Victory Highway, One Mile Segment West of West Wendover and South of Interstate 80, West Wendover

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER NV-41. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The highway commences at a point mile west of the West Wendover, Nevada, exit for Interstate 80 and runs northwest for approximately miles to the current right-of-way boundary for Interstate 80. Quad: Wendover, Nevada UTMS: (east end) (west end) Date of Construction:

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER NV-41. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

This segment of the Victory Highway is significant because it is an extant part of the first transcontinental highway to be completed across Nevada. It also is significant for its associations with the western int~rstate battles concerning highway routes during the early years of federal aid to states for road construction in the 191 Os and

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER NV-41. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Steven F. Mehis, research assistants Mary Ringhoff and Robert Peterson, Western Cultural Resource Management, December VICTORY HIGHWAY (U.S. 40) HAER No. (Page 2)

History

The portion of the Victory Highway examined here represents only a small part of a longer coast-to-coast highway system. The project's backers announced the highway plan as the popularity of named highways peaked during the early twentieth century. Various organizations had designated over 250 named roads by The Victory Highway held that moniker only a few years before most of it became U.S. Highway 40. The history of this portion of the Victory Highway dates to the latter as Utah politicians and residents selected a route west from Salt Lake City to be the one in their state to receive federal assistance under the new highway aid program. That decision led to a major interstate political drama that embroiled the Victory route during the early1920s.

During automotive industry leaders and others showed an interest in developing coast-to-coast highways. By the early as more and more Americans bought cars, pioneering motorists had experienced a myriad of frustrations in their attempts to travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The innumerable problems the drivers encountered along the way included everything from a lack of directions and signs to impassable mud and dirt roads. Motorists and industry leaders recognized that such conditions needed correction. To accomplish that task they founded dozens of organizations that supported the construction and improvement of highways in the United States. These private organizations channeled public opinion to support highway improvements.

Politicians, aware of public sentiment, added their voices in support of building new automobile highways and roads. Some years earlier, Nevada's turn-of-the-century political leaders showed a keen interest in highway improvement programs. Nevada's governor, Colcord, urged the state legislature to enact a program of highway improvements in signaling the beginning of a long struggle to better the state's highway system. From until Governor Taskar Oddie took office, the plight of the highways fell on deaf ears. In Governor Oddie conducted his election campaign from a car, touring across Nevada and in the process emphasizing the automobile's expanding presence in the state. 1 Oddie's auto campaign proved successful; he won the election.

The new governor used his inaugural address as a platform to berate Nevada's road system. He went on to suggest that the state was losing significant amounts of tourist income because of its poor highways. The Nevada legislature heard the message and responded to the governor's call, passing a law that authorized the use of convict labor to build roads and appropriating to get the road-building program going. In Nevada, unlike other western states, the use of convict labor failed to meet the goals of the building program VICTORY HIGHWAY (U.S. 40) HAER No. (Page 3) and within a short time the state stopped the use of convicts for road building. Instead, the state hired regular workers for road projects.

Foreshadowing the future trend of roads crossing the entire state, in the legislature established a Nevada State Highway, to run from a point east of Ely on the Nevada-Utah state line west through Eureka, Austin, Fallon, and then into Reno and on to California. This route later became U.S. Highway 50. Similar to many of the early western highway projects, Nevada's legislators found it much easier to establish grand highways than to find the monies for construction. The Nevada State Highway proved to be one such case. When state monies could not be found, the legislature established a program that allowed the counties on the highway to sell bonds to pay for the construction and undertake the work themselves.

The counties also lacked the necessary funds to carry out the program; as a result, the Nevada State Highway remained only a paper road in and 2 As Governor Oddie and the Nevada legislature struggled with highway financing plans for the Silver State, the various highway associations spent time identifying routes and searching for private funding to build their projects. The highway associations understood that the endeavors they contemplated lay beyond the financial means and in some case the technical capabilities of the individual states, counties, or cities along the routes under consideration. Henry Joy and Carl Fisher, two automotive industry leaders of the period, promoted the founding of the Lincoln Highway Association and its proposed coast-to-coast highway, the Lincoln Highway.

3 This group is mentioned in this study of the Victory Highway because of their active promotion of an east-west highway across Nevada. Also, they would become one side of the late and early political struggle that embroiled the Victory Highway, the states of Nevada and Utah, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Moreover, Joy and Fisher serve as examples of the recruitment practices of the highway associations, who looked for members who could contribute monies of their own, or funds from their companies, or were well connected to other potential donors. In Lincoln Highway supporters worked on perfecting the route and on the financial issues.

That same year, a group of Indianapolis businessmen and motor enthusiasts, the Hoosier Motor Club, convinced Carl Fisher, then vice president of the Lincoln Highway Association, to sponsor their annual trip to the Pacific coast. Their proposed route crossed Nevada from Ely west to Reno before it went on to California. Ely businessman Gael S. Hoag, deeply involved in the Nevada good roads movement and a frequent adviser to the governor about highway matters, took it upon himself to escort VICTORY HIGHWAY (U.S. 40) HAER No. (Page 4) the group from western Utah into Ely. 4 They followed a route that became part of the Lincoln Highway.

Hoag went on to become a field secretary for the Lincoln Highway Association and a prominent figure in the political battles that swirled around the Victory Highway during the Governor Oddie, aware of the publicity of the trip and what it might mean for Nevada, accompanied the entourage across the state west from Ely. The governor and the general warm reception the group received in Nevada demonstrated the state's enthusiasm for a transcontinental highway. 5 The Lincoln Highway Association presented their route to the National Conference of Governors during August The Utah portion went generally west and southwest from Salt Lake City. The proposed road crossed Tooele County and then to Ibapah, Utah, minimizing the mud flat crossings associated with the Great Salt Lake Desert.

The Association's endorsed route entered Nevada northeast of Ely, proceeded through Ely, and then went west to Eureka, Austin, Fallon, and beyond. The route followed nearly all of the Nevada State Highway discussed previously. 6 Nevada, like many other states, had an official proclamation and dedication of the proposed highway following the association's announcement. 7 The state soon found it much easier to proclaim a highway than to build it. In the exuberance of the moment, the Nevada legislature allocated for the highway. However, the state provided no additional funding in 8 The Lincoln Highway Association, as well as the other private highway organizations, recognized that many states would be hard pressed to fund such ambitious road projects.

In Utah, the Lincoln Highway Association encountered other obstacles and began studying possible ways to improve the route, especially across the desert. The final Utah routing was not agreed to until and then it would prove not to be as final as its backers thought. 9 During the five years that elapsed between the initial Lincoln Highway route announcement and the final agreements with the state of Utah, the American highway scene experienced a number of changes, including passage of the Federal Highway Act in This was the first law to provide federal matching funds to states to support road building. Participation hinged on the states establishing highway commissions and departments charge with directing and managing programs.

The next year, Nevada's legislature established the Nevada Highway Department with an appointed a three- member highway commission to oversee it. Federal funding boosted Nevada's highway program, but the new commission highlighted the state's sectional problems regarding highways. The Lincoln Highway route announcement had sparked tensions that continued to grow as different parts of the Silver State demanded attention to their road needs. Nevada governor Emmet Boyle, elected in found himself besieged with VICTORY HIGHWAY (U.S. 40) HAER No. (Page 5) pleas from across the state. The pleas sought to influence Boyle's appointments to the new commission, and, in turn use the friendly appointments to influence highway expenditures.

The governor's correspondence files for and especially are filled with letters of recommendation, letters of interest, letters of endorsement, and other statements supporting one candidate or another for the highway commission. The governor espoused a policy of no favoritism. Instead, Boyle sought candidates to represent the needs of the entire state rather than any single section or interest group. 10 The witnessed the emergence of many private highway interest groups. The Overland Highway (Overland Trail Highway), the Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean, and Midland Trail associations stand out as the more vocal and significant ones for the future of Nevada highways by the late (Figure 1).

Founded in by Lovelock, Nevada businessmen, the Overland Highway Association, approached the leaders and merchants of towns along the Southern Pacific (old Central Pacific) Railroad across northern Nevada, including Elko, Wells, Winnemucca, and Reno. These communities recognized the value of the proposed highway and, in turn,joined and supported the northern Nevada highway proposal. The Overland group allied itself with the Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway Association and that group selected the Overland route as their western extension. The Overland group also hoped that the state, through the new Nevada Highway Commission, would select a northern route along the traditional Humboldt Corridor, as the primary recipient of federal aid in the Silver State.

The Humboldt River and lands nearby had served as a travel corridor across northern Nevada for nearly a century by the time the highway planners of the early twentieth century began their efforts to attract a highway across the region. Mountain men, fur trappers, and traders, beginning with Peter Skene Ogden during traversed the corridor for less than twenty years when they found themselves being supplanted by settlers and gold rushers on the way to California John Bidwell led the Bidwell-Bartleson Party across what soon became the California Trail in Four years later Lansford W. Hastings and John C. Fremont guided hundreds of pioneers to California.

The floodgates opened following the discovery of gold in California with estimates running as high as more than emigrants following the California Trail in and The stream of wagons across the region continued until after gold and silver discoveries in Nevada led to travelers following the Humboldt River corridor heading for different destinations. After the Civil War the Central Pacific and later Western Pacific railroads followed a variation of the corridor across northern Nevada. This popularity, the line of cities and towns along the rail lines, and the general public knowledge of the route all helped add to the sense that the corridor constituted a natural route for a highway. 11 VICTORY HIGHWAY (U.S. 40) HAER No.

(Page 6) The Tonopah-Goldfield-Rhyolite area, championing the Midland Trail route, argued why it was important for the governor to recognize the needs of their section in his commission appointment deliberations. The Midland Trail route went southwest from Ely to Tonopah, Goldfield, and then west into California before turning south to reach Los Angeles. The Lincoln Highway/central route supporters also hoped they could influence the governor's appointments to the new commission. 12 Clearly, Governor Boyle faced a very divisive and complicated situation in regarding the new highway comm1ss10n. The Nevada Highway Commission became a reality when the governor appointed three members in April James M. Leonard, George K.

Elder, and Alexander served as the first highway commissioners and they immediately faced the issue of highway designations. The panel set about establishing the routes in Nevada to be designated state highways. Highways the commission established included the Overland Highway, the Lincoln Highway, and routes in southern Nevada, doing what they could to satisfy the various parts of the state. 13 The political situation in Utah proved to be equally complicated. The impacts of route changes in Nevada's neighbor to the east spilled over into the Silver State and Nevadans could do nothing about that.

Utah endorsed the Lincoln Highway route with minor modifications when it was first announced in 14 In as Utah prepared to build the proposed highway, Governor William Bamberger reaffirmed support for the Lincoln Highway route. Reflecting this attitude, Utah's highway commission negotiated a contract with the Lincoln Highway Association to build the road. 15 While the state government continued supporting the Lincoln route, opposition developed among Salt Lake City businessmen. They started a publicity campaign for a highway planned to run west from Salt Lake City to Wendover on the Nevada-Utah state line, approximately paralleling the Western Pacific Railroad. From the state line, the highway would and the Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway.

By the winds of change were beginning to sweep across the western highway scene and continue west across northern Nevada along a route very similar to the one proposed by the Overland Trail Highway Association. To further confuse the situation, other Utahans began a campaign to build a route that went south from Salt Lake City through Utah before turning west and connecting to southern California. This route went under many names, including the Arrowhead Trail. Another who sought to weaken the Lincoln Highway's position was William Utah's former governor, who earlier had endorsed the road. 16 VICTORY HIGHWAY (U.S. 40) HAER No.

(Page 7) Despite the rising tide of opposition to more construction on the Lincoln Highway in Utah, the state continued to honor its contract with the Lincoln Highway Association through and into However, by the end of the summer of Utah suspended work on the road. Governor Bamberger told the Lincoln Highway Association that the state was out of money for the project and that further work was impossible until the construction equipment underwent heavy repairs. 17 This marked the beginning of a protracted struggle between supporters of the other roads and the Lincoln Highway group over the route in Utah.

While Salt Lake City business and highway interests became more vocal in their support for the route west to Wendover, Ely merchants and businessmen, who supported the Lincoln route, responded by staging a boycott of all Salt Lake City businesses. Ely and its copper mines traditionally had close commercial connections to Salt Lake City. The boycott ended without a resolution to the Lincoln Highway question. 18 Other Silver State supporters of the Lincoln Highway bombarded the governor's office to pressure Utah to back to the highway construction project. 19 No resolution to the situation was in sight as the decade of the 191 Os ended. During and a new player emerged on the scene, the Victory Highway Association.

This organization absorbed the Overland Trail Highway group and held its organizational meeting in Elko, Nevada, one of the communities most likely to benefit from the northern route across Nevada. Associated with the Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway, the Overland Trail, was part of the shortest route from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and by absorbing this route Victory Highway enjoyed the shortest route between the coasts. The Victory Highway Association supported construction of a route west from Salt Lake City to Wendover. 20 The proposed route roughly followed the Hastings Cutoff of the California Trail discussed above. Lansford Hastings pioneered the route by for emigrants in The cutoff fell into disuse after the Donner disaster in California.

The route remained neglected until when the W estcrn Pacific Railroad opened its line from California to Salt Lake City. The Victory Highway route followed . the trans-Mississippi River practice of the proposed highways paralleling rail lines. The exception to this pattern near, but west of the current study area, was the short piece of the proposed highway route from Oasis to Wells, Nevada. In much of the rest of Elko County, roadway selected early on by the highway commission for State Route 1, and later the Victory Highway, was the abandoned railbed of the Southern Pacific Railroad. 21 Nevada State Route 1, like the Nevada State Highway, was a paper route waiting form funding and boosters to get it built. VICTORY HIGHWAY (U.S. 40) HAER No.

(Page 8) At the same time, Congress began debating amendments to the Federal Highway Act. One of the provisions included in the new bill would increase the level of federal funding for states that suffered from a small tax base due to federal ownership of lands; a provision that would benefit Nevada. The Silver State's senatorial delegation of former Governor Oddie and Key Pittman supported the bill because it provided the increased funding that would help Nevada and established a true federal highway system. 22 The bill passed, giving further impetus for Utah and Nevada to sort out the Victory - Lincoln Highway situation.

The debate as to which route would be designated the primary federal highway from Salt Lake City to California persisted into the early Both sides continued to argue their case in the press and in front of governors, highway commissions, and state legislatures. The role played by the northern California communities eventually became obvious. They hoped for a route directly west from Salt Lake City, fearing that any other route would make it too easy for tourists and travelers to divert southwest toward southern California. 23 Nevadans continued to look at alternatives that would be in their best interest, both in the potential number of travelers and cost of construction. While the debate swirled, the Silver State continued to proclaim the Lincoln route to be its primary highway.

Nevada's clearly stated position did not lead to resolution of the stalemate with Utah. The common interests of Salt Lake City and San Francisco kept supporters of the Lincoln Highway at bay in Utah. Nevertheless, Lincoln Highway backers continued to bring pressure on the decision makers to try to force completion of the road across Utah. The efforts proved ineffectual because in Utah improved 40 miles of the Victory Highway west toward Wendover and at the same time neglected maintenance on the Lincoln road.

Despite spring flooding that destroyed much of the newly built Victory Highway across the Salt Lake Desert, Utah selected the Victory Highway between Salt Lake City and Wendover as its official federal hif,hway and recipient of government aid as required by the Federal Highway Act of 4 This move led to rejoicing in northern Nevada while it angered people in other parts of the state. Further, the Utah decision prompted the Lincoln Highway Association to take the issue to the United States Secretary of Agriculture, Henry C. Wallace. During the and the Bureau of Public Roads was part of the Department of Agriculture and reported to the Secretary.

Preparing for the Secretarial hearings, set for May 14, supporters for both sides assembled extensive documentation, such as the book-length study, A Brieffor the Lincoln Highway in Utah and Nevada, authored by the Lincoln Highway Association. VICTORY HIGHWAY (U.S. 40) HAER No. (Page 9) When the day of the hearing arrived, nearly 100 witnesses descended on the Department of Agriculture to present their case. Utah governor Charles Maybey, ex-Governor and employees of the Utah Highway Commission presented the Victory Highway case. Lincoln Highway officials, including Nevada's Gael Hoag, then the organization's field secretary, presented their case. The secretary listened intently throughout the day as the respective sides made their points.

At the end of the day, Wallace deferred his decision. He informed everyone present that he would consider the matter and offer his opinion within a few weeks after he had the opportunity to pour over the written materials he had been given, including numerous letters that had bombarded his office in support of one highway or the other. Wallace endorsed the WendoverNictory Highway on June 6, This move relegated the Lincoln Highway to a secondary position in Nevada and to abandonment in Utah. 25 Setting aside the politics of the highway situation, both routes had points in their favor as well as points that detracted from their desirability. For example, the mileage from Salt Lake City to Reno on the two routes differed by approximately 50 miles with the Victory Highway being shorter.

The Victory Highway could take advantage of the abandoned Central Pacific rail grade for part of its route and had the advantage of towns along its route as well as rail connections to bring in construction supplies. The route also had fewer and easier mountain crossings that would be an advantage during construction and operation of the Victory Highway. On the other hand Ely and the large population supported by the copper mines in the area as well as towns like Eureka west of Ely offset some of that Victory Highway advantages. Secretary Wallace no doubted weighed all these factors in his decision making process. The Secretary's decision cleared the way for construction of the Victory Highway west from Wendover across northern Nevada.

Construction moved ahead in Utah on the Wendover Cutoff of the Victory Highway that opened during June The Nevada Highway News constitutes the best available source to track the Victory Highway's construction progress. According to that publication, the highway engineers completed plans for the mile route from Wendover west to Silver Zone Summit in 27 The engineers determined that gravel would be sufficient to surface this section of the highway. The highway department opened construction bids for this segment on April 8, Sumison and Clyde won the contract and commenced construction during the week of April The contract called for the builders to complete the road by June 1, The highway department pushed the completion date back to November 1 and changed the contractor to C.A. Robinson.

31 The road appears to have been finished by this deadline because it disappeared from the table of ongoing projects after November 1, Construction of the highway continued for VICTORY HIGHWAY (U.S. 40) HAER No. (Page 10) another two years before the road opened across all of Elko County. Completion of the road across the rest of the state required two more years. The road included graveled, oiled, and paved sections. The section of the Victory Highway currently under study was initially graveled32 and remained so until when the highway department authorized oiling of the road.

33 Interestingly, as Nevada worked to complete the segment of the Victory Highway that is the focus of this study, new federal highway legislation included a plan to eliminate named highways, substituting a set of standardized numbers. During the summer and into the fall of highway commissions, highway engineers, and federal officials worked out plans for the numbering system. The Bureau of Public Roads approved the numbering scheme in November The Victory Highway in the study area became U.S. 40 during this numbering process. The plan also called for use of standardized signs across the nation. To help implement the plan, state highway departments removed all named highway markers to avoid confusion.

By the standard federal shield highway markers had all but replaced the older Victory, Lincoln, Ocean to Ocean, and other highway signs. 34 The Victory Highway opened in the area under study during late and across the rest of the Silver State by the end of A few years later, in the highway department oiled the graveled road in the study area. Later in the decade, the state planned for further improvements to the highway that led to the road widening from 15 to 24 feet and resurfacing with plant mix asphalt (Figure 2). The next year, the Nevada Highway Department began a program to reduce grades and lessen curves on U.S. Highway 40.

World War II interrupted the program and the segment of the Victory Highway under study here was not replaced until In the present project area the realignment moved U.S. 40 slightly south from the original alignment to the current route of Wendover Boulevard. The new road eventually was ultimately superceded by Interstate 80. 35 VICTORY HIGHWAY (U.S. 40) HAER No. (Page 11) VICTORY HIGHWAY HAER STUDY Routes Of Proposed Highways ca. I I J : SaltLa:e City I ./ ; . .. . . I . . . = J I r J I I I J r I _ _ _ _J r 8 - LINCOLN HIG ltO.ll'i{ - VCTORVH&HIIIL".Y - - UIDLAND TR".IL - - S'T)>.TE BOUNDARIES FOURE 1 NOTTO SCALE VICTORY HIGHWAY (U.S. 40) HAER No. (Page 12) l ' j From Anonymous, Twelfth Biennial Report of the Department of Highways. VICTORY HIGHWAY (U.S. 40) HAER No. (Page 13)

Description a

General Description The site under discussion in this Historic American Engineering Record report is a short section of the Victory Highway/ U.S. Highway 40 located on the west side of West Wendover in Elko County, Nevada. The highway segment is miles feet) in length and the road surface is generally 18 feet wide. This is a deviation from the and design widths and likely is the result of erosion and partial demolition of the roadway when the culverts were removed. The resource includes the highway roadbed, road surface, nine culverts, seven sets of billboard or sign remains, one concrete (mile marker?) post, and a general artifact scatter. The features are described individually below. The highway builders used simple construction methods in this section of the Victory Highway.

The graded roadbed is made of native soils and rock that construction crews obtained from borrow ditches that parallel parts of the highway. Detailed construction specifications are not available for this section of the road. From field observation it appears that the builders formed the roadbed by scraping the native surface, moving the materials to build up the roadbed, and then spreading and compacting the borrowed materials to form the graded roadbed. The builders capped the roadbed with gravel and the asphalt placed on top of the gravel. The height of the roadbed generally varies from approximately 1.5 to more than 4 feet above the native ground surface. The higher roadbed occurs where builders filled ephemeral drainages and channeled water through culverts.

Borrow ditches are irregular in width and depth. In places the ditches have almost disappeared due to nearly six decades of abandonment. The remaining paved surface is composed of bituminous asphalt with remnants of hot tar repairs. The asphalt layer varies from 2.5 to 4 inches thick, based on profile exposures where culverts have been removed. Recorders saw no evidence of the earlier gravel or oiled gravel road surfaces in the profiles. The asphalt is thinner at the edges of the highway than in the center. Currently, the road surface is cracked and in a state of general disrepair. Weeds are growing through the pavement in many places, as seen in the setting photographs completed as part of this study.

In some places, the weeds grow only through the centerline of the roadway, indicating a gap of some sort between the two lanes, probably from the construction methods. VICTORY HIGHWAY (U.S. 40) HAER No. (Page 14) B. Feature Descriptions The following descriptions and numbers were adapted from the site recording completed by Teresa L. Dixon, Danielle Storey, and Tim Murphy of the Bureau of Land Management, Elko Field Office and observations made at the time of this HAER recording. These numbers bear no relation to any historic designations that may have been given to the culverts or other features by the Nevada Highway Department. The feature numbers correspond to locations on Figure 3.

Features 1 through 9 are the culverts, the other features are the remains of signs or markers that stood along the Victory Highway when it was in use. Feature 1 Feature 1 is the remains of a washed-out culvert. The roadbed was more than 4 feet above the natural surface at this point and the washed-out area is approximately 3 feet wide. There are no extant structural remains of this culvert. Feature 2 Feature 2 is the remains of a removed culvert. The roadbed was approximately 3 feet above the natural surface at this point. Smooth-faced coursed rubble stones that represent the remains of the culvert faces were observed on both the northern and southern sides of the roadway at Feature 2. Feature 3 Feature 3 is the remains of a removed culvert.

The roadbed was approximately 2.5 feet above the natural surface at this point. Smooth-faced coursed rubble stones that represent the remains of the culvert faces were observed on the southern side of the roadway at Feature 3. Cement fragments associated with the culvert were observed on the northern side of the roadway. This indicates that the culve11 was constructed using stone with cement mortar. Feature 4 Feature 4 is the remains of a removed culvert. The roadbed was approximately 2.5 feet above the natural surface at this point. Smooth-faced coursed rubble stones were observed on both the northern and southern sides of the roadway at Feature 4. The stones indicate that the culvert had smooth coursed rubble facings.

Scattered stones remain on the southern side of the roadway, while only a single stone from the culvert is left on the northern side of the grade. VICTORY HIGHWAY (U.S. 40) HAER No. (Page 15) Feature 5 Feature 5 is the remains of a removed culvert. The roadbed was approximately 3.5 feet above the natural surface at this point. A coursed stone and other debris lie on the ground at the northern end of the culvert. The stone measures 29 x 15 x 6 inches. A scatter of stones and debris remains on the southern side of the roadway at Feature 5. Also present at the feature is a concrete and stone fragment that retains an impression of the piping used for the culvert. Feature 6 Feature 6 is the remains of a culvert that was removed by ripping up the asphalt road surface.

The roadbed was approximately 3.5 feet above the natural surface at this point. Smooth-faced coursed rubble stones remain at both the northern and southern ends of the culvert, indicating that the culvert had coursed rubble facings. The southern end of the culvert also has concrete debris, offering further evidence of the use of concrete in the construction of the culverts. The stone at the northern end of the culvert is partially buried and there is a considerable amount of what appears to be modem gravel on the southern side. Feature 7 Feature 7 is the remains of a removed culvert. The roadbed was approximately 3 feet above the natural surface at this point.

The feature includes concrete and stone debris that retain the impression of the corrugated pipe used for the internal portion of the culvert. The debris is found on both sides of the roadway and in the area once occupied by the culvert. The remaining facing stones appear to be imported materials and may have been used to ensure consistency or as an expedient solution because the stone was on hand and required no further quarrying. Feature 8 Feature 8 is a paired culvert, made of two parallel corrugated metal pipes with common facings on both the northern and southern ends. The roadbed was approximately 4 feet above the natural surface at this point. The culvert facings are made of coursed rubble and concrete. The southern face is 108 inches long with two courses exposed.

The northern face is 114 inches long with two courses exposed. The culvert pipes are estimated to have a diameter of 19 inches and the culvert has an approximate length of 50 feet. The southern face indicates that historically one or more courses were present above the two remaining courses VICTORY HIGHWAY (U.S. 40) HAER No. (Page 16) based on the presence of mortar on the top of the extant upper course. In comparison the Lincoln Highway south of Wendover has culvert facings of uncoursed stone or concrete. The stonework on the Lincoln Highway shows a lower level of craftsmanship than those of the Victory Highway recorded during this study. Feature 9 Feature 9 is another stone-faced metal-pipe culvert. The roadbed was approximately 4 feet above the natural surface at this point.

The northern and southern facings are made of smooth-faced coursed rubble and concrete and were at least two courses high when built. The southern face is approximately 55 inches long with one course exposed. The northern face is 54 inches long with two courses exposed. The pipe is 19 inches in diameter and the culvert is approximately 52 feet long. The feature shows extensive evidence of soil erosion. Feature 10 Feature 10 is the ruin of a sign or billboard that once stood beside the highway. All that remains is a short wooden post that leans to the east. The post appears to have been cut off when the sign was removed. Feature 11 Feature 11 is the remains of a billboard.

It includes five short wooden posts that lean to the east, and scattered wood debris that may have been part of the sign face or superstructure. The posts appear to have been cut off when the sign was removed. Feature 12 Feature 12 is the remains of a billboard made of wood and metal. No base for the sign was observed. The debris includes red-painted metal panels with the word "LODGE" in uppercase, white lettering edged with black, and more than 50 pieces of weathered lumber. Feature 13 Feature 13 is the remains of a metal sign. The metal was painted, but the paint has faded. What could be made out was a smiling head wearing a yellow-tinted turban. The face had a thin black moustache. No posts or other debris are associated with this feature. VICTORY HIGHWAY (U.S. 40) HAER No.

(Page 17) Feature 14 Feature 14 is collection of wooden debris on the ground that represents the remains of a sign. Feature 15 Feature 15 is a small concrete post that has been painted white and may have been lettered at one time. It is approximately 4 x 4 inches square and 4 feet tall, with a rounded top. It is located some 100 feet south of the roadbed, near the edge of the highway right-of-way. It may have been milepost or a post to mark the edge of the right-of-way. As it would have been impossible to read from the road, given its location and narrow profile, it is unlikely that is served as a mile marker. Feature 16 Feature 16 is the remains of a billboard. The feature includes two short wooden posts that lean to the east and a light scatter of wood debris.

The posts appear to have been cut off when the sign was removed. Feature 17 Feature 17 is the remains of a billboard denoted by two short wooden posts. The posts appear to have been cut off when the sign was removed. No debris related to the sign was observed. VICTORY HIGHWAY (U.S. 40) HAER No. (Page 18) < LI E w w ., w C) ""' LI 6: c~ ;;;!wa:; 0 a; z "' t: oo"' 1-- :z a:: a.~ w :;: I- "' 0 Ill 0 ::a:;a.c le!& I<w )~ till. ' L._ \ rI ~ :: II ~ 11 ~- VICTORY HIGHWAY (U.S. 40) HAER No. (Page 19) III. ENDNOTES 1. Elliot, Russell R., History ofNevada, (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, p. 2. Fey, Christine A., "A Preservation Plan for the Lincoln Highway in Nevada," (Master's Thesis, University ofNevada-Reno, pp. hereafter cited: Fey, "Plan." 3.

Hokanson, Drake, The Lincoln Highway, Main Street Across America, (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, pp. hereafter cited: Hokanson, Lincoln. 4. Givens, W. Earl, "A Nevada View of the Lincoln Highway," The Lincoln Highway Forum 3 (Winter 5, hereafter cited: Givens, "View", and Gael Hoag to Oddie, various dates, Oddie Collection, Nevada State Historical Society, Reno, Nevada., hereafter cited: Oddie, 5. Givens, "View," p. 5. 6. Givens, "View," p. 6, Fey, "Plan," p.

25, and The Lincoln Highway Association, A Brieffor the Lincoln Highway in Utah and Nevada Addressed to the Secretary ofAgriculture, Washington, A Study of Western Road Strategy Designed to Aid in Determining the Road of Most Immediate Importance Connecting Salt Lake City, Utah, With California, (Detroit: The Lincoln Highway Association, pp. 26, 42, hereafter cited: LHA, Brief 7. "The Lincoln Highway Proclamation;' Book of Proclamations, Nevada State Archives, Carson City, Nevada. 8. Fey, "Plan," p. 26. 9. LHA, Brief, pp. 10. Copy to Boyle ofl.H. Kent to Hoag 14 March McCarran to E. D. Boyle 17 March John Henderson to E.D. Boyle 19 March Telegram E.D. Boyle to I.H. Kent 16 March GOV-0016, VICTORY HIGHWAY (U.S. 40) HAER No.

(Page 20) GOV-0020, Records of the Governors' Office, Nevada State Archives, Carson City, Nevada., hereafter cited: Governors, NSA. 11. Weingroff, Richard F., "The Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway, the Appian Way of America," pikes.htm, accessed 27 November 27 hereafter cited: Weinghoff, The National Park Service also has completed extensive studies on the California Trail. 12. For example see: Goodwin to E.D. Boyle 22 March, Lockman to E.D. Boyle 31 March GOV-0020, Governors, NSA., and Weingroff, 13. C. L. Howard to E.D. Boyle 26 April E.D. Boyle to Wittenburg 16 April GOV-0020, Governors, NSA. 14. LHA, Brief, p. 25. 15. LHA, Brief, pp. 16. Hokanson, Lincoln, pp. LHA, Brief, p. 33, "Facts About the Lincoln Highway Route Across Nevada," flyer, 3 February copy in E.D.

Boyle papers, GOV-0019, Governors, NSA. 17. LHA, Brief, pp. Hokanson, Lincoln, p. 80. 18. Hokanson, Lincoln, p. 80, Fey, "Plan," p. 31, and The Lincoln Highway Association, The Lincoln Highway: The Story of a Crusade that Made Transportation History, (New York: Dodd, Mead, p. hereafter cited: LHA, Crusade. 19. Various dates, E.D. Boyle correspondence files, GOV-0020, GOV-0021, Governors, NSA. 20. Fey, "Plan," p. 32, and Hokanson, Lincoln, p. 99. VICTORY HIGHWAY (U.S. 40) HAER No. (Page 21) 21. Stewart, George R., US. 40: Cross Section of the United States of America, (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin Company, pp. 22, Anonymous, Biennial Report of the Department ofHighways, (Carson City: State Printing Office, p. 91; and Weinghoff, 22.

Numerous examples of the correspondence are discussed in Mehls, Steven F., Historic American Engineering Record, Lincoln Highway, HAER-NV- 28, copy on file at the Library of Congress and available online at http://memory.loc.gov. 23. LHA, Brief, pp. 50, 59. 24. Fey, "Plan," pp. and Hokanson, Lincoln, p. 99. 25. LHA, Brief, Fey, "Plan," pp. and Hokanson, Lincoln, pp. 26. Camp, T. Allan, Historic American Engineering Record, Lincoln Highway Wendover Cutoff, HAER-UT-23, copy on file at the Library of Congress and available online at http://memory.loc.gov. 27. Leonard, James M., "Over the Victory Highway," The Nevada Highway News, Nevada State Highway Department, vol.4, #24 (24 November 28. Anonymous, The Nevada Highway News, Nevada State Highway Department, vol.5, #7 (30 March 13. 29.

Anonymous, The Nevada Highway News, Nevada State Highway Department, vol.5, #8 (13 April 9. 30. Anonymous, The Nevada Highway News, Nevada State Highway Department, vol.5, #10 (11 May 13. 31. Anonymous, The Nevada Highway News, Nevada State Highway Department, vol.5, #11 (25 May 12. VICTORY HIGHWAY (U.S. 40) HAER No. (Page 22) 32. Anonymous, Fifth Biennial Report of the Department of Highways, (Carson City: State Printing Office, pp. 1, 9, and Anonymous, Sixth Biennial Report of the Department ofHighways, (Carson City: State Printing Office, p. 15, 33. Anonymous, Eighth Biennial Report of the Department of Highways, (Carson City: State Printing Office, fold-out map. 34. Weingroff, Richard F. "From Names to Numbers: The Origins of the U.S.

Numbered Highway System." numbers.htm, accessed 21 November 35. Dixon, Teresa L., Wendover Cultural Resource Report Bureau of Land Management, Elko, NV, Field Office, p. 30, and Anonymous, Twelfth Biennial Report of the Department of Highways, (Carson City: State Printing Office, p. 40. IV. BIBLIOGRAPHY A. MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS Carson City, Nevada. Nevada State Archives. Book of Proclamations. Carson City, Nevada. Nevada State Archives. Records of the Governors' Office. Reno, Nevada. Nevada State Historical Society. Taskar L. Oddie Collection. B. BOOKS Elliot, Russell R. History ofNevada. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, VICTORY HIGHWAY (U.S. 40) HAER No. (Page 23) Hokanson, Drake. The Lincoln Highway, Main Street Across America.

Iowa City: University oflowa Press, The Lincoln Highway Association. A Brieffor the Lincoln Highway in Utah and Nevada Addressed to the Secretary ofAgriculture, Washington, A Study of Western Road Strategy Designed to Aid in Determining the Road ofMost Immediate Importance Connecting Salt Lake City, Utah, With California. Detroit: The Lincoln Highway Association, __ . The Lincoln Highway: The Story of a Crusade that Made Transportation History. New York: Dodd, Mead, Stewart, George R. US. 40: Cross Section of the United States of America. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin Company, C. PERIODICALS Givens, W. Earl. "A Nevada View of the Lincoln Highway." The Lincoln Highway Forum 3 (Winter Peterson, Jesse. "The Utah Gap." The Lincoln Highway Forum 4 (Fall D. GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS Anonymous.

Biennial Report of the Department ofHighways. Carson City: State Printing Office, Anonymous. Fifth Biennial Report of the Department ofHighways. Carson City: State Printing Office, Anonymous. Sixth Biennial Report of the Department ofHighways. Carson City: State Printing Office, Anonymous. Eighth Biennial Report of the Department ofHighways. Carson City: State Printing Office, VICTORY HIGHWAY (U.S. 40) HAER No. (Page 24) Anonymous. Twelfth Biennial Report of the Department of Highways. Carson City: State Printing Office, Anonymous. The Nevada Highway News. Nevada State Highway Department. vol.5 Camp, T. Allan. Historic American Engineering Record, Lincoln Highway Wendover Cutoff, UT-HAER-UT-23. Copy on file at the Library of Congress and available online at http://memory.loc.gov.

Dixon, Teresa L. Wendover Cultural Resource Report BLM Bureau of Land Management. Elko, NV, Field Office. Leonard, James M. "Over the Victory Highway." The Nevada Highway News. Nevada State Highway Department. vol.4 #24 (24 November Mehls, Steven F. Historic American Engineering Record, Lincoln Highway HAER-NV-28, copy on file at the Library of Congress and available on line at http://memory.loc.gov. Weingroff, Richard F. "The Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway, the Appian Way of America." pikes.htm. Accessed November 27, Weingroff, Richard F. "From Names to Numbers: The Origins of the U.S. Numbered Highway System." numbers.htm. Accessed 21 November E. THESES Fey, Christine A. "A Preservation Plan for the Lincoln Highway in Nevada." Master's Thesis. University of Nevada-Reno,