Traveling the Old Red Trail

AUTOMOBILE TRAVEL BEGINS
We do not know for certain the first person to travel across the state on what became known as the "Red Line Trail," but we do know that in 1911, a high school graduate from Illinois, and three of his friends traveled this route on their way to Montana. The trip cost $12.50 for fuel, which would be pretty cheap today, but back then was a lot of money.

Soon, other people were driving across North Dakota on the same trail. By 1912, newspapers in North Dakota begin calling this route the Red Line Trail. In 1913, the legislature authorized private organizations to work on the improvement and marking of roads. Hoping to attract business from travelers, community groups and business interests soon marked the major roads giving these trails different names. In North Dakota we had the Green, Black, Blue, Yellow, and Red Trails.

Towns and cities along the Red Line Trail wanted people to come through their town and hopefully stop and buy items at their stores. To help keep travelers from getting lost, they started marking the trail.

They marked telephone poles and wooden fence posts with a red band so that drivers knew they were on the Red Line Trail. If they painted an "R" on the object, it meant the driver should turn right, if they painted an "L" the driver should turn left, and, if they painted an "X" it meant danger.

During the first years of the Red Line Trail, nobody drove their automobile across it during the winter months. On the open prairie the danger was too great if a snow storm occurred. During the rest of the year, drivers could only travel when the roads were dry. If it had rained, or if there was standing water, the vehicles could easily get stuck in the mud.

Discussion Question

This cartoon printed in Good Roads Magazine in 1920 to encourage support for road improvements. What were some of the reasons for improving roads?