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In the latter half of the nineteenth century and into the early twentieth, railroads played a huge role in connecting the cities and towns of the vast United States. By the nineteen-tens, the automobile was starting to make its mark on transportation, though it still shared dirt roads with horses and wagons. At first a plaything of the wealthy, as prices came down through mass production, the middle class could begin to adopt autos. Both they and the wealthy were ready to travel. The roads weren’t quite ready, though. Most outside of cities were dirt, which turned to mud when rains came, and they were also rutted. They required constant attention just to keep them passable.

Then along came Carl G. Fisher of the Lincoln Highway Association, a man for the times. In 1904, at the age of 30, he and James Allison bought into a patent to manufacture acetylene headlights for automobiles. They sold their company, Prest-O-Lite, to Union Carbide in 1913 for $9 million, the equivalent of over $268 million today. He was flush with cash and was a partner in the fledgling Indianapolis Motor Speedway and promoted paving of speedways, hence the “Brickyard.” He owned an auto dealership in Indianapolis and in 1912, he conceived of the Lincoln Highway, one of the first transcontinental roads designed for automobiles. It ran from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco.

Based on the success of the east-west Lincoln Highway, in 1914 Fisher proposed a north-south equivalent, the Dixie Highway. The original route was to run from Chicago to Jacksonville, Florida. That was extended to Miami once Fisher had invested in what became Miami Beach. Eventually, that became known as the Western route, and an Eastern route ran from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, to Miami. There were connectors and side loops on both to make the main road as accessible as possible, and to provide for interesting side trips along the journey. Our interest lies with the Western route, however, as it ran through Tullahoma.

Governors from all affected states met in Chattanooga in April 1915 to plan the road and to discuss financing it. At that time, the U.S. Government was not active in financing road construction. The Dixie Highway was mostly financed by private donations and money from the states and cities it was to pass through. Interestingly, Tullahoma’s own John W. Harton served four years as secretary for the Dixie Highway Association.

The Tennessee portion of Western route of the Dixie Highway passed through Springfield, Nashville, Smyrna, Murfreesboro, Shelbyville, Tullahoma, Winchester, Cowan, Sewanee, Monteagle, Tracy City, Jasper, Whitwell, and Chattanooga. It’s interesting to note that Rutherford County (Murfreesboro) was almost bypassed completely. That county had turnpikes with tolls that it was hesitant to give up. Finally, a group pf citizens banded together and bought the toll roads and donated them to the project.

Keep in mind that the Dixie Highway was planned and built nearly 20 years before the TVA was formed and almost 50 years before the Interstate Highway System was initiated. The Dixie Highway basically linked existing roads into a paved, or in some cases just improved, network, giving US travelers the opportunity for safe and effective travel, whether for commerce or vacation. It was free of charge to travel the entire length.

The best I can ascertain from maps and newspaper descriptions of auction properties along the what’s described as “the old Dixie Highway,” Tullahoma’s part of the Dixie Highway followed the following route: Coming from the north, the road followed what is now known as Highway 130 from Shelbyville to Jackson Street, south to W. Carroll, and then west to Westside Drive and south toward Winchester. None of the four-lane roads we now have were in existence at that time and Cedar Lane did not go across town.

If you have additional or better information or pictures on the local part of the Dixie Highway, please contact me.

Map courtesy of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries; information courtesy of Wikipedia and the newspaper archives on the Lannom Coffee County Library website.

Do you have sharp pictures and interesting stories from Tullahoma’s or Coffee County’s past? If so, reach out to me at alanmayes@lighttube.net.