Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1922-08-24
THE JACKSON HIGHWAY.
Road Named for South Carolin.
ian Almost Finished.

fN oAA AtN oiAy iheSASSe oAA>~
satisfaction in earthly progress
and accomplishment, then the
soul Of Gen. Andrew jackson
cold Hickory") must glow in
pride of fuifillment-after long
waiting-on looking down upon
the new visible line OF communi-
cation between Chicago and New
Orleans, says writer in the
Dearborn Independent. Nearing
completion is the jackson high
way, road-building project be-
gun by Gen. Jackson more than a
century ago.
1t seems strange-among peo-
pie boasting rapid development
that helpful, needed highway
from the Great Lakes to the Gulf
region, the southern reaches OF
which were begun in 1916, should
not be finished in 1922. But
such is fact. Yet all along the
1,100-route interest has been slim
ulated and work has progressed
to a point from which completion
within the coming year is an easy
possibility. Bearing the name OF
the patriot who projected it, and
leading to and through the scenes
! Of his efforts to develop virgin
territory and his vigorous and
victorious eXploits--first against
the Indians and later against a
foreign foe-it will be the most
historic and, mayhap, the most
useful highway in America. -
The real beginning of the jack
son highway took place i'll 1865
by means Of a treaty between the
United States and the Cherokee
Indians. In those days of unsur-
veyed forests and dense under
growth, traffic necessarily was
cnrried on the rivers; the streams
were the lines OF communication
for the delivery of supplies from
established white settlements to
The more precarious abodes of tho
pioneers who had pushed farther
south and southwest through the
forests. The great Tennessee
river on the north and the small
er Tombigbee in Mississippi and
Alabama to the southwest were
two such streams.
Although known in history as
an intrepid fighter, Gen. jackson
at heart and in fact was a con-
'structionist, developer. Roads;
bridges, homes--he wanted to see
them built through the wilder
ness, and he helped to build them.
And when ne returned from the
battle of New Orleans to Tennes-
see he asked, the war department
to construct permanent road
over the Indian wars trail and to
project it to within reach of New
lOrleansS
So in 1916 Congress appropri-
ated $4,000. to start the work.
1t was "Old Hickory's" belief
that soldiers, when not engaged
III fighting, should be employed
in useful work. And so this road
building was done largely by
troops. 1t began in 1877 and
was completed in 1920. 1t was
necessarily crude, though di-
rect, road from Madisonville, La,
on Lake Pontchastrain, north of
New Orleans, to Columbia, Tenn.
"a road already had been estab-
lished between Columbia and
Nashville.)
The northern section of the
Jackson highway--that between
Nashville, and Chicago-is, Of
course, without historical signif-
icance so far as the name of Jack
son is concerned. Not a great
deal of work remains to be done
either north or south of the Ohio
river.
Through Indiana, Kentucky,
Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi
and Louisiana the jackson high
way will present an almost COM
:plete panorama of the life and
agrarian activities and possibili-
,ties of America. Coming south
and out of section Of the corn
belt, the traveller will enter the
blue grass pastures Of western
kentucky, where the eye is
charmed by inviting rural homes,
deep meadows, purebred Here