The Lincoln Highway grew from the vision of Carl Fisher and Henry Joy. In 1912, Fisher proposed a coast-to-coast highway open to lawful traffic of all descriptions without toll charges, and in 1913 the Lincoln Highway Association turned that dream into reality. This roadbed formed part of the primary route between Reno and Sacramento along an historic wagon road. Later, a secondary route crossed the Sierra roughly where U.S. 50 is today. From 1913 to 1930, before this route was replaced by U.S. 40, the Lincoln Highway was the primary road into northern California from the eastern United States. It carried forward the hopes of the first settlers who crossed the Sierra a few yards west of here in the 1840s, and that vision continued in U.S. 40 and today’s Interstate 80, enabling travelers to explore and discover California.