Meridian Highway U.S. 81 Throughout

The Main Street of North America

“America’s first fully completed North and South Highway…extends from the Heart of Canada to the Heart of Mexico. Gravel road from Winnipeg, Canada to Newton, Kansas, paved from Newton to Laredo, Texas, the entire distance is marked uniformly U.S. 81”

This striking flyer was issued by the Epstein Lithograph Company of Omaha, Nebraska to promote U.S. Highway 81. The Meridian Highway (named because it largely followed the Sixth Principal Meridian) was organized in 1912, but the introduction of the U.S. Numbered Highway System in 1926 saw minor route changes and a rebranding. The path from Winnipeg to Monterrey can be followed along a narrow strip map on the left side of the sheet, while the right presents the scenic beauty, monumental architecture, and agricultural bounty available along the way. Text at the bottom of the page references a list of Chambers of Commerce on the verso, but it remains blank.