Henry Joy, President of Packard Motor Car Company, believed that the road should be named after Abraham Lincoln. He urged Fisher to write a letter of protest to Congress, which was considering spending $1.7 million on a marble memorial to Lincoln. Joy thought a good road across the country would be a better tribute to the president.
The name “Lincoln” captured Fisher’s fancy; he realized it would give great patriotic appeal to the highway. Fisher asked Joy if he wanted to be involved directly with the highway project. At first, Joy was hesitant, but soon he wholeheartedly supported the project and became the primary spokesman for the highway as well as President of the Lincoln Highway Association with an office based in Detroit, Michigan. The nation soon became enthusiastic about the highway. Henry Joy and Frank Seiberling, President, Good Year Tire and Rubber, pledged significant funds and played major roles in the highway’s development.
ABOUT THIS SERIES
The Lincoln Highway: Leaders in the Movement for Transcontinental Travel was on display at the Museum in 2013. This series of articles comes for the displays from that exhibition.