National auto trail

The system of national auto trails was an informal network of marked routes that existed in the United States and Canada in the early part of the 20th century. Marked with colored bands on telephone poles, the trails were intended to help travellers in the early days of the automobile. It has been said that anyone with enough paint and the will to do so could set up a trail; trails were not usually linked to road improvements, though counties and states often prioritized road improvements because they were on trails.

In 1926, the National Auto Trails were replaced in the United States with the system of numbered United States highways. Similar numbering schemes had begun to be implemented in the Canadian provinces as well.

List of national auto trails

*Albert Pike Highway
*Arrowhead Highway
*Bankhead Highway
*Boston Post Road
*Columbia River Highway
*Conners Highway
*Cooley Highway
*Cumberland Road
*Dixie Highway
*George Washington Highway
*Jackson Highway
*Jefferson Highway
*Jefferson Davis Highway
*John Anderson Highway
*Lakes-to-Sea Highway
*Lee Highway
*Lincoln Highway
*Meridian Highway
*Midland Trail
*National Old Trails Highway
*Ozark Trail
*Pacific Highway
*Pan American Highway
*Seminole Trail

See also

*United States highway
*List of U.S. Routes
*U.S. Highway association

Sources and external links

*North American Auto Trails
*Richard F. Weingroff, From Names to Numbers: The Origins of the U.S. Numbered Highway System