T R A N S C O N T I N E N TA L TRAILS OF THE
UNITED STATES SHOWING BEST ROADS • ROAD DISTANCES • PRINCIPAL CITIES Signs like DOH, OST, MH and BH were nailed to posts along trails to guide early travelers coast to coast.
Old Spanish Trail 1914
Dixie Overland Highway 1914
Meridian Highway 1914
Bankhead Highway 1914
In 1926, before numbered highways, there were National Trails and other posted roads. Trails had official pole markings posted along the routes, such as Dixie-Overland Highways (DOH), now US 80 and I-20. In recent years, historic US highways in several states have been designated state highways, influenced by the speed oriented interstates. On US 80 for example, in historic Van Horn, where the route comes off I-20, the famous Main Street has been designated as part of a Business I-20 loop. US 80 from Dallas to Ft. Worth Texas is now Texas 180. US 75 (I-45) from Dallas to Houston is now Texas 75. US 67 and US 90 are still pretty much intact. Route 66 architect Tom Snyder observed that traveling was more important than the destination, being on the road was more interesting than arriving: that the road is a destination in itself.
96
171