A 50- to 90-minute driving tour along U.S. Route 30
Follow this itinerary in one click: 40° 1' 49.5761" N 78° 38' 50.3754" W
The Lincoln Highway, our nation’s first coast-to-coast road, was built during the earliest years of the automobile. It traversed the length of our country from New York City to San Francisco, and was in its heyday from the 1920s through the 1940s.
Today, much of the old Lincoln Highway is designated as US Route 30. Along this driving tour, you’ll see buildings and artifacts from the Lincoln Highway years, built in the 20s and 30s. You’ll also see buildings constructed on the road that preceded the highway, Forbes Road. Bedford County’s segment of the Lincoln Highway was originally Forbes Road, built in the 1750s by the British during the French and Indian War.
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Start your drive along Route 30 East in the westernmost part of Bedford County, heading east. At the hairpin turn sits the Old Shot Factory. During the Revolutionary War, shot was manufactured by dropping lead from the second story.
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About 5 miles ahead is the Bison Corral Farm. Look left at the mural on the barn and the roaming bison. To your right is the pump “Remembering our Native American Past.”
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Just east on the right, look carefully to see the blue cabins hiding behind the overgrown bushes. This was once part of the Shawnee Cabins Tourist Camp.
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Ahead on the left is the Lincoln Highway Farm, painted on the two red barns, owned by the same family for more than 150 years.
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A half mile east of the farm, turn right onto Cemetery Road to follow the old Lincoln. The 1806 Old Log Church is well preserved, still with its original straight-back wooden pews and wineglass pulpit.
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Before turning to rejoin Route 30, look left to see a giant statue of the Pied Piper blowing his horn. Since the 1950s, he’s stood at the entrance to Storyland, a children’s park that closed in the mid-1980s.
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Ahead is Schellsburg, a National Register Historic District. The road name changes to Pitt Street through town. On the left at the Lincoln Highway Garage is the vintage gas pump, “Vincent Van Gas.”
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To follow the Lincoln Highway, turn left onto Shawnee Sleepy Hollow Road. You’ll pass a 1775 tavern owned by Natures Getaway. At the stop sign, turn left onto Route 30 East.
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At the crest of the hill, on the right, is the Lincoln Motor Court, featuring individual roadside cabins refurbished to their original 1930s look. Individual tourist cabins were standard along the Lincoln Highway through the 1940s. This is one of the few still in operation.
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As you continue east, you will pass The Fifties Place and Radio Display on your left. This small museum, open to the public, features old signs, antique fuel pumps, auto Americana, and antique radios and TVs. Donations are appreciated.
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At the intersection of Route 30 and 31 is the Jean Bonnet Tavern. The tavern was built in 1769, where Forbes' 1758 road diverged from Burd’s 1755 road. About 100 yards past the Tavern, there’s a concrete Lincoln Highway marker on the left.
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The Old Log House store was built in the 1760s and was the home of Mary Todd Lincoln’s uncle, William Todd.
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Approaching Bedford, bear right onto Business Route 30. You’ll see our county fairgrounds on the right. At the fairground entrance stands the Coffee Pot. The 1927 Coffee Pot was rescued and moved ¼ mile to this site in 2003. This is a classic example of the early automobile era "Programmatic Architecture,” designed to attract customers with the novelty of the design.
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Continue along Pitt Street. On your right is the Art Deco Dunkle’s Gulf Gas Station. Opened in 1933, the station’s terracotta tiles depict stylized geometric foliage and chevrons. The station closed in 2023.
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Two blocks further east is the entrance to the Fort Bedford Museum. During the French and Indian War, the British built a fort on this spot in 1758 as a staging area for a planned assault on Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh). The original fort is gone, but in 1958, citizens built Fort Bedford Museum to showcase French-Indian War artifacts and other pieces from Bedford County’s history.
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Continuing east along Pitt Street, the 1766 Espy House on your left is a National Historic Landmark. It served as President Washington's headquarters during the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion. BREEZEWOOD 17 EVERETT 18 19 20 21 23 22
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On your left, just before Hometown Bank, is a concrete Lincoln Highway marker, and to the right of the bank is the gas pump “Five Dollar Bill” with the image of President Lincoln.
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Continue ahead. Past the first light, look to your right for the 1898 Union Hotel. The photo is from the early 1900s. There is a 6-minute video about the Union Hotel via the QR code.
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On the way out of town, you’ll pass the Igloo ice cream parlor, resembling an ice cream sundae. Kitchy, just like the Coffee Pot, this is programmatic architecture.
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Just beyond is a recently built Roadside Giant, an oversized quarter with George Washington’s profile, located at the entrance of Down River Golf Course. Continue to the intersection and turn right to rejoin Route 30 East.
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On the left is the former Travelers Rest Motel. A short piece of the original Lincoln Highway runs in front of the 1950s building.
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Head on the right is the former Juniata Crossings Lodge, built as a stagecoach stop during the early 1800s. You’re now approaching the “Town of Motels,” Breezewood. This was a tiny town until the PA Turnpike opened in 1940, and a major interchange was created here. The PA Turnpike soon became the dominant route for most cross-country traffic, diminishing traffic on the Lincoln Highway.
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The head-on left is the Gateway Travel Plaza, built in 1994 to replace the original one opened by Merle and Marian Snyder in 1940. The Snyders were well known for helping traveling soldiers during World War II, often trading a meal or a tank of gasoline for a unit patch from the service member
