To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the U.S. Highway System in 2026, BC News & Dollar-Saver is launching a special four-part series exploring the legendary roads that built our region. Over the next four weeks, we will trace the history of the “Great Shields” Every Saturday morning — from the bootlegger trails of the inland to the sun-drenched “Ocean Highway” that defines our coast.
US Route 1 Celebrates a Century as the East Coast’s Main Street
By BCNews Staff Writer
As 2026 marks the 100th anniversary of the U.S. Highway System, one road stands as the “Granddaddy” of them all. Officially designated on November 11, 1926, US Route 1 was the first great north-south artery to stitch the original colonies into a single, drivable nation. While it cuts through the inland Sandhills of North Carolina rather than our immediate coast, its influence on regional travel cannot be overstated. Before the era of the Interstate, US 1 was the “superhighway” of the 1920s, tracing the ancient geological fall line and providing the first paved gateway for travelers heading toward the Carolinas.
The history of US 1 in our region is a story of transition from mud to asphalt. Originally known in North Carolina as NC 50, the route was mostly graded dirt and gravel when the federal “US 1” shields first appeared a century ago. It took decades of labor to fully pave the stretch from the Virginia line through Raleigh and down into the South Carolina border town of Cheraw. For local families in the early 20th century, US 1 represented the first real connection to the outside world, turning a multi-day expedition into a manageable journey and setting the stage for the tourism boom that would eventually reach our shores.
Hidden beneath the highway’s official history is a gritty legacy of the Prohibition era. During the late 1920s, the long, rural stretches of US 1 became the primary corridor for “moonshine runners” hauling white lightning from hidden stills to northern markets. These high-speed chases with federal agents on the US 1 corridor directly birthed the sport of NASCAR, as drivers modified their engines to outrun the law on the very road we travel today. As we celebrate this centennial, US 1 remains more than just a road; it is a 2,300-mile time capsule of the American experience.
Next Week: The Ocean Highway: How US 17 turned sleepy fishing villages into a tourism powerhouse.
©2026 bcdollarsaver.com. all rights reserved.
Be the first to comment