passing through Hanna.

1937 July 1. Hanna. Lincoln Highway. (Image from Daryl Billings. 2023)

1937. July 1. Hanna. Lincoln Highway. (Image from Daryl Billings. 2023)

William and Ida Ahola from Hanna traveled the Lincoln Highway. At Saratoga. (Gert Milliken from Gary Milliken)

1939

The Lincoln Highway split with Highway 30 between Medicine Bow, Elmo and Hanna. (Image by Bob Leathers)

A new Union Pacific Coal Company Store was built across from the Hanna school on The Lincoln Highway (Highway 30) in 1939.

Hanna Union Pacific Coal Company Store (Hanna Miner)

The Finn Hall, in 1940, was sitting near the school. In the early years the Hall was use for some school activities. (Jack Hearne Collection)

Como Bluffs Fossil Cabin

Como Bluffs Fossil Cabin was a tourist attraction on the Lincoln Highway (Library of Congress)

Medicine Bow

Sunset Auto Camp at Medicine Bow on the Lincoln Highway.

Sunset Auto Camp. Medicine Bow, Wyoming. Lincoln Highway. Not Dated. (Dodge Photo No. 4 from Daryl Billings)

The Fossil Cabin on the Lincoln Highway was made out of fossil bones.

Medicine Bow, Wyoming - Virginian Hotel on the Lincoln Highway (Image by Bob Leathers, June 22, 2018)

Lincoln Highway marker in front of the Virginian. (Image by Bob Leathers)

Between Medicine Bow, Elmo and Hanna.