In 1936, Senator Harry Truman was president of the Highway Association, which proposed labeling highways from Winnipeg, Canada, to Mexico City through Maryville as the “Great American Highway.” The proposal involved multiple highways. Maryville sign designer Ellis Meek was the group’s secretary-treasurer, and the highway was to have signs instead of highway numbers, with tourist maps planned. Nothing came of the plan.
November 27, 1936, Maryville Daily Forum Article
OCR from a 1936 article about the plan:
Maryville Is Located on the Great American Highway to Mexico. Maryville will be a point on the Great American Highway, extending from Winnipeg, Canada, and International Falls, Minn., to Mexico City, Mex., and eventually into Central America, as announced Wednesday at a meeting of the Missouri Highway 71 Association in Kansas City, Kansas. Ellis Meek of this city is the secretary-treasurer of the Kansas-to-Canada division of the Association. Work on the new highway, which will be marked with signs instead of numbers for the convenience of tourists, will commence in the near future, Mr. Meek said today. The highway will extend from International Falls, Minn., on Highway 71 and from Winnipeg on Highway 81 into Brainerd, Minn., where the two will form a “Y” junction. From Brainerd, the new road will extend south on 71 through Maryville into Kansas City and from there, south on 169 into Tulsa, Okla. From Tulsa, the highway will extend south on Highway 81 to Laredo, Tex, and from that point south through Monterrey, Mexico, to Mexico City. The highway will be financed by the Chambers of Commerce of the cities along the route and by the sale of “courtesy” advertising. J.S. Whitaker of Kansas City, vice-president of the Association, who will act as publicity director, will publish a book containing illustrations of points of interest along the route and maps of sections of the country through which the highway will extend. Senator Harry S. Truman is president of the entire Highway Association, and Frank Davis, who is secretary-manager of the National Old Trails Association, is secretary-treasurer. Officers of the north division, which extends from Kansas City to Canada, include S. S. Connett of St Joseph, president; Bartlett Boder of St. Joseph, vice-president; and Mr. Meek, secretary-treasurer. In addition to the general north district officers, each state will have three representatives in the Association.
