Maine's Pole Highways and Auto Trails (1919-1925)
In 1919, the Maine Automobile Association and the Maine State Highway
Commission collaborated on marking through routes for interregional travel.
As the chosen alignments
were officially classified as state highway, these highways were truly official
routings and not merely the 'unofficial' highways promulgated by booster
organizations in other states lacking governmental backing (although some
were also auto trails in that same vein).
These ancestors of the later numbered highways did not use route numbers
themselves, instead using named trails on maps (distinct from the later
named highways) matched with conspicuous
colour markings on poles and other landmarks.
The colour marks for particular
highways were standardized and chosen by the AAA (MAA) and the SHC to
keep them consistent throughout, although the colour convention used
did not in general match the directional nature used in some surrounding
states. Pole colours are given next to the
trail name in the listing below, and appear on the route entries for
their succeeding highway numbers. Colour order is significant!
For those trails within the state, the names were also chosen by the AAA
and the SHC, but several of the trails were continuations of auto trails
outside of Maine and maintained the same name for map continuity.
It is unclear, but doubtful, that all the trails listed were simultaneously
designated; however, it is nearly impossible from contemporary maps to
assess which routes were in existence when.
If you can contribute map-backed information, please
contact me.
The status of the former
lettered highway designations during the
pole highways is similarly unclear,
but it is certainly possible and even likely that the two
systems existed in parallel.
The pole highways became defunct upon Maine's brief adoption of
the New England Interstate system, but
all of the pole highways assumed new numbers and were successfully
assimiliated into the new system, and all of their basic routings
live on today. Highways are presented in no particular order, except
that "nameless ones" are ordered to the end. Pole colours and highway
names come from the 1922 ALA trail book, the 1923 National Surveys
map atlas and the 1923 and 1924 Rand McNally Auto Trails Maps.
Atlantic Highway [
Blue
]
- Routing
- New Hampshire state line, Kittery, Wells, Kennebunk, Scarborough,
Portland, Yarmouth, Brunswick, Bath, Wiscasset, Waldoboro, Rockland,
Belfast, Searsport, Bangor, Ellsworth, Hancock, Millbridge, Jonesboro,
Machias, Dennysville, Perry, Robbinston, Calais
- Succeeded by
- NEI 1
(now US 1
except
Stockton Springs-Bangor-Ellsworth, which is US 1A
and US 1AB).
Longfellow Highway [
Yellow
]
- Routing
- New Hampshire state line, Bethel, Bryant Pond, West Paris, South Paris,
Norway, Poland, Gray, Portland
- Succeeded by
- NEI 15 (now US 2)
to Bethel, then NEI/ME 26 to Portland.
Theodore Roosevelt International Highway [
White
-
"T.R."
-
White
]
- Routing
- New Hampshire state line, Fryeburg, Bridgton, Naples, Raymond,
North Windham, Highland Lake, Portland
- Succeeded by
- NEI/ME 18 (now US 302)
Grafton Notch Highway [
White
-
Yellow
]
- Routing
- New Hampshire state line, Upton, Newry, Bethel
- Succeeded by
- NEI/ME 26 (also NEI 15
[now US 2] for the cosigned portion from Bethel to Newry)
The Grafton Notch was part of the larger interstate Dixville Notch Hwy routing,
which is also now ME 26. It isn't clear if the entire
Dixville Notch in Maine used these colours, or just this known section. The
Grafton Notch was also referred to in some local maps as the Umbagog Trail.
International Trail [
Red
]
- Routing
- Brunswick, Gardiner, Augusta, Waterville, Skowhegan, Norridgewock,
Anson, Solon, Caratunk Plt, Jackman Station, Canada (Québec)
- Succeeded by
- NEI 20 (now
US 201, except Norridgewock-Solon which
is now US 201A)
Aroostock Trail [
White
-
Blue
]
- Routing
- Fairfield, Clinton, Pittsfield, Newport, Bangor, Old Town, Lincoln.
In 1923,
this was further extended to Houlton, then Mars Hill, Presque Isle,
Caribou, Van Buren, Madawaska and Canada (New Brunswick).
- Succeeded by
- ME 100 from Fairfield to Pittsfield, then
NEI 15 as originally signed (now
US 2 except Pittsfield-Newport, which
is also ME 100, and
Orono-Old Town, which is
US 2A). The ME 100 sections are also now cosigned
with ME 11. The extended routing was succeeded by NEI 15
from Orono to Houlton (now US 2),
then NEI 24 (now largely
US 1, except Mars Hill-Easton, which is now
US 1A, and Easton-Presque Isle, which is now
ME 10) to Madawaska.
Capital Way [
Blue
-
White
]
- Routing
- Portland, Lewiston, Augusta
- Succeeded by
- ME 100
Interestingly, the 1923 National Survey map says it was succeeded by
NEI 1! It is unclear south of Gray what routing
Capital Way took, but it was probably mostly NEI/ME 26.
Kennebec-Penobscot Trail [
Orange
-
White
]
- Routing
- Augusta, South China, Liberty, Searsmont, Belmont, Belfast
- Succeeded by
- ME 102 (now ME 3,
except ME 9/US 202
in Augusta)
Mount Desert Trail [
Yellow
-
White
]
- Routing
- Ellsworth, Hulls Cove, Bar Harbor
- Succeeded by
- ME 183 (but now partially
ME 3; see ME 183)
The exact routing given in the 1922 ALA trails manual describes turns
impossible to make along modern ME 3. In particular, the right turn
described at Hulls Cove means the routing must have run further south,
consistent with the 1925 Maine official map for ME 183's original
routing. This is not the same as ME 3 today.
Brunswick-Greenville Highway [
Green
-
White
]
- Routing
- Newport, Dexter, Dover, Guilford, Abbott, Monson, Greenville
- Succeeded by
- ME 104 (now ME 7 to
Dover-Foxcroft and ME 15 to Greenville [also
ME 16 from Abbot to Dover-Foxcroft, now
ME 6/ME 15/ME 16])
The remainder of the Brunswick-Greenville south of Newport was apparently
corouted with the Aroostock Trail to Fairfield, and then the International
Trail to Brunswick. It is unclear if pole colours for the cosigned portions
included the B-G Hwy. The colour choice seems appropriate. Some older local
maps refer to the Newport-Greenville alignment as the
Moosehead Trail (which later became
a legislative highway,
and is still signed).
Poland Springs-White Mountain Trail [
Green
]
- Routing
- Naples, Poland/Poland Spring
- Succeeded by
- ME 116 (now ME 11)
For some reason, this trail does not appear on all contemporary maps,
notably the Rand McNally. However, it is documented in the ALA travelogues
and the 1923 National Survey trail listing.