Uncovering the Northernmost Named Trail: The Theodore Roosevelt International Highway¹

When the United States entered the twentieth century, its transportation system was confined largely to waterways and railroads. Roads, where they existed at all, were in most instances quite primitive. Often, especially in the West, they consisted of dust, or worse, mud. The automobile developed rapidly and brought a demand for roads that were adequate to bring out the potential of this marvelous machine. The first attempt at a transcontinental route came as the Lincoln Highway in 1913. The intent, never fully realized until the Interstate system began in the 1950s, was to connect New York City and San Francisco. Other highways soon followed. The frenzy of road building as the century got underway served to unite the country as never before. Transportation and communication improved, gradually at first and then dramatically. The new roads served another function as well. Before the introduction of systematic highway numbering they memorialized outstanding public figures by bearing their names. The Lincoln Highway is the obvious example; and in certain parts of the country (especially in Illinois, which is “Lincoln country”) residents still remember it. The names of others faded ultimately into oblivion even as the routes they pioneered remained the basis for modern highways. The most obvious example is the most impressive of all the named routes: the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway. The TRIH connected Portland, Maine with Portland, Oregon along the northern border of the country, making a brief incursion into Ontario. The extensive route of more than 4,000 miles was the brainchild of a group of civic leaders who met within a month of Theodore Roosevelt's death in Duluth, Minnesota, in February of 1919. At the conclusion of their meeting, they sent a wire to TR's widow and announced “the birth of the greatest transcontinental highway in the world.” It would be, they said, “a fitting memorial to one of the ablest men the world ever knew” (Skidmore “Portland” 16). In an astonishingly short time, by 1922, the road was open for travel throughout its entire route except for a 56-mile stretch through Marias Pass at the Continental Divide near Glacier National Park in Montana. That link was completed in 1930, removing the final barrier to transcontinental automobile travel along the northern route (Skidmore “Portland” 19). In addition to being the youngest President and the first to serve completely in the twentieth century, Theodore Roosevelt was undoubtedly the most vigorous. He established the foundation for the modern presidency and made it possible for the American government to function effectively in today's world. It is doubtful that the United States or any other country will ever again see a leader simultaneously so flamboyant and so effective. TR, the first President to have been called affectionately by his initials, had been both a New York dandy and a Western rancher and cowboy. He more than held his own with the worst that the West could throw at him, either the fiercest of nature's elements or the roughest of its residents. He was a noted historian (becoming president of the American Historical Association) and author and was a recognized authority on numerous topics, including songbirds and big game animals. By the age of 42, he had been a New York legislator, a U.S. Civil Service Commissioner, a New York City Police Commissioner, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, a genuine war hero, Governor of New York, Vice President of the United States, and President. Despite holding some opinions that were quaint, others that were questionable, and yet others that at least in retrospect were clearly wrong, TR was a person of integrity and good-will. He had a wide-ranging curiosity, a keen intellect, and a skillful touch—even one that could be surprisingly subtle—in diplomacy and politics. One so vigorous could hardly avoid being controversial, and Roosevelt did not even try. The passage of time that has revealed additional, and favorable, information about his presidency has also calmed the passions that the Bull Moose once inspired so readily. It now is evident that the unfavorable image Henry Pringle offered in his Pulitzer-Prize winning biography misrepresented TR's nature as a man and even more as a President (Pringle 1931). Recent biographers have tended to be more generous, beginning with John Morton Blum's fine study The Republican Roosevelt (Blum 1954). Even Brands (whose lively book is inclined to be somewhat critical and to overlook much of TR's complexity) presents a much more favorable picture than Pringle's (Brands 1997). More perceptive is the fine volume by Nathan Miller (Miller 1992). The biographies by Edmund Morris and David McCullough also are excellent, but McCullough's Mornings on Horseback deals only with TR's earlier life (McCullough 1981), and Morris's Rise of Theodore Roosevelt is only the first of a projected three-volume work, and thus ends before the Roosevelt presidency (Morris 1979). His second volume, Theodore Rex, has just been released. Morris had to put aside his work on TR to undertake his task as official biographer for President Reagan. Arguably the best treatment remains William H. Harbaugh's Life and Times of Theodore Roosevelt (Harbaugh 1975) that originally bore the title Power and Responsibility. Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. began the careful ranking of Presidents in 1948 and 1962 (Bailey 24-25). Since then, numerous other such rankings have followed (DiClerico 346-347). Virtually every one ranks Lincoln at the top and either Franklin Roosevelt and George Washington as second or third in greatness. The rankings for Theodore Roosevelt range from fourth to a low of seventh. To put matters into perspective, it is necessary to consider the conditions existing during the first Roosevelt's presidency. His substantial ranking emerges even in the absence of an overwhelming crisis during his time in office such as the founding, the Civil War, or the Great Depression—events creating conditions that can encourage heroism and call forth greatness. His record is therefore all the more impressive and places Theodore Roosevelt among the most outstanding figures who have served as President. For that reason alone, Theodore Roosevelt's most extensive memorial deserves to be remembered. There are other reasons as well, including historical significance. The Theodore Roosevelt International Highway deserves to be remembered because of its effect on the development of automobile transportation in the United States and for its role in the political, economic, and sociological unification of this extensive country. This paper traces the long, and often laborious, process of discovering, uncovering, and documenting the Highway and its importance. When the Theodore Roosevelt Association published my article, “The Theodore Roosevelt International Highway,” in 1997 (Skidmore 1997), this greatest of memorials to TR had been largely forgotten. The road was still there, of course, stretching more than four thousand miles from Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon including a brief incursion into Canada through Ontario. What had dwindled almost to nothingness was the identity of the various highways as a single route and the association of that route with the most vibrant and energetic president in American history. I had discovered the existence of the Highway — also known as the Theodore Roosevelt Trail — in 1996 after a conference at Montana State University where I had given a paper. When I crossed the Continental Divide at Marias Pass, I happened upon a monument commemorating TR's contributions to conservation. The monument also celebrated completion of the Highway's final segment: the 56-mile link through the Pass. Almost no other information was readily available, so I began to search intensively. I pored over library materials, and corresponded with historical societies, automobile associations in both Canada and the U.S., the relevant ministry in Ontario, state highway departments, and federal agencies including the Forest Service, the U.S. Park Service, and the Federal Highway Administration. I found that the TRIH began its life in the 1920s; and during that decade, it became the northernmost of America's “nine named transcontinental highways in some way deserving of the title” (Hokanson 95). After I succeeded in identifying the memorial road's course across the continent, I wrote the article as a preliminary report on my research. Since that time, I have written other articles on different aspects of the TREH. The Society for Commercial Archeology, for example, published Portland to Portland: The Theodore Roosevelt International Highway (Skidmore Portland“), the State Historical Society of North Dakota published ”Remembering TR: North Dakota and the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway“ in the summer of 2000 (Skidmore ”Remembering“), and ”Minnesota and America's Bully Boulevard“ appeared in the Journal of American and Comparative Cultures in spring of that same year (Skidmore ”Minnesota“). There will be other articles as time permits, and I now have completed a manuscript for a book on the subject: Moose Crossing. My goal, admittedly ambitious, is to bring official recognition once again to the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway. Since writing the article for the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal, much has happened. I have conducted research in libraries, archives, and museums in every one of the twelve states along the route and the Province of Ontario. This research has uncovered a considerable amount of valuable material, including newspaper accounts of the initial plans for the TRIH; the personal papers of Mathias N. Koll, one of the Highway's founders; and original publications from the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway Association. I have spent time at the Library of Congress where, among other things, I found invaluable maps and have interviewed countless newspaper editors, local historians, and others who have knowledge of the TRIH. Additionally, in order to experience the actual road and to seek remnants of the old TRIH, I drove the entire route twice. In 1997 I drove it from east to west in honor of America's westward movement. In the summer of 1999, I completed the trip from west to east. I also have driven many portions of the route at other times. Because of considerable retracing, taking each of various alternate routes and the like, I have been unable to check the distance from Portland to Portland accurately. It is, however, somewhat in excess of four thousand miles (original sources from the 1920s list it as 4,060 miles). The total mileage for my last trip from the Midwest, to Oregon, to Maine, and back to the Midwest was 8,598. My unhurried journey required a total of four weeks. The route did vary somewhat during the Highway's existence, but it remained remarkably close to the original plans. The beginning point (east to west) was at Longfellow Square in Portland, Maine. For those who wish to follow the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway today, I have prepared the following detailed guide using current highway numbers. Proceed west from Portland along what now is U.S. 302 through most of New Hampshire. At Littleton, take New Hampshire Route 18, which changes into Vermont Route 18 at the state line. At St. Johnsbury, take U.S. 2 west through Burlington, then north along the shore of Lake Champlain to the far northwest corner of the state. Take the Korean Veterans' Memorial Bridge across the Lake, and enter New York at Rouses Point. In New York, pick up U.S. 11 and follow it to Malone. There, take New York 37 to Massena and proceed along the St. Lawrence River through Ogdensburg to Clayton. At Clayton, take New York 12 to Watertown. Turn right on New York 3 and proceed to Oswego by way of New York 104B and 104. Take 104A and 104 to Rochester. Pick up New York 18, follow it along the shore of Lake Ontario, and proceed to Niagara Falls.2 Take the bridge by the Falls into Canada, and either proceed to the QEW, which superseded the old route, or take a secondary road to Hamilton. Go west through Ancaster, Brantford, Paris, Woodstock, Thamesford, London, Melbourne, Chatham, Tilbury, and Windsor. Some maps showed the TRIH dropping south to Wheatley from Tilbury but that is out of the way.3 From Windsor, take the Ambassador Bridge into Detroit. That is authentic. Even though in the earliest years motorists had to be ferried across the river, the bridge opened while the Roosevelt Highway was still a major artery. In Detroit, proceed northwest along Woodward Avenue, which becomes Michigan 24, until it connects with Interstate 75. Take the Interstate to the Bay City exit and follow Michigan 13 north until it connects with U.S. 23. Take U.S. 23 all along the western shore of Lake Huron to Mackinaw City.4 From Mackinaw City proceed across the straits on the Mackinaw Bridge to the Upper Peninsula. There, travel west, and for the most part remain on U.S. 2 across the UP, across Wisconsin, into Minnesota at Duluth, across Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, and to Bonners Ferry and Sandpoint, Idaho. Take U.S. 95 south from Sandpoint, turning west on Idaho 53 to Rathdrum. There, pick up Idaho 41 which turns into Washington 290 at the state line. Follow 290 into Spokane. From Spokane, take U.S. 195 south to Colfax and turn right on Washington 26. Turn left on Washington 127 at Dusty, and follow it to U.S. 12. Take U.S. 12 to and pick up Washington After only about the road into Oregon and becomes Oregon At proceed west on Interstate taking U.S. where it is Follow into Portland on turn right on proceed across the Bridge and Washington to Turn left on to to Park and turn right on is the “The of Theodore Roosevelt — a fitting for the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway. There are a places along the U.S. 2 that from the original the TRIH into Duluth, and out of the along and to and After a time, however, the route came to follow the current the North Dakota, the old route is the same as today's U.S. most of which is a modern For are some still possible along the original West of turn left and follow it through where it becomes Proceed to and Take U.S. 2 from through was on the route, but now the is at the of a Take the old highway north of today's U.S. 2 to and Follow it south of U.S. 2 through and west, and turn left at the with U.S. West of the original route through and no just north of and on to Montana. The road to is but the road from to quite often is to It is to remain on U.S. 2 from to In Montana, the TRIH in its existence came to follow the current route of U.S. 2 across the state. For a brief however, was a Falls and To follow that take Montana west from Falls to U.S. through and and Montana 37 south to West of is a short of U.S. 2 that north of the current route, and on to Idaho. In the route through than it as the current U.S. 2 It south from through and and then west to Spokane. U.S. 2 to by way of River and and from it from the TRIH route west to its at the U.S. 2 at Bonners The along the TRIH is after from the one the of New Hampshire the in the the the of and Lake Champlain and its The St. Lawrence of New York, especially the is Niagara Falls — even to the — remains one of nature's There is Great in parts of New York and Ontario, much of some of Wisconsin, and most in Duluth, and a the and the and the Highway along the south of Glacier National which some of the most who or will it in Washington and western For most of its final the TRIH the The near Portland, as the journey its The along the way to of range from quite to the of Detroit. Portland, Littleton, St. Johnsbury, Burlington, London, Windsor, Detroit, Bay St. Duluth, or Bonners Spokane, Portland again — names and others the and each one is from east to west, the first that this at one time was the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway even before Maine. At a and miles from Longfellow on the right of the highway is the Trail in U.S. 302 a that becomes along both of the with their and also This on through where the final such is the Trail In that with they are north or south of the Roosevelt In many different current maps to the route across the state as the of an the of U.S. 2 St. and the New Hampshire state as the TRIH. however, the Roosevelt Highway from the New Hampshire state to St. as being along Vermont State Highway In New York, State Highway 18 west of to be at the western of the of west of the of maps the route as the Roosevelt Highway and for miles modern that roads are the Roosevelt Highway. The Highway through Roosevelt and on to Niagara where, near and is a short which to have been part of the old Michigan has a named on Roosevelt just north of U.S. was a Roosevelt by the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway. The is no but the and the take their names from the which was named for Theodore Roosevelt because of its on the TRIH. The for the TRIH from a group of civic who met first in 1919. became the of the of the Theodore Roosevelt Highway Association. I could no of the Highway in In in Minnesota was I to any that the Highway had ever North Dakota, by is TR country and I found In Lake, on the north of the TR route, is to it is the of had an in for the greatest of a of the TRIH, I could no that the still In is hardly left of In however, which is not on the current U.S. 2 but which was on the original TRIH, the route of the old Roosevelt Highway remains and the In the Highway by the Roosevelt Park and it was but on the within it an impressive of At that time, the Park a that it had in the old became the Roosevelt International Because of the TRIH, the this in honor of the President. Henry of Portland, Oregon the had been a of The was of New York, who it in the of the Henry in The and another in Portland, Oregon are from the original in The of the North Dakota Historical Society the is in After Montana, the TRIH through country called the taking the of the old Great the road also the and it through a The is named for TR but not for the TRIH; it the Highway. One of the has a just the route, but it its from not from TR or the TRIH. In a on the south of U.S. 2 is still known as the Roosevelt that he of the but that it came to be called the Roosevelt because it on the TRIH. of a local the same been the Roosevelt they One man he was and had all his The he said, was the same as it had been it was on the Roosevelt Highway. The at Marias Pass commemorating Theodore Roosevelt is the most of the TRIH. It originally was to have been an In 1930, Congress had for “a the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway on the at the of the on the the and National Forest in Montana in of the of Theodore Roosevelt in the of the United Congress recognized the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway in a The amount however, was to an so the its For it in the of the but on it was to its current a monument with substantial U.S. In the an old U.S. Forest Service At its left is a Forest Service a are the National the is an and the Highway is U.S. 2 now a through but turns right to the — on the Roosevelt named for the TR City are to a on the bridge it as the Roosevelt and that it was part of the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway. also are a Roosevelt Park at the bridge which will a a and The is to honor Theodore Roosevelt and to his memorial Additionally, one of the of the City still the the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway's which across the country on its road In the first just across the state is The original road to the south from the current U.S. is no to it. After U.S. however, that road becomes and through it as a of the TRIH. the every modern bearing the for the in of 1922, and its was in The of the American it in after years of it a It would be especially Congress were to and the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway just as it has recognized the Interstate recognition would be a fitting to one of most and to a After all, it now has been a century Theodore Roosevelt's as the youngest person ever to the office of President of the United

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