100Th Anniversary Series, Part I, Trunk Line Road System
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10 0 th Anniversary Series Part I The Trunk Line Road System By James Garvin, New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources Early “good roads” leaders PHOTO: A road construction mong the most powerful propo- Founded in 1880, the League of American (circa 1910) crew pause in A nents of good roads in the late 1800s was Wheelmen began to publish Good Roads their work along what eventu- ally became the Daniel Web- the League of American Wheelmen, a magazine in 1892. The League’s “Good ster Highway (Route 3), one of national fraternity of bicyclists who lob- Roads Campaign” was led by Colonel three north-south “trunk lines” bied hard and successfully for better high- Albert A. Pope of Boston, the manufactur- identified by the New Hamp- ways. Bicycling had become a national er of the popular Columbia bicycle and shire legislature in 1909 for upgrade and construction. craze in the 1890s as the low-wheeled, the benefactor of a course in highway New Hampshire Historical Society chain-driven “safety” bicycle supplanted engineering at the Massachusetts Institute the high-wheeled “standard” machine. of Technology. Pope’s writings on The safety bicycle was quickly adapted for improved highways were widely excerpt- women riders wearing long skirts, and ed in New Hampshire newspapers during cycling, formerly limited to athletic men, the 1890s. became a universal pastime. Frank West Rollins, an indefatigable Cycling was impossible on rutted, bony proponent of conservation and tourism in roads or on highways that were mires of New Hampshire who would become gov- mud during wet seasons. Cyclists needed ernor in 1899, was one of the state’s lead- hard-surfaced roads to enjoy their pas- ing advocates for better roads. Writing in time. It happened that such roads served The New England Magazine in 1897, Rollins the broader needs of the nation, all the envisioned a state-built boulevard extend- more as the automobile and motor truck ing from the Massachusetts border began to account for an increasing pro- through Franconia Notch, possibly with portion of highway traffic. branches returning south through the Connecticut River valley or easterly through Crawford Notch and along the Saco River into Maine. New Hampshire Highways —JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2004 25 TRUNK LINE ROADS (continued) “We might have the cooperation Visionary legislative action Lobbying for three key of Maine and Vermont in this In 1903, the state legislature passed trunk lines undertaking,” Rollins wrote, “and two new laws that radically changed In 1903, Governor Nahum Bachelder we might build a magnificent and the role of state government in appointed John W. Storrs – then comprehensive system of boule- relation to how New Hampshire’s employed as an engineer by the vards, with a definite aim and pur- highways were constructed and Boston and Maine Railroad – as the pose, which would appeal to every maintained. highway engineer for Coos, Carroll, lover of nature and outdoor life. I True to Rollins’ vision, which he and Grafton Counties. Storrs imme- would have this boulevard built in had recommended for action only diately took up Frank West Rollins’ the most approved and enduring six years before, this new legislation vision of north-south “boulevards” manner, with a bicycle path at one made the following appointments leading from the Massachusetts side for the wheelmen.” and initiatives a reality in New border to the White Mountains. Envisioning tourism... and Hampshire: Between 1903 and 1905, Storrs the 20th century highway • The appointment of the state’s first worked to persuade a skeptical gov- highway engineer ernor and council of the need for In an age when the state’s old net- • The creation of the first statewide three key roads to run north along work of taverns had withered away highway survey the Connecticut, Merrimack, and with the impact of the railroad, • The designation of certain roads as Saco River valleys, converging near Frank West Rollins saw the need for state highways Mount Washington. roadside accommodations offering • The preparation for the introduc- food, shelter, and maintenance. New Hampshire’s first tion of another bill, to be consid- At suitable intervals, I would have highway “survey” ered in the next legislative session, picturesque and well-kept tav- that would detail the methods by The legislation passed in 1903 also erns, a treat to the eye as well as which the state would construct called for a survey of highway con- a comfort to the inner man. Con- roads in its own right and in part- ditions in New Hampshire. For this nected with each tavern there nership with towns. task, Governor Bachelder chose would be a bicycle repair shop and a blacksmith’s shop – the two could be combined. At every crossroad or branch road should be a guidepost, not only telling where the road leads to and the distances, but indicating the near- ness of any place of interest. — Frank West Rollins, 1897 Even before the advent of the automobile, Rollins had anticipated the essential needs of the twentieth- century highway. To realize this vision, Rollins rec- ommended the creation of a state road commission like one that had already been established in Massa- chusetts. He foresaw the state’s employment of a chief highway engineer, with assistants in each county who would not only main- tain state roads but also train local road agents. He recommended that state government undertake con- struction of these “boulevards” on the model he described. Shown here in 1890 on Long Pond Road in Concord, Will Virgin (left) and Fred Johnson show off their new Columbia “Light Roadster Safety” bicycles. This revolutionary bicycle weighed 56 pounds, had solid tires, and cost $135. New Hampshire Historical Society 26 New Hampshire Highways —JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2004 NHGRA 100th Anniversary Series Part I Arthur W. Dean, a former city engi- Many “motion picture” cameramen neer of Nashua. recorded this event, and New Hamp- Dean compiled the first highway shire – as well as the automobile – map of New Hampshire, assessed gained significant national expo- highway conditions throughout the sure. state, studied and reported upon The following year, the Boston highway agencies and legislation automobile enthusiast Charles J. that already existed in other states, Glidden instituted the first “Glidden and recommended passage of a law Tour” for the American Automobile that would extend state highway aid Association, which was created to New Hampshire towns. Then, as that same year. Among its many now, a few “facts and figures” made stops and options, the “Glidden a difference. Tour” included a climb of Mount In 1905, Dean’s report secured Washington, in an automobile, in passage of New Hampshire’s first its itinerary. state-aid highway law. The proprietors of several grand This legislation made the follow- Frank West Rollins, a strong advocate for hotels in the White Mountains also ing initiatives and associated respon- conservation and tourism in New Hampshire made a special effort to attract the sibilities a reality: become governor in 1899, and was one of gatherings and “conventions” of the the state’s leading advocates for better roads. • Towns would be required to make growing community of “motorists.” New Hampshire Historical Society annual appropriations for perma- Among these visionary New Hamp- nent highway improvements, These first trunk line highways shire hotel operators were John based on their assessed valuation. evolved into the Dartmouth College Anderson and John D. Price of Bret- • Towns would be empowered to Highway (Route 10) in the west, the ton Woods, founders of the world- raise additional highway funds, to Daniel Webster Highway (Route 3) famous automobile races at Ormond be used as a “match” for state in the middle of the state, and Beach in Daytona, Florida. Interest- funding. Routes 1A and 16 in the east. ingly, in 1904, John Anderson went • The state would appropriate funds The newly created “highway on record in the press favoring a to match town appropriations, in department” completed improve- New Hampshire law that would order to maintain designated ments on these roads by 1915, and establish speed limits for “automo- “state highways.” thereupon designated a series of biles,” as well as fines for violators. • The clear designation of certain east-west trunk line roads to link the Creating the demand for roads as “state highways.” north-south routes. Another law “good roads” • The creation of a new state posi- (passed in 1915) required that all Throughout the opening decades of tion: New Hampshire Highway bridges built on these trunk lines the new century, New Hampshire engineer. and cross-state highways have a state government worked continu- • The provision of “consulting capacity of at least ten tons. services,” to be provided by the ously to promote tourism that state highway engineer and his The horseless carriage involved the automobile. This effort staff, to any town requesting these When New Hampshire legislators grew significantly in focus (and services. passed state-aid highway legislation expense) during the 1920s and in 1905, they were aware of the vast 1930s. Establishing New change in transportation foretold by As early as 1907, New Hampshire Hampshire’s trunk line F. O. Stanley’s ascent of Mount Farms for Summer Homes magazine highways Washington by an automobile in (one of the early state-funded publi- In 1905, Governor John McLane 1899. New Hampshire was rapidly cations that promoted New Hamp- appointed Arthur W. Dean the first becoming a proving ground for the shire tourism) was featuring “entic- state highway engineer. entire nation about a new mode of ing mountain views as seen from the Under Dean’s leadership, the leg- transportation: the automobile. automobile.” islature adopted plans (in 1909) to In 1904, the first “Climb to the Another early automobile enthu- create three key north-south routes, Clouds” event brought a host of siast (from New Jersey!), W.