National Old Trails Highway

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National Old Trails Highway, also known as the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway, was established in 1912, and became part of the National Auto Trail system in the United States. It was 3,095 miles long and stretched from Maryland to California. Much of the route follows the old National Road and the Santa Fe Trail.

The routing itself remained under much discussion until 1917. In particular, the western end was heavily discussed, with proposed alignment going though Phoenix, Arizona and San Diego, California, up to San Francisco, California. Eventually, however, the alignment below was agreed upon. It is an alignement which also follows earlier Indian trails and preexisting railroad tracks.

Throughout its life, the road was upgraded and realigned in order to improve the route. But, by 1926, significant portions in the west remained difficult to drive on, and much remained unpaved.

In 1926, the section west of Moriarty, New Mexico to Los Angeles, California was certified as U.S. Highway 66, (now better known as Route 66) by the AASHTO.

In 1928 and 1929, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) had Madonna of the Trail monuments placed in each of the 12 states through which the highway passes.

After Route 66 was decomissioned, in eastern California portions of the road were renamed with the old name, and signed accordingly.

Cities along route (east to west):

• Baltimore, Maryland
• Washington, DC
• Frederick, Maryland
• Hagerstown, Maryland
• Cumberland, Maryland
• Uniontown, Pennsylvania
• Washington, Pennsylvania
• Wheeling, West Virginia
• Zanesville, Ohio
• Columbus, Ohio
• Springfield, Ohio
• Dayton, Ohio
• Eaton, Ohio
• Richmond, Indiana
• Indianapolis, Indiana
• Terre Haute, Indiana
• Marshall, Illinois
• Effingham, Illinois
• Vandalia, Illinois
• St. Louis, Missouri
• St. Charles, Missouri
• Columbia, Missouri
• Kansas City, Missouri
• Olathe, Kansas
• Osage City, Kansas
• Council Grove, Kansas
• McPherson, Kansas
• Great Bend, Kansas
• Dodge City, Kansas
• Garden City, Kansas
• Trinidad, Colorado
• Raton, New Mexico
• Santa Fe, New Mexico
• Albuquerque, New Mexico
• Los Lunas, New Mexico
• Gallup, New Mexico
• Flagstaff, Arizona
• Needles, California
• Barstow, California
• San Bernardino, California
• Los Angeles, California

External links:

• 'From Names to Numbers - The Origins of the U.S. Numbered Highway System' and 'The National Old Trails Road' (predecessor to Route 66) (Part 1) (Part 2), by Richard F. Weingroff, Federal Highway Administration historian