The Correspondence series (1912-1929) contains incoming and outgoing correspondence between members of the Lincoln Highway Association, interested individuals and organizations, and federal and state governments. Subseries include: Car Companies, Subscription/Contributions, Federal Government, State Government, Automobile Club of Southern California, and Miscellaneous. Three subseries cover correspondence regarding specific areas along the Lincoln Highway and include the "Ideal" Section, Seiberling Section, and Utah/Nevada. Within the each subseries, the correspondence is organized by correspondent and then chronologically. This series is not comprehensive and does not contain all the collections' correspondence. Some correspondence remains in other series in order to provide context for the themes and topics addressed within the correspondence.
The Car Companies subseries (1912-1917) includes correspondence between major automobile companies, their representatives, and board members of the Lincoln Highway Association. Key players include Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company, Will J. Dobyns from the Fisher Automobile Company, Hudson Motor Car Company, Packard Motor Car Company, Union Carbine Company, the American Automobile Association, and Austin Bement, Carl G. Fisher, Henry B. Joy, and Arthur R. Pardington. The majority of correspondence relates to solicitation of funds, donations, subscriptions, discussions of the philosophy of the highway, and some early organizational business between the future board members.
The subseries Subscriptions/Contributions (1912-1919) provides records of money donated to the cause of building the Lincoln Highway. This is important financial information that is lacking from official organizational records. This series can help to show what individuals and businesses were interested in promoting the Lincoln Highway as well as answer other financial questions regarding donations to the Association. Individuals, representatives of industry, and board members of the Lincoln Highway Association author the letters throughout this subseries. There are also several examples of blank subscription forms.
The Federal Government (1912-1923) and State Government (1913-1923) subseries deal with exchanges between the Association and the respective governments. Topics for both governments include seeking support for the highway project, both legislatively and financially. Correspondence from the Federal government includes letters between the Department of Agriculture, Secretary of War H.L. Scott, Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, and President William Howard Taft. Letters are present from state governors and agencies in New York, New Jersey, Indiana, Illinois, Nebraska, Utah, and California.
The Automobile Club of Southern California (1915) has a small exchange of letters between Fred Baker, President of the club in 1915 and Henry B. Joy discussing the Lincoln Highway project. The Automobile Club of Southern California was one of the earliest auto clubs in the country. The organization was active in promoting the cause of the Lincoln Highway, other roads, and published maps and road guides for motorists.
The Miscellaneous subseries (1912-1925) contains correspondence between Association members including Austin Bement, Carl G. Fisher, Henry B. Joy, individual supporters, and steel and concrete companies.
The "Ideal" Section subseries (1920-1929) deals with the construction, problems, and issues surrounding the Lincoln Highway between Dyer and Schererville, Lake County, Indiana. Letters are arranged by correspondent and include Vice-President and Secretary of the LHA Austin Bement, Edsel Ford, the landscrape architect Jens Jensen, and the consulting engineer W. G. Thompson.
The Seiberling Section subseries (1916-1923) deals with portions of the route in Utah. Correspondence is arranged by association members: Austin Bement, Carl G. Fisher, Gael S. Hoag, Henry B. Joy, Henry C. Ostermann, Frank A. Seiberling, and miscellaneous authors. The section of the Highway is named after Frank A. Seiberling, who worked strenuously to solve the problems this section of the route presented.
The Utah/Nevada suberies (1912-1927) covers discussion of the Highway throughout Utah and Nevada, especially dealing with problems of routing. Correspondents include Austin Bement, Carl G. Fisher, Gael S. Hoag, Henry B. Joy, Henry C. Ostermann, Arthur R. Pardington, Frank A. Seiberling, Secretary of Agriculture Henry C. Wallace, and miscellaneous authors.
