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Chillicothe, MO - The Highway City

Started by Route66Fan, September 06, 2020, 10:13:21 AM

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Route66Fan

Here is some forgotten Chillicothe, MO history from volume 5 of the "1918 Official Automobile Blue Book".

I wonder how all of these highways were marked through Chillicothe, MO.


-- US 175 --


Route66Fan

Quote from: -- US 175 -- on September 06, 2020, 11:39:58 AM
Nothing is showing.  Try again?
It should be showing now. I forgot to enable sharing on on the file in Google Drive.

edwaleni

Quote from: Route66Fan on September 06, 2020, 10:13:21 AM
Here is some forgotten Chillicothe, MO history from volume 5 of the "1918 Official Automobile Blue Book".

I wonder how all of these highways were marked through Chillicothe, MO.

The Jefferson used a blue "J".

The PPOO used 2 bands colored red and white.

I can't find any organized route or notation for the "Southwest Trail" other than today its the route of Canadian Pacific Railroad, Kansas City Subdivision.

The Canada, Kansas City and Gulf Highway did come through at nearby Gallatin, Hamilton & Kingston (now MO-13) but not at Chillicothe.

They used a seagull over a globe to mark the route.








triplemultiplex

I have never heard of a "Marmon" before.
Name sounds like there's a pair of oversized rodents in a large hamster wheel under the hood.

And while I'm dissing names of old things, "Leeper Hotel" is really hard to not read as "Leper Hotel".
"That's just like... your opinion, man."

formulanone

#5
Quote from: triplemultiplex on September 08, 2020, 09:36:59 AM
I have never heard of a "Marmon" before.
Name sounds like there's a pair of oversized rodents in a large hamster wheel under the hood.

And while I'm dissing names of old things, "Leeper Hotel" is really hard to not read as "Leper Hotel".

Marmon won the first Indy 500 in 1911...back when racing was about proving the durability of your brand of vehicles to sustain the company was paramount.  Their contribution to the automotive continuum is the rear-view mirror.

Like the dot-com-bust era 70-80 years later, there were hundreds of auto manufacturers in the US until the consolidation of brands and/or mass production caused many to wither from lack of sales.

triplemultiplex

Quote from: formulanone on September 08, 2020, 09:50:13 AM
Marmon won the first Indy 500 in 1911...
Their contribution to the automotive continuum is the rear-view mirror.

These two things seem related. :-D
"That's just like... your opinion, man."

edwaleni

Quote from: formulanone on September 08, 2020, 09:50:13 AM
Quote from: triplemultiplex on September 08, 2020, 09:36:59 AM
I have never heard of a "Marmon" before.
Name sounds like there's a pair of oversized rodents in a large hamster wheel under the hood.

And while I'm dissing names of old things, "Leeper Hotel" is really hard to not read as "Leper Hotel".

Marmon won the first Indy 500 in 1911...back when racing was about proving the durability of your brand of vehicles to sustain the company was paramount.  Their contribution to the automotive continuum is the rear-view mirror.

Like the dot-com-bust era 70-80 years later, there were hundreds of auto manufacturers in the US until the consolidation of brands and/or mass production caused many to wither from lack of sales.

The remnants of Marmon are still around today (FWIW).

When the depression wiped out the market for luxury automobiles, Marmon teamed up with Herrington (Marmon-Herrington) to design and manufacture buses, trolleys, military equipment (light tanks) and heavy trucks. Much of the components were sourced from Ford.

They then focused on axles and got out of the assembly business. They still convert trucks to AWD for various militaries around the world.

The Pritzker family bought them out back in the 60's and created a holding company called the Marmon Group, which owns a bunch of other industrial firms, like Union Tank Car and Procor for railroads.

The Pritzker's then sold out to Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffett). That is where the current governor of Illinois got his wealth and paid for his campaign.

Today, most military trucks use Marmon-Herrington axles.

US71

Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

edwaleni

Quote from: US71 on September 09, 2020, 12:59:00 PM
Here's what I found on Southwest Trail. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Trail

Yes, and as you can see it is nowhere close to Chillicothe, Missouri.

So either the artist got his routes wrong, or they were being speculative. My guess is speculative to make it look better than it was.

US71

Quote from: edwaleni on September 09, 2020, 03:23:57 PM
Quote from: US71 on September 09, 2020, 12:59:00 PM
Here's what I found on Southwest Trail. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Trail

Yes, and as you can see it is nowhere close to Chillicothe, Missouri.

So either the artist got his routes wrong, or they were being speculative. My guess is speculative to make it look better than it was.

I don't think the JH went through there, either
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

mgk920

Before then, you had to have two people in the car, one to drive and the other (a 'riding mechanic') who served as a sort of ride along spotter, he watched the traffic around the car and relayed that info to the driver.  Being the engineer who he was, to save weight and make for a more aerodynamic package, Ray Harroun entered a one seat car (the 'Marmon Wasp') in the 1911 Indy 500.  The other entries, who all had two people on board, seriously objected to that in that they had no idea how Harroun would be able to drive it safely in the race.  His solution was to mount a mirror on the hood of his car, just in front of where the windshield would be.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/MarmonWasp.JPG/800px-MarmonWasp.JPG
(Ray Harroun's 1911 Indy Racer)

Interestingly, I believe that rear view mirrors remained a factory option in most new cars into either the late 1920s or early 1930s.

Mike

edwaleni

Quote from: US71 on September 09, 2020, 05:13:24 PM
Quote from: edwaleni on September 09, 2020, 03:23:57 PM
Quote from: US71 on September 09, 2020, 12:59:00 PM
Here's what I found on Southwest Trail. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Trail

Yes, and as you can see it is nowhere close to Chillicothe, Missouri.

So either the artist got his routes wrong, or they were being speculative. My guess is speculative to make it look better than it was.

I don't think the JH went through there, either

I looked at the 1920 JH map. It intersected with the PPOO in 2 places due to a split at Bethany, Missouri.

The east wing intersected at Cameron. The west wing went to St Joseph and intersected the PPOO there.

So yeah, Chillicothe was pushing it.

edwaleni

I found this remark in the Livingston County history website....

Chillicothe, known as "The Highway City," has the following highways: The Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean, The Hannibal & St. Joseph Cross-State, The Canada, Kansas City & Gulf, The Mark Twain, The Missouri - Iowa State Fair Trail, The Omaha & St. Louis Highway, The Cannon Ball, The Jefferson National Highway, The Iowa - Missouri Capitol Trail, The Southwest Trail, The Ozark Trail, The Big Four Trail, The Lakes to Gulf Highway and Six County Seat Highways, then there are two other interstate highways now being established, making in all twenty-one highways passing through this city that are state inter-state and national. It is said to be the greatest highway center in the United States. These highways will soon be hard-surfaced, a commission has recently been appointed for the county to project the campaign looking to a county bond issue for this road construction.

"It is said to be the greatest highway center in the United States"

I guess that is true if the one doing the saying is also doing the lying.

Route66Fan

#14
Quote from: US71 on September 09, 2020, 05:13:24 PM
Quote from: edwaleni on September 09, 2020, 03:23:57 PM
Quote from: US71 on September 09, 2020, 12:59:00 PM
Here's what I found on Southwest Trail. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Trail

Yes, and as you can see it is nowhere close to Chillicothe, Missouri.

So either the artist got his routes wrong, or they were being speculative. My guess is speculative to make it look better than it was.

I don't think the JH went through there, either
According to volume 5 of the "1918 Official Automobile Blue Book", there was a auto trail called the "Blue J" (Blue Jay) highway, which started in Kansas City, MO & headed Northeast thru Chillicothe, MO, on up to Des Moines, IA. The "Blue J" was an unofficial Eastern route of the "Jefferson Highway" & was probably a consolation prize for cities & towns that really wanted to be on the Eastern leg of the "Jefferson Highway", but didn't make it. I looked up the "Blue J" highway up in the volume 5 of the "1918 Official Automobile Blue Book" & found out that the highway followed the "Jefferson Highway" from Kansas City, MO to Excelsior Springs, MO & then veered Northeast & went up through Lawson, MO, Polo, MO, Cowgill, MO, Braymer, MO, Plymouth, MO, Ludlow, MO, Utica, MO (Where it joined up with the PP-OO.). It then turned North at Chillicothe, MO (Following the "Southwest Trail" - there seemed to be 2 different auto trails with the same name.) & went through Farmerville, MO, Trenton, MO, Tyndal, MO, Spickard, MO, Mill Grove, MO, Princeton, MO, Lineville, MO-IA, Clio, IA, Allerton, IA (Where it split from the "Southwest Trail".). It then headed through Corydon, IA, Chariton, IA, Norwood, IA, Liberty Center, IA, Indianola, IA, Summerset, IA & then Des Moines, IA (Where it rejoined the "Jefferson Highway".).

edwaleni

Of the routes listed, most of them have no record of existing formally.

The Hannibal & St. Joseph Cross-State, was simply the trail along the Hannibal & St Joseph Railroad. This later became the Burlington Northern Railroad. BN pulled it up from Brookfield to St Joseph back in the 1980's. It did go through Chillicothe at the time.

The Lakes to Gulf Highway never formally existed except to redirect traffic from the Canada, Kansas City & Gulf. There is no record of it in any other state except in Chillicothe.

The Big Four Trail is a great trail back in Indiana as it references the former CCC&StL line, but that railroad never reached Missouri.

I believe many of these are referencing former stage coach or mail routes that predate auto's and they simply pushed the name forward and they tried to take advantage of them.


Route66Fan

Quote from: edwaleni on September 10, 2020, 10:37:07 AM
I believe many of these are referencing former stage coach or mail routes that predate auto's and they simply pushed the name forward and they tried to take advantage of them.
That is a pretty good point. It was probably done for historical & tourism purposes.

Route66Fan


edwaleni

Quote from: Route66Fan on September 13, 2020, 03:38:17 AM
I found a more detailed Rand McNally Auto Trail Map, from 1924, that shows where the auto trails ran through Central & Northern Missouri (As well as Iowa.). It also shows what the route markers looked like.
https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~201699~3000663:AutoTrails-Map,-Iowa,-Eastern-Nebra?sort=pub_list_no_initialsort%2Cpub_list_no_initialsort%2Cpub_date%2Cpub_date&qvq=q:missouri%201924;sort:pub_list_no_initialsort%2Cpub_list_no_initialsort%2Cpub_date%2Cpub_date;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=2&trs=9

Just the index alone is pretty incredible. Where did you see the marker guide?

Route66Fan

Quote from: edwaleni on September 13, 2020, 07:37:19 PM
Just the index alone is pretty incredible. Where did you see the marker guide?
[/quote]
The marker guide is in the maps header at the top of the image.

edwaleni

Quote from: Route66Fan on September 14, 2020, 03:40:12 AM
Quote from: edwaleni on September 13, 2020, 07:37:19 PM
Just the index alone is pretty incredible. Where did you see the marker guide?
The marker guide is in the maps header at the top of the image.
[/quote]

Thank you!

Interesting that the North Missouri Cross State Highway symbol (3 circles) isn't on there.

Even though this was well before WW2, I don't think anyone would be claiming the "Swastika Trail" today.

Route66Fan

Quote from: edwaleni on September 14, 2020, 10:07:05 AM
The marker guide is Interesting that the North Missouri Cross State Highway symbol (3 circles) isn't on there.
That was probably a mistake on the part of the author of the "Official Automobile Blue Book", or the route marker may have been changed. The map says that the North Missouri Cross State Highway used a route marker that had 3 white lines instead.



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