During the early part of the 20th century, as automobiles came into vogue, various communities and states began forming associations to create improved motorist routes between themselves and other distant points. Among such routes, the Jefferson Highway proved to be the first successful north-south transcontinental route in the United States.
Its northern terminus was Winnipeg, Manitoba, and its southern terminus was New Orleans, Louisiana. Its name reflected the president who approved the Louisiana Purchase, Thomas Jefferson, and due to its broad latitude of geography and climate, the highway was also promoted as the “Pine to Palms Route.”
Below is a map of the route based on 1926 state maps, a point at which the association had just added the Arkansas portions of the route and not too long before the United States converted the routes to numbered highways.
Word, Image and Sound 