The Dixie Highway, once a main thoroughfare from Chicago to Miami, was part of an improved network of roads traversing the landscape of 10 states. A product of the Good Roads Movement of the early 20th century, construction on the highway in Illinois took place from 1916 to 1921. When completed in 1921, the Dixie Highway was the longest continuous paved road in the state. It ran through parts of Cook, Will, Kankakee, Iroquois, and Vermilion Counties, with service stations, roadside diners, and campgrounds sprouting up along the way. With over 200 vintage photographs, The Dixie Highway in Illinois takes readers on a tour from the Art Institute of Chicago, in the heart of the city on Michigan Avenue, to the Illinois state line east of Danville, exploring this historic highway and the communities it passes through.
About the Author :
James R. Wright is a local historian and author and has been a member of the Homewood Historical Society since 1983. He is a lifelong resident of the community, and the Dixie Highway has played an important role in his life. Hardly a day goes by that he is not "drivin' the Dixie."
Review :
Title: Drivin' the Dixie during its heyday Author: Donna Vickroy
Publisher: Southtown Star
Date: 1/4/2010
If roads could talk, the stories the Dixie Highway could tell. Of fur traders and German prisoners of war. Of full-service gas stations and roadside diners. Of overnight stops at luxury hotels and rustic campgrounds.
The Dixie Highway is the story of the rise and fall of small-town America and the evolution of tourism. A hefty chapter in that tale features the Southland.
Dixie Highway is taken for granted by most travelers these days, but Homewood native Jim Wright hopes to instill a greater appreciation of it through his newly released book, "The Dixie Highway in Illinois" (Arcadia Publishing; $21.99).
With more than 200 vintage photographs, the book serves as a historical tour guide for the Dixie Highway, which stretches across 10 states, connecting Chicago and Michigan in the north with Miami in the south.
Depicted in those photos are the people and places that comprise the highway's story. In one photograph, Harry Wichmann stands near the pumps at his full-service Standard Oil station in Steger. In another, German POWs march into Hoopeston during World War II to help harvest the corn.
"Cars weren't as efficient or as fast as they are today," Wright said.
It took travelers a lot longer to get from Chicago to Florida, and they often were compelled to stop along the way. That gave rise to all kinds of cottage industries, including roadside diners, lavish hotels and plenty of car maintenance garages.
The Dixie Highway's roots go all the way back to the 1820s when Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard, a young fur trader with John Jacob Astor's American Fur Trading Co., arrived in eastern Illinois and set up trading posts between Chicago and Vincennes, Ind.
That route became known as Hubbard's Trail and went on to become the first official state route in Illinois.
In 1915, governors from several states got together to hammer out a plan for improving roads between Indianapolis and Miami. Auto enthusiast Carl Fisher, who owned real estate in Miami, suggested the proposed road be extended farther north to include Chicago, encouraging even more people to head south.
The Dixie Highway was born.
After a bit of political wrangling, it was determined that the Illinois portion of the highway would begin on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, at the Art Institute, and head south to Danville before turning east toward Indiana.
Today, the Dixie Highway, alternately known as Western Avenue, Chicago Road and Illinois 1, remains a mainstay in an ever-changing era. It passes through Blue Island, Homewood, Chicago Heights, Steger, Crete and Beecher before heading south to the rural communities of St. Anne, Milford, Hoopeston and Danville.
Back when it was being constructed, it showcased road-building ingenuity. Hard, paved surfaces were a luxury back in the 1920s. And people indulged in the newfound industry of tourism.
"Eighty years ago, the route was bustling," Wright said. "There were a lot more businesses, and they brought people out.
"We drive along it today without really thinking about it."
Wright has been a member of the Homewood Historical Society since 1983. He also has served as village board liaison to the Homewood Heritage committee, aimed at promoting Dixie Highway.
In 2002, the village launched Drivin' the Dixie. The now-annual event sends antique cars driving along the highway from Blue Island to Momence on the third Saturday of June.
The first printing of "The Dixie Highway in Illinois" has sold out. Another printing is in the works. Copies of the book can be bought at the Homewood Historical Society, 2035 W. 183rd St. For more information, call (708) 212-6530.
