In the late 19th and early 20th century, progressive political movements grew in popularity and in the public consciousness. Causes such as women’s suffrage, the temperance movement, and unionization became forefront political issues, and the impacts of these movements are still remembered and felt today. However, one Progressive-Era movement that is not so well remembered, but literally widely felt, was the Good Roads Movement.
The Good Roads movement was framed through a progressive lens that claimed road improvement would help small towns become more connected and would economically benefit rural working-class people such as farmers and ranchers. Wyoming, being a heavily rural state, had its own local Good Roads club chapters and programs. In this post we will look at some of the archival materials held here at the American Heritage Center related to the Good Roads movement in Wyoming.
At the turn of the 19th century, the cross-country road infrastructure of the United States was still in poor shape compared to what we think of today. While the transcontinental railroad had been in operation since 1869, road and vehicle infrastructure were still far behind. Especially in rural areas such as Wyoming, travel between towns by car would often involve long stretches of driving on dirt roads not designed for vehicles and would often be multiple day affairs including frequent stops and camping beside the road. Those in the Good Roads movement advocated for improved road infrastructure through new road construction, road paving, and road project fundraising.
An example that illustrates the state of road travel during this period is the experience of the 1919 Transcontinental Motor Convoy in Wyoming. After the experience of the First World War, which saw increasing military mechanization in the use of trucks of tanks over traditional horse drawn transportation, the US Army decided to undertake a series of transcontinental truck convoys to study the feasibility of cross-country movement for defense. The most famous of these convoys departed Washington DC on July 7, 1919, and took 62 days to reach San Francisco.
The convoy passed through Wyoming in August, following roughly the route that Interstate 80 takes today. Demonstrating the state of roads in Wyoming at that time, the convoy took 8 days to cross the state (breaking 14 bridges in the process), entering near Cheyenne on August 9 and departing on August 17 though Evanston, with stops in Cheyenne, Laramie, Rock River, and Medicine Bow. The slow going is illustrated by the August 11th entry of the convoy:
Departed Larmie [sic], 6:30 a.m….. High wind thruout the day. Bridges were generally poor, and 12 wooden bridges were reinforced… Camped on hillside south of Medicine Bow, soil dusty, sand and no water facilities. Made 59 miles in 11 ¾ hrs. Arrived Medicine Bow, Wyo. 6:15 p.m.
One of the military officers in this convoy was a young Dwight Eisenhower, and it has been suggested that his experiences in the 1919 Motor Convoy were a contributing factor to his support for the creation of the Interstate Highway System during his presidential administration. In any case, in its report the Army noted that the publicity generated by the convoy increased support for the Good Roads movement.
Seeking to advocate for the improvement of roads through new road construction, paving existing roads, and fundraising for local road improvements, members of Good Roads clubs took a grassroots approach to achieving their goals. The Good Roads Club of Laramie County appears to have been an active organization, as shown by a draft petition (see below) they made to the Laramie County Commissioners advocating for public investment in the Lincoln Highway between Laramie and Cheyenne as well as the road between Cheyenne and Denver.
The ever-active Grace Raymond Hebard also appears to have been active in the Wyoming Good Roads movement, or at least aware of it. In her collection are several articles about the Good Roads movement in Wyoming. One article reports on a State Highway Convention in 1912 that was to be held in Douglas, to “Further Good Roads Movement Throughout the State.” Talks and events were to be held on improving Wyoming’s highways and on the benefits of making the state more connected.
Another striking example from Hebard’s papers is a 1920 article from a Jackson newspaper laying out the plans for a public workday for road improvement. It appears that citizens of Jackson were all but conscripted into “Good Roads Day Work.”
Every place of business that can possible close that day has been asked to do so, and practically all have agreed to. And State Game Warden [W. T.] Judkins has proclaimed a closed season on fishing for the day. The Wyoming press is unanimous in stating the sentiment is to brand as a slacker, anyone who does not turn out and do his, or her bit on June 22, unless he or she has a good reason for not doing so. Everybody Expected to Help.”
The article goes on to explain what tools to bring, lunch arrangements, section captains, and more and ends with a proclamation from Grace Miller, Mayor of Jackson “calling upon all able bodies persons to contribute their best efforts in the improvements of our highways.”
Attention brought to the issue of Good Roads by grassroots movements such as Good Roads Clubs, public workdays, and larger national events like Transcontinental Motor Convoy all contributed to road improvement projects. With the establishment of the Wyoming Highway Department in 1917, road improvement became increasingly a governmental responsibility, and highway cutting projects no longer needed to be undertaken at a local level. Technological improvements and large-scale projects such as the Interstate Highway System—approved by an Eisenhower who no doubt had memories of the dusty drive across Wyoming and the country—have radically changed our conception of space and distance while travelling.
Next time you drive the one hour—instead of eleven and half—between Laramie and Medicine Bow, spare a thought for the folks of the Good Roads movement.
Post contributed by Marcus Holscher, Toppan Rare Books Library Aide.
Sources
“Daily Log of the First Transcontinental Motor Convoy, Washington, DC to San Francisco, Cal., July 7th to Sept. 6th, 1919” [U.S. Army, Transport Corps, Transcontinental Convoy: Records, 1919, Box 1, Daily log of the first transcontinental motor convoy (typewritten copy); NAID #12166042]
Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library. “1919 Transcontinental Motor Convoy.” Accessed May 10, 2025. https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/research/online-documents/1919-transcontinental-motor-convoy.
Highway-Good Roads Movement, 1912-1925, Box 8, Folder 18, Coll. 400008, Grace Raymond Hebard Papers, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
“On Way to West, Government Motor Truck Transport Spends Sunday in Laramie and Hits Trail on Monday,” The Laramie Republican, August 11, 1919.
Resolutions Presented by the Good Roads Club of Laramie County, Wyoming to the Board of County Commissioners of Said County, N.D., Box 1, Folder 5, Coll. 00183, Roderick N. Matson Papers, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Report, from 1st Lt. E.R. Jackson (Ordnance Observer) to Col. L.B. Moody (Ordnance Department, USA, Tank, Tractor & Trailer Division), “Report on First Transcontinental Motor Convoy,” October 31, 1919. [U.S. Army, Transport Corps, Transcontinental Convoy: Records, 1919, Box 1, Report on first transcontinental motor convoy] [U.S. Army, Transport Corps, Transcontinental Convoy: Records, 1919, Box 1, Report on first transcontinental motor convoy; NAID #12165976]
Roads, 1914-1927, Box 19, Folder 8, Coll. 400008, Grace Raymond Hebard Papers, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
