In 1918 the original Lincoln Highway Seedling Mile was placed just west of Mount Vernon, Illinois. Seedling miles were popular in the 1910’s as the industry hoped that building these would drive for lobbying of more paved roads. Most of these seedling miles were one lane that was 9 feet wide. A plaque near the site commemorates the location. This seedling mile stretched from the west end just east of a curve to the east end in front of a farm house, just past Smyth road. An unbonded concrete overlay was placed in the early 2000’s.