This document provides a summary of 5 postcards from a US-36 roadtrip from Ohio to Colorado. It describes points of interest along the route such as clay workings in Uhrichsville, Ohio and Zane Shawnee Caverns in Ohio. It also discusses places related to US presidents like Rutherford B. Hayes' birthplace in Delaware, Ohio and sites involving Abraham Lincoln in Illinois. Further locations mentioned include Hannibal, Missouri known for its connection to Mark Twain, and landmarks in Denver, Colorado at the route's end.

1. 5 Postcards from a US-36 Roadtrip
By Donald Dale Milne
https://www.roadtrip62.com/5-postcards-from-a-us-36-roadtrip.htm
Time for Roadtrip-‘62 ™ to travel highway US-36 as we count down the US-numbered routes. Actually, I’m counting up, but whatever. Highway US-
36 currently runs about 1414 miles from Uhrichsville, Ohio to Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. It approximates the route of the old Pikes Peak Ocean
To Ocean Highway, which dated from the time before 1924 when major transcontinental highway were named instead of numbered. You can find out more
about those highways at my US Highway Systems page (https://www.roadtrip62.com/us-highway-systems.htm ). Back in 1962, the highway was shorter on the
west end but longer on the east end. It then ran from Cadiz, Ohio to Denver, Colorado. The changes were made in 1974, so we would not have traveled the route
to the national park. Highway US-36 was extended to use The Denver-Boulder Turnpike. This was constructed as a toll expressway in 1953 and the bonds were
paid off in 1967. After the tollbooths were removed, US-36 was extended west from Denver.
Downtown Uhrichsville, Ohio, 2012 (Photo by Jon Dawson at Flickr, https://flickr.com/photos/jmd41280/ , licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic License
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/ ).)

2. In Uhrichsville, the current beginning of US-36, we find ourselves in clay country. You might not give much thought to clay, but it still provides an
important building material. Clay is still used in making bricks, chimney liners and decorative chimney tops, ovens, roof and other tiles, and sewer pipes.
Around 1900, when the country was building new cities and most buildings were made of brick, there were 32 clay plants in the area. There is still one today,
Superior Clay Corporation, which dates back to that earlier time and still creates its products from local clays. There is also the Uhrichsville Clay Museum,
which was not here in 1962 but which shows us that clay-working heritage. Something else that we actually could have seen in 1962 is the Civil War Memorial
in Union Cemetery. This is one of the most elaborate memorials I have seen. It is carved from limestone and includes several separate elements. The most
dramatic is the large tree-stump in the center of the memorial. Also included are two soldiers, one who appears to have been wounded, and a broken wagon
wheel.
Instead, let’s visit some other places along US-36. Our US-23 roadtrip crossed the route at Delaware, Ohio, where we saw a monument at the birthplace
of President Rutherford B. Hayes (https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=151640 ). His birth home is no longer at the site. The Hayes family were renters on the
property and, as often happens with rental properties, it fell into disrepair. It was purchased in 1921 by Standard Oil and demolished for a gas station, though the
oil company gave the community an opportunity to buy the site after learning it was a presidential birthplace. In 1926, a memorial marker was placed here by the
Delaware City Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. I mention several other places in Delaware on Day 7 of my US-23 journey, at
https://www.roadtrip62.com/us-23-day-7-fostoria-oh-delaware-oh.htm .
Formations in Ohio Caverns, West Liberty, Ohio (photo from a brochure in the author’s collection)

3. Another worthwhile stop open both in 1962 and today in Ohio is Zane Caverns, now known as Zane Shawnee Caverns and Southwind Park, near
Zanesfield, Ohio. I’ve never been to Zane Caverns but have visited nearby Ohio Caverns. Both cave systems were formed by the same glacial process, which
deposited a moraine on nearby Campbell Hill. Zane Caverns were discovered in 1892 by a man rescuing a boy and his dog from a sinkhole. They have been
operated as a tour cave through most of the 20th
century and are currently operated by the Shawnee Nation, URB, an Ohio recognized tribe who claim Shawnee
descent. The cave contains many rare formations, such as cave pearls and claws. Nearby Ohio Caverns has been called “America’s most colorful caverns” and
are the largest caverns in Ohio. I remember best the thin stalactite structures called soda straws. They have been open for public tours since 1925.
I’ve covered the sites of Indianapolis, Indiana in a post about highway US-31 (https://www.roadtrip62.com/5-postcards-from-a-us-31-roadtrip.htm ),
which also passes through that city, so I won’t repeat them here. On to highway US-36 in Illinois, which traverses a good portion of the area where President
Abraham Lincoln lived and worked before becoming President. Near Decatur, Illinois, the Lincoln Trail Homestead State Park & Memorial
(https://www2.illinois.gov/dnr/Parks/Pages/LincolnTrailHomestead.aspx ) is located just 2 miles off US-36. A marker on the approximate site of Abraham’s
Lincoln’s first home in Illinois was erected in 1904. The park was created in 1938 to commemorate the homesite. The original Lincoln cabin is long gone but the
land looks much like it did when he lived here. You can canoe the Sangamon River or hike one of three nature trails in the park.
Abraham Lincoln’s tomb, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Illinois

4. Within the capital of Springfield, Illinois, there are five sites linked by the Abraham Lincoln Trail. These include the Lincoln Home National Historic
Site, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, and the Lincoln Monument in Oak Ridge Cemetery. The tomb at the Lincoln Monument, dedicated
in 1874, is not only the final resting place of Abraham Lincoln, but also of his wife Mary, and three of their four sons. It was designated a National Historic
Landmark in 1960. The Lincoln Home National Historic Site is a unit of the National Park System located on 4 city blocks. Robert Todd Lincoln, Lincoln's son,
donated the family home to the State of Illinois in 1887 under the condition that it would forever be well maintained and open to the public at no charge. The
home was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960. The home and the adjacent district became a National Historic Site in 1971. The area showcases
several homes that remain from the time when Abraham Lincoln lived here. Some homes are open for viewing, tours are available of Mr. Lincoln’s home, and
there are outdoor exhibits. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is located just a few blocks outside of the park.
We cross the Mississippi River to reach Missouri at Hannibal, boyhood home of Samuel Clemens, better known as author Mark Twain. The Mark
Twain Boyhood Home & Museum (see https://marktwainmuseum.org/ ) has been open to the public as a museum since 1912 and was designated a National
Historic Landmark in 1962. There are nine properties in the museum complex, with the legendary whitewashed fence of Tom Sawyer bordering the property.
Also included are Becky Thatcher's House, right across the street from Tom Sawyer's home, and the Tom and Huck Statue at the foot of Cardiff Hill. The statue
was erected in 1926 and is one of the earliest known statues to honor fictional characters. The museum's collection includes many first edition books by Mark
Twain, personal items and a large collection of Mark Twain memorabilia. The museum also houses the second largest collection of original Norman Rockwell
paintings, which were commissioned as illustrations for a special edition of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Hannibal is
also home to Mark Twain Cave, the oldest operating show cave in Missouri. It has exceptionally good examples of maze type of caverns and was the basis for
"McDougal's Cave" in Twain’s novel, that Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher became lost in. Geologically, Mark Twain Cave and its nearby neighbor Cameron
Cave are believed to be remnants of a much larger cave system cut apart by a glacier and millions of years of erosion. Tours of Cameron Cave are also offered,
but unlike Mark Twain Cave, that cave has no electric lights.

5. The boyhood home of another historical figure, General John J. Pershing, is along highway US-36 near Laclede, Missouri. General Pershing attained
the rank of General of the Armies and became the highest-ranking military officer in United States history. The historic site (at
https://mostateparks.com/park/gen-john-j-pershing-boyhood-home-state-historic-site ) preserves and interprets his boyhood home and the one-room Prairie
Mound School, where he taught for a year before attending West Point Military Academy. The Pershing home was acquired by the state of Missouri in 1952 and
dedicated as a memorial in 1960, as part of a national centennial celebration of Pershing's birth.
Pony Express Stables, St. Joseph, Missouri postcard (photo from an online auction)
At St. Joseph, Missouri, we cross the Pony Express Bridge over the Missouri River, connecting to Elwood, Kansas. The current bridges were built in
1983 to replace a steel truss bridge built in 1929. The bridge is near the Pony Express Stables (see https://www.ponyexpress.org/ ) at that historic route’s eastern
terminus. The bridge also passes over the family property of Johnny Fry, the "official" first westbound rider for the Pony Express. Because US-36 closely
follows the Pony Express route to Marysville, Kansas, it is designated the Pony Express Memorial Highway. The Pony Express was a mail delivery service and
though it only operated for 18 months before telegraph service replaced it, it was an important link in transcontinental communications. It began in St. Joseph
because that city was the farthest westward end of railroad tracks in the United States in 1861. The Patee House, a former hotel, served as the headquarters for
the Pony Express in St. Joseph. Today, the Patee House Museum and Jesse James House are both owned by The Pony Express Historical Association. They
were not open to the public in 1962 but the Patee House was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965. Another museum, the Pony Express Barn, is
located at Marysville.

6. Monument at Geographic Center of 48 continental United States, Lebanon, Kansas, ca. 1958 (postcard from an online auction)
A more unusual sight along US-36 is the geographic center of the 48 continental United States. This site near Lebanon, Kansas has been surveyed and
recognized as the center since 1912, when the states of New Mexico and Arizona were added. Until 1958, when Alaska was added, it was also the center of the
United States. A historical marker and small chapel have been erected at a roadside stop near the center point.
Because I cover Denver, Colorado extensively on two pages of my US-6 roadtrip, I won’t repeat myself here. You can read all about it at US-6 Day 29
(https://www.roadtrip62.com/us-6-day-29-imperial-ne-denver-co.htm ) and US-6 Day 30 (https://www.roadtrip62.com/us-6-day-30-denver-co-golden-co.htm ).
And you can read much more about 1962 next time right here on Roadtrip-‘62 ™ !

7. Visit ROADTRIP-'62 ™ ( https://www.roadtrip62.com/index.htm )for more articles.
Or visit us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Roadtrip62/119235794845685 ,
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Author of Roadtrip-'62TM ( https://www.roadtrip62.com/ ), Donald Dale Milne
If you haven’t heard of nor Roadtrip-'62 ™ , my name is Don Milne and I'll be your travel guide on this virtual tour of the U. S. of A. First, I suppose
you're wondering why nor Roadtrip-'62 ™ is different from other travel sites? There's a very simple answer: everybody else travels only in space, but we also
travel in time! That's right, we don't just go somewhere, we also go somewhen. And the when is 1962. We'll try to see what's left today from 1962, by driving as
if it were 1962. We will drive on highways as they were in 1962, try to eat only at restaurants that existed in 1962, try to stay only at motels that existed in 1962,
try to buy gas and sundries, play the music, see only the sites across America, and just generally live in America as it was in 1962!
What we will do is enjoy the FUN of cross-country driving. And the fun of cross-country travel is all the differences from our everyday life! We'll talk
about politics, food, great inventions, how people lived, television, and more. We'll get to see some of the people that made our history; that made this country
great. We'll stumble across unexpected pleasures, like one trip I made through Cherokee, North Carolina where I just happened to be in town as the 1996
Olympic Torch procession came through on it's way to Atlanta, Georgia. You really never know what you'll find when you travel!

8. 1962-style US-23 signs
Now, let's see where we'll be going! We're going to drive the US-numbered routes of 1962. Because we'll be using the roads of 1962, that means we
won't be on freeways very much. There weren't many freeways in 1962, as the country had just begun building the Interstate system,, so we'll travel mostly the
two-lanes through every little town on the way. Sometimes even where there was a freeway, I'll go back on the old road just to see what was there. Anyway, even
if there was a freeway in 1962, it was only there for a couple of years and things had not changed much. Sometimes a "business route" ran through a town on the
old route, because there were no services at the freeway interchanges yet.
Just in case you're asking why 1962, it's because I remember 1962. I traveled on my first freeway as a boy with my dad about that time, and fell in love with both
travel and freeways. But, besides my own memories and the fact that it was a time largely before interstate freeways, 1962 is just cool...wait and see! And I'm
writing this virtual tour just because I like to drive. I like to go places, see things, and just drive for the joy of driving! I decided I want to talk about it, to share
the fun with others. I'll be doing the driving on our Roadtrip-'62 ™, but if you see anything you like, I encourage you to get out on the road and enjoy it in person.
This virtual roadtrip may be fun, but there's nothing like the real thing!