Abraham Lincoln Memorial Bridge Crossing the Missouri River at Blair on the Lincoln Highway Cutoff…

Go through Blair to everywhere!

This interesting road map of Nebraska and the surrounding states was created in 1929 by Rand McNally and issued on behalf of a consortium of civic organizations, including the Fremont Chamber of Commerce, Greater Missouri Valley Association, Blair Chamber of Commerce, and Arlington Commercial Club. Each group represented members who stood to benefit economically from the soon-to-be-completed Abraham Lincoln Memorial Bridge, which allowed the Lincoln Highway to cross the Missouri River at Blair, Nebraska.

The creatively designed image highlights the primary automobile routes across a broad region bordered approximately by Detroit, Oklahoma City, Denver, and Minneapolis. Though a variety of competing crossings exist, Blair is strategically positioned in the center of the sheet. Furthermore, the labels of surrounding communities like Fremont and Missouri Valley give the impression that they are of equal importance to state capitals. The verso offers a larger-scale road map of Blair and vicinity, numerous photographs of ‘The King Corn Country’, and a touched-up view of the ‘completed’ bridge.

According to the Library of Congress; “The result of years of agitating, maneuvering and planning, the Abraham Lincoln Bridge is significant as a regionally important crossing of the Missouri River – the first such privately funded structure built between Nebraska and Iowa during the toll bridge boom in the 1920s.”

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