Advertisement

Horatio Sawyer Earle

Advertisement

Horatio Sawyer Earle

Birth
Mount Holly, Rutland County, Vermont, USA
Death
25 Dec 1935 (aged 80)
Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, USA
Burial
Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, USA GPS-Latitude: 42.421761, Longitude: -83.2733548
Plot
Section 16, Lot 17, Grave #6
Memorial ID
View Source
Son of Nelson Coleman Earle (1820-1906) & Eliza A Sawyer (1823-1889)....

A plaque honoring Earle's efforts is located in a government building complex in Lansing, Michigan, directly west from the Capitol along the "mall" that corresponds with Michigan Ave. The plaque is located northwest of the footbridge that crosses Walnut.


HORATIO EARLE -- In 1905, the year the State Highway Department was created, Michigan roads were quaqmires of sand, mud, and clay that trapped horse-drawn vehicles and early automobiles alike. Bicycle clubs, such as the Leagues of American Wheeelmen, led the effort to "reform" roads nationwide. In Michigan, the first state highway commissioner, Horatio "Good Roads" Earle (1855-1935), a bicyclist himself, vowed to conquer "the Mighty Monarch Mud." A former state senator, Earle served as state highway commissioner until 1909. Known as "the Father of Good Roads," Earle helped open the state to commerce and tourism. Monuments were erected in Cass City and Mackinaw City in his honor. Although appreciative, Earle stated "the monument I prize most is not measured by its height, but its length in miles".

Registered state site No. 688, 2005
Erected by Employees and Friends of MDOT in its Centennial Year, 2005

...

See a helpful Earle Virtual Cemetery

...
Son of Nelson Coleman Earle (1820-1906) & Eliza A Sawyer (1823-1889)....

A plaque honoring Earle's efforts is located in a government building complex in Lansing, Michigan, directly west from the Capitol along the "mall" that corresponds with Michigan Ave. The plaque is located northwest of the footbridge that crosses Walnut.


HORATIO EARLE -- In 1905, the year the State Highway Department was created, Michigan roads were quaqmires of sand, mud, and clay that trapped horse-drawn vehicles and early automobiles alike. Bicycle clubs, such as the Leagues of American Wheeelmen, led the effort to "reform" roads nationwide. In Michigan, the first state highway commissioner, Horatio "Good Roads" Earle (1855-1935), a bicyclist himself, vowed to conquer "the Mighty Monarch Mud." A former state senator, Earle served as state highway commissioner until 1909. Known as "the Father of Good Roads," Earle helped open the state to commerce and tourism. Monuments were erected in Cass City and Mackinaw City in his honor. Although appreciative, Earle stated "the monument I prize most is not measured by its height, but its length in miles".

Registered state site No. 688, 2005
Erected by Employees and Friends of MDOT in its Centennial Year, 2005

...

See a helpful Earle Virtual Cemetery

...

Inscription

FATHER



Sponsored by Ancestry

Advertisement