Lathrop gets its fair share of traffic thanks to Interstate 5 that flows from Mexico to the Canadian border. 

But long before Lathrop was a city it was already on the map. 

Not only was Lathrop home to the last section of the Transcontinental railroad to be formally completed – the bridge at Mossdale over the San Joaquin River – but it was also a stop along one of the nation’s earliest transcontinental highways. 

The Lincoln Highway – which ran from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco – snaked through Lathrop along sections of Roth and Harlan Roads before connecting up with Tracy’s 11th Street. 

And one group wants to do what it can to preserve the history of that route and the importance of allowing interstate travel early in America’s history. 

The California Chapter of the Lincoln Highway Association is currently working with the City of Lathrop to place as many as eight signs marking the route along Roth Road and onto Harlan Road as it approaches the San Joaquin River crossing. 

The signs, which were designed by the late John Serpa – who was honored by the City of Lathrop for his wartime service and his business accomplishments as one of the city’s early pioneers – are provided by the non-profit organization, and according the organization’s Project Manager Michael Kaelin, are in compliance with state and federal guidelines governing their placement. 

“Part of our constitution is to make people more aware of the nation’s first coast-to-coast driving route, which just happens to run right through Lathrop,” said Kaelin – who works with communities throughout California to get the signs placed. “It’s a big part of our history and we want people to be able to see the sign and become interested in what it represents.”

Kaelin, who spoke to the Lathrop City Council for the second time on Monday night, said that he has been in negotiations with Senior Engineer Michael King on the locations throughout Lathrop that they would like to see the signs placed. 

The old highway, which was dedicated on Halloween in 1913, was originally built to travel through 13 states but was realigned in 1928 to run through a portion of West Virginia – meaning it traveled through 14 states, 128 counties and more than 700 cities during its time. 

In 1926 portions of the route were renamed under the country’s Numbered Highway System, and today Interstate 80 – which runs from San Francisco’s Bay Bridge to the George Washington Bridge in New York City – serves as the main coast-to-coast thoroughfare between the two original terminus points.  

Portions of the highway have been preserved in places like Omaha, Nebraska – where the original brick has been restored – and many of the “roadside giants” that were erected along the route to capture the attention and the business of travelers, like the “world’s largest teapot” and 25-foot tall replica of a 1940’s Bennett gas pump, still exist. 

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.