As Oregon entered the 20th century, travel along the coast followed Indian trails, the beach, and a few very muddy roads. In 1892, Ben Jones led a delegation to Corvallis to seek county money for road improvements. When county officials questioned why “a bunch of clam diggers” needed a road, Jones answered that with their cooperation they were going to create a new county. A year later, the western portion of Benton County seceded to form Lincoln County, and road improvements soon began. As World War I approached, Oregon’s coast was considered one of the weakest links in national defense, and Jones, then a state legislator, used that concern to champion a coast highway as a strategic investment. Funding was granted in 1919 and construction began immediately. By 1931, the Roosevelt Military Highway ran the entire length of Oregon’s coast, and by 1937 all the coastal bridges were completed. Today, this road is U.S. Highway 101 and the Pacific Coast National Scenic Byway.