Good Roads Movement
The Good Roads Movement occurred in the United States between the late 1870s and the 1920s. It was the rural dimension of the Progressive movement. The movement started as a coalition between farmers' organizations groups and bicyclists' organizations, such as the League of American Wheelmen. Advocates for improved roads turned local agitation into a national political movement. The goal was state and federal spending to improve rural roads. By 1910, automobile lobbies such as the American Automobile Association joined the campaign, coordinated by the National Good Roads Association.
Outside cities, roads were dirt or gravel; mud in the winter and dust in the summer. Travel was slow and expensive. Early organizers cited Europe where road construction and maintenance was supported by national and local governments. In its early years, the main goal of the movement was education for road building in rural areas between cities and to help rural populations gain the social and economic benefits enjoyed by cities where citizens benefited from railroads, trolleys and paved streets. Even more than traditional vehicles, the newly invented bicycles could benefit from good country roads.
Alabama Good Roads Association
Arizona Good Roads Association
Central Florida Highway Association
Good Roads Association of Wisconsin
Illinois Association for Highway Improvement
Kansas Good Roads Association
Massachusetts Highway Association
Michigan Pikes Association
Michigan State Good Roads Association
Montana Good Roads Congress
Montana Highway Improvement Association
Nebraska Good Roads Association
Nevada Highway Association
New Hampshire Good Roads Association
New York Road Association
North Carolina Good Roads Association
Ohio Good Roads Federation
Southeastern Idaho Good Roads Association
Virginia Good Roads Association
Washington State Good Roads Association
Wilmington-Charlotte-Asheville Highway Association
Wisconsin Highway Commissioners' Association
Wyoming Good Roads Association
U.S. Highway association
Keystone Markers
of the Lincoln Highway
Seedling miles and the later "ideal section"
Roads Improvement Association
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Good roads and rural free delivery of mail
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online
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"The Good Roads Train"
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online review
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Roads Were Not Built for Cars
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doi
The Great Bicycle Protest of 1896
Oklahoma Historical Society - Good Roads Association
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