In Search of . . . CONCRETE POSTS
Of the nearly 3000 concrete posts that were set by the Boy Scouts in September 1928, and of the 241 that were set in Ohio, it appears that only three posts survive at or near their original positions. From east to west, these posts are located as follows:
Post 62----On the south side of Nassau Street, one-half block west of the Cedar Street intersection, in East Canton
Post 94----On the south side of Old Lincoln Way, 100 yards west of the Kidron Road intersection, in Wayne County
Post 127--On the south side of Maine Street, just west of the junction with State Route 603, in Mifflin
Thankfully, Gael Hoag (Field Secretary of the Lincoln Highway Association) made field notes of where these posts were to be set; thus, the researchers/historians of today have some idea where to look. Russell Rein of Ypsilanti, Michigan, a modern-day member of the Lincoln Highway Association, has compiled Hoag's notes in booklet form for each state, and by his latest count, 2435 posts were set. Here is a sampling of what Hoag's field notes looked like for the three posts above (the notes of two "adjacent" posts have also been shown for clarity of the subject descriptions):
Post 62----RP 50 yds. W. of Cedar & Nassau
Post 93----RP 100 yds. E. of fork of road 1/4 mile W. of RRX
Post 94----LP 100 yds. W. of same point opposite Leo Gault's
Post 126--DP No. side, 75 yds. E. of main intersection, Mifflin
Post 127--DP So. side, 75 yds. W. of same intersection
Note that the "post numbers" which have been shown here did not actually appear in the field notes; however, the DP, LP, and RP abbreviations did appear. These abbreviations indicated whether the post was to be a "Double Post," a "Left Post," or a "Right Post," relative to the driving movements implied by the arrows on each post. The "Double Post" had arrows on both sides which implied a straight-ahead movement for both westbound and eastbound traffic. The "Left Post" and "Right Post" each had single arrows which implied a turning movement for the traffic that the arrows faced (see below).
Thanks to Richard Taylor, a local resident and member of the Mid-Ohio Chapter of the Lincoln Highway Association, a wooden mold has been constructed which will be used to cast new concrete posts for strategic placement along the route. In April 1996, the first replica version of this concrete post was placed in the median of Park Avenue in Mansfield's Central Park. A second post was set in August 1996 in front of the Stark County Court House in Canton. The third replica was set on September 1, 1997, in Delphos, at the east bank of the Miami and Erie Canal.
Along with the 241 posts set mostly in the rural areas of Ohio, there were also 81 signs posted in the downtown areas of the larger cities and towns in the state. None of these signs remain in place today, and it is not known whether any have ever been saved, as museum pieces or otherwise.
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