Good Roads Movement

The Good Roads Movement occurred in the United States between the late 1870s and the 1920s. It was the rural dimension of the Progressive movement. A key player was the United States Post Office Department. Once a commitment was made for Rural Free Delivery of the mail, the Post Office had to determine which local roads were suitable and which were not. Farmers living on officially unusable roads now had motivation to get them upgraded.[1] Advocates for improved roads turned local agitation into a national political movement. It started as a coalition between farmers' organizations groups and bicyclists' organizations, such as the League of American Wheelmen. The goal was state and federal spending to improve rural roads. By 1910, automobile lobbies such as the American Automobile Association joined the campaign, coordinated by the National Good Roads Association.

Good Roads Building at the Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition of 1909

Outside cities, roads were dirt or gravel; mud in the winter and dust in the summer. Travel was slow and expensive. Early organizers cited Europe where road construction and maintenance was supported by national and local governments. In its early years, the main goal of the movement was education for road building in rural areas between cities and to help rural populations gain the social and economic benefits enjoyed by cities where citizens benefited from railroads, trolleys and paved streets. Even more than traditional vehicles, the newly invented bicycles could benefit from good country roads.

History

Good Roads magazine was an early advocate for road improvements.

The Good Roads Movement was officially founded in May 1880, when bicycle enthusiasts, riding clubs and manufacturers met in Newport, Rhode Island, to form the League of American Wheelmen to support the burgeoning use of bicycles and to protect their interests from legislative discrimination. The League quickly went national and in 1892 began publishing Good Roads magazine. In three years circulation reached one million. Early movement advocates enlisted the help of journalists, farmers, politicians and engineers in the project of improving the nation's roadways, but the movement took off when it was adopted by bicyclists.

Groups across the country held road conventions and public demonstrations, published material on the benefits of good roads and endeavoured to influence legislators on local, state and national levels. Support for candidates often became crucial factors in elections. Not only advocating road improvements for bicyclists, the League pressed the idea to farmers and rural communities, publishing literature such as the famous pamphlet, The Gospel of Good Roads.[2]

New Jersey became the first state to pass a law providing for a state to participate in road-building projects. In 1893, the U.S. Department of Agriculture initiated a systematic evaluation of existing highway systems. In that same year, Charles Duryea produced the first American gasoline-powered vehicle, and Rural Free Delivery began. By June 1894, "Many of the railway companies [had] made concessions in transporting road materials ranging from half rates to free carriage."[3]

20th century

Advocacy efforts frequently focused on farmers' plight — Illinois, 1903

At the turn of the twentieth century, interest in the bicycle began to wane in the face of increasing interest in automobiles. Subsequently, other groups took the lead in the road lobby. As the automobile was developed and gained momentum, organizations developed such cross-county projects as the coast-to-coast east–west Lincoln Highway in 1913, headed by auto parts and auto racing magnate Carl G. Fisher, and later his north–south Dixie Highway in 1915, which extended from Canada to Miami, Florida.

An AAA Good Roads official passes the only road sign on his transcontinental auto trip — Glendive, Montana, 1912

1904 editorial cartoon by E. A. Bushnell, urging that funds be appropriated for the goals of the Good Roads Movement

The movement gained national prominence when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 on July 11, 1916. In that year, the Buffalo Steam Roller Company of Buffalo, New York, and the Kelly-Springfield Company of Springfield, Ohio, merged to form the Buffalo-Springfield Company, which became the leader in the American compaction industry. Buffalo-Springfield enabled America to embark on a truly national highway construction campaign that continued into the 1920s.

Horatio Earle is known as the "Father of Good Roads". Quoting from Earle's 1929 autobiography: "I often hear now-a-days, the automobile instigated good roads; that the automobile is the parent of good roads. Well, the truth is, the bicycle is the father of the good roads movement in this country." "The League fought for the privilege of building bicycle paths along the side of public highways." "The League fought for equal privileges with horse-drawn vehicles. All these battles were won and the bicyclist was accorded equal rights with other users of highways and streets."

State Good Roads associations

The 1920 Directory of American Agricultural Organizations [4] lists the following state organizations as being affiliated with the Good Roads Movement:

Alabama Good Roads Association
Arizona Good Roads Association
Central Florida Highway Association
Good Roads Association of Wisconsin
Illinois Association for Highway Improvement
Kansas Good Roads Association
Massachusetts Highway Association
Michigan Pikes Association
Michigan State Good Roads Association
Montana Good Roads Congress
Montana Highway Improvement Association
Nebraska Good Roads Association
Nevada Highway Association
New Hampshire Good Roads Association
New York Road Association
North Carolina Good Roads Association
Ohio Good Roads Federation
Southeastern Idaho Good Roads Association
Virginia Good Roads Association
Washington State Good Roads Association
Wilmington-Charlotte-Asheville Highway Association
Wisconsin Highway Commissioners' Association
Wyoming Good Roads Association

References

Wayne E. Fuller, "Good Roads and Rural Free Delivery of Mail< " Mississippi Valley Historical Review (1955) 42#1 pp 67-83. online
The Gospel of Good Roads
The Good Roads Crusade Cayuga Chief - Jun 2, 1894
Directory of American Agricultural Organizations

External links

The Great Bicycle Protest of 1896
Oklahoma Historical Society - Good Roads Association
Weingroff, Richard F. (April 7, 2011). "A Maximum of Good Results: Martin Dodge and the Good Roads Train". Highway History. Federal Highway Administration.

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[1] Wayne E. Fuller, "Good Roads and Rural Free Delivery of Mail< " Mississippi Valley Historical Review (1955) 42#1 pp 67-83. online

[2] The Gospel of Good Roads

[3] The Good Roads Crusade Cayuga Chief - Jun 2, 1894

[4] Directory of American Agricultural Organizations

Good Roads Movement

History

20th century

State Good Roads associations

See also

References

Further reading

Scholarly studies

Advocacy in Good Roads magazine c. 1890–1920

Advocacy in popular national periodicals c. 1880–1920 (examples)

Advocacy in books and pamphlets c. 1880–1920 (examples)

External links