Red, White, and Bloom: Patriotic Plantings Spruce Up Crawford County's Lincoln Highway
Our historic roads are bursting with color just in time for a major milestone. On April 4, 2026, the Crawford County History Alliance (CCHA) officially kicked the Lincoln Highway Beautification Project into full gear with its Picking Park Clean-Up Day, thanks to a ServeOhio & America 250-OH Grant. Armed with flats of red, white, and blue flowers, teams of dedicated local volunteers spent the day transforming the historic corridor to celebrate America’s upcoming 250th anniversary.
As reported by Crawford County Now, this initiative isn’t just about seasonal gardening—it’s a deliberate effort to use community pride to highlight the deep roots of our transportation heritage.
Cultivating a Patriotic Gateway
The vision behind the project is simple: to make Crawford County’s stretch of America’s first coast-to-coast paved highway as memorable as the history it represents.
“The flowers going into the ground now showcase, highlight, and enhance the areas we already have,” noted Elaine Gebhardt-Naples, CCHA Projects Director. “And what’s more patriotic sounding than the Lincoln Highway?”
To achieve high visual impact, co-chair Mary Lee Minor and a passionate crew of 12 volunteers—including members of Bucyrus’s Earth, Wind, and Flowers Garden Club—carefully designed sun-loving floral arrangements. Sourced locally from Scapes by Sarah, the plantings feature:
Bold Red & White: Vibrant petunias planted in high-impact baskets and beds.
True Blue: Clusters of blue Salvia and Verbena to round out the patriotic theme.
Silvery Edging: Soft mounds of Dusty Miller to frame the perimeter of the beds.
Volunteers established a striking new flower bed at Family, Farm & Home and extended the patriotic trail to prominent local landmarks, including the Elks, the VFW, the Community Foundation, and all the way to Picking Park.
Sprucing Up a 1929 Relic
The beautification effort also focused heavily on the historic Hopley Monument, which honors John Edward Hopley—a pioneer of the coast-to-coast road and Ohio’s first state consul for the Lincoln Highway Association.
The 1929 monument is receiving a total revitalization. Trees along the perimeter have been trimmed to make the landmark highly visible from the road, and its iconic bronze plaque is being carefully sandblasted and cleaned. These upgrades are incredibly timely, as Ohio prepares to host the Lincoln Highway National Conference in 2027, which will draw hundreds of road enthusiasts right through Crawford County.
Anchoring the America 250 Transportation Trail
The beautification project nicely complements other historic markers along the route. Just down the road, Hank’s Garage—home to the largest Edsel car collection in the world—now proudly displays a massive 4-by-8-foot Lincoln Highway sign. Thanks to the CCHA’s nomination, the garage is now officially featured on the America 250 Ohio Transportation Trail.
Funded by generous grants and community donations, this project marks another successful chapter in our march toward July 4, 2026. From the Heritage Tree Planting at Heckert Nature Preserve to the Big Birthday Bash in Crestline, Crawford County continues to prove that our history isn’t just sitting on a shelf—it’s growing, thriving, and blooming right in front of us.
Want to help keep our highway beautiful? A project like this relies on ongoing care! A slow-feed fertilizer and a dedicated volunteer watering schedule are already in place, but we always welcome extra hands and support. To learn how you can volunteer or donate toward our ongoing America 250 preservation efforts, visit our Get Involved page.