Armory to Host Program on ‘Historic Route 20: America’s Longest Road’

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Armory National Historic Site will host Bryan Farr for his program, “Historic Route 20: America’s Longest Road” on Saturday, Aug. 4 from 2 to 3 p.m.

Guests will hear how an early Native American path became the earliest postal roads to westward expansion routes, which presidents called Route 20 home and how Lincoln made history along the highway, and more. The program will take place in the museum theater. Admission is free.

Farr, president of the Historic Route 20 Assoc., is often referred to as the ‘Route 20 guy.’ He will share a 3,000-mile adventure across 12 states connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans, including many stories and scenic photos of his journeys that include 19 National Park sites.

“This is one of the last great highways that you can still drive in its entirety that has not been lost to history, cut up, or rerouted to the interstates,” Farr said. “There was nothing out there to preserve and promote its significance and history as a whole in American culture.”

Farr grew up in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Every summer, his family would take a trip to Buffalo via Route 20. Upon moving to New England in 2004, he noticed the numerous exits on the Mass Pike, and a curiosity was piqued. A conversation with another historic route organization spurred him to create an organization promoting small towns, historical sites, and more on the original 1926 alignment of U.S. Route 20.