Lisbon

LISBON	Pop. 846	Control, Post Office.
Clinton 64.1	Cedar Rapids 15.9	Two hotels, 1 garage. Local speed limit, 15 miles per hour, not enforced. One railroad, express company, 2 telephone companies, 2 banks. Rich agricultural district.
Concrete		L.H. Local Consul, C.W. Carbee.

- A Complete Official Road Guide of The LINCOLN HIGHWAY Fifth Edition (1924)

Lisbon.
Once the only east entrance into town, the old Lincoln resembles Lisbon's driveway off busy U.S. Highway 30, which now bypasses both Lisbon and Mt. Vernon.

Lisbon.
It's unknown if this 1928 concrete marker is in its original location on Main Street.

Lisbon.
This collection of cabins has a storied history. Originally a cabin court at a nearby location, the cabins were moved here and a facade placed on the front of the row to give the appearance of a motel, which you can see in the postcard section of this site. If you ever observed the "motel" from the rear, however, you would see is wasn't a single structure at all. Residents probably wondered why their rooms were so small. In 1997, the facade was removed long enough to get this photo. Shortly afterwards, the cabins were expanded and integrated to create an actual motel. The establishment is on U.S. 30, while the original Lincoln ran about a half-mile north, through the heart of the Lisbon business district and a beautiful collection of century-old brick buildings.

Between Lisbon and Mt. Vernon.
Lining the original route of the Lincoln Highway between these two communities are a series of unmarked concrete posts, commemorating perhaps "their pride about being on the great highway" (Greg Franzwa). Even the lowliest fence posts here are preformed concrete - maybe a few bucks to the road crews got you some wet concrete.

"Lisbon was as excited as any town when it learned that the great highway would pass down its main street. On Oct. 2, 1913, the Lisbon Herald reprinted the good news, which originally ran in the Mount Vernon Record a few days earlier. It quoted the press release of the Lincoln Highway Association almost verbatim, announcing that half the money to start the project had already been raised.

However, the town must have had a short memory. On Jan. 1, 1914, under the headline 'What 1913 Brought,' mention was made of the Panama Canal, some steamship disasters, the presidential inauguration, labor disputes, problems with Mexico, and lots of railroad news. Not a mention of the Lincoln Highway."

LINN COUNTY

Lisbon