AUBURN — America’s first national memorial to President Abraham Lincoln was the Lincoln Highway. The Auburn Public Library will host historian Alan Elze, who will talk about the story of the Lincoln Highway at 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 24, in the Androscoggin Community Room as the continuation of the Curious Minds lecture series.

On July 1, 1913, a group of automobile enthusiasts and industry officials established the Lincoln Highway Association (LHA) “to procure the establishment of a continuous improved highway from the Atlantic to the Pacific, open to lawful traffic of all description without toll charges.” In its time, the Lincoln Highway would become the nation’s premier highway, as well known as U.S. Route 66 was to be in its day and as well-known as I-80 and I-95 are today.

Most significantly, the Lincoln Highway inspired the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, also known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, which was championed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Eisenhower was influenced by his experiences as a young soldier crossing the country in the 1919 Army Convoy on the Lincoln Highway.

Elze has taught a wide variety of courses at Senior College over the past 13 years. He and his wife have made several road trips on back roads over the past 10 years.

The Curious Minds Lecture Series is a joint partnership with the Lewiston-Auburn Senior College. The partnership brings speakers on a variety of topics. To find out more about the Senior College, visit usm.maine.edu/seniorcollege or attend one of the lectures. All of the lectures are free to the public.

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