A Sunday Run

Leaving Cincinnati over the Suspension Bridge, you turn to the right until you reach Russell Street,  then left to Pike Street, then right on Pike Street and out on the Dixie Highway, which is new concrete at the left turn where you leave the streetcar track.  On up the hill you go, overlooking Covington, then through Ft. Mitchell with its beautiful homes.  Rolling on, you pass many well kept country places, not mentioning Road Houses, and to Erlanger, made famous by the Dog Races.  Next, over the eighteen foot concrete road you pass through Florence, Richwood and Kensington, at which point there is a cross road to Nicholson on the Eastern Dixie, but not a good road to take. 

A few miles farther you come to Walton, a pretty Kentucky town, in which the Cincinnati Automobile Club has a branch and an Official Garage at Wayman's Garage.  Maps and Blue Books are on hand with any information as to the country roads in addition to Emergency Road Service.  Beyond Walton comes Bracht, Crittenden, Dry Ridge, and then Williamstown, the end, for the time being, of the concrete road.  The Club branch is at Barnes-McIntire Motor Co., who serve also as our official garage with a filling station across the street.  Williamstown boasts of the brand new Hotel Donald, a shining example of what modern highways are doing for Kentucky.

Speaking of highways, it is not amiss at this point, that the Dixie you have just traveled from Covington (some thirty-seven miles of concrete) was, but a few years ago a winding dusty road, with twenty-six railroad crossings on the way to Williamstown - now not a single crossing and with the dangerous curves in the road eliminated.  Many miles of the road were entirely rebuilt.  The old road was a trail, turning this or that way, whichever offered the least resistance in the days of the pioneer.  Then came the railroad, Cincinnati's own, the Southern, with its ribbons of steel straight through and taboo of twisting trails.

Williamstown is in Grant Country, which lays claim to the distinction of “not ten acres of level land in the county.” It's through this rolling country our route now leads east towards Falmouth.  Hills, valleys - not one but numbers of them can be seen on either side of the road for fifteen miles.  At this season the yellowing tobacco plants may be seen on hillsides, the varia-shaded green fields, never level, always rolling, to keep up Grant County's reputation, dotted here and there with foliage.  At present this road is just a trifle rough, but not bad for a few miles, until Pendleton County is reached, when you'll ride over as fine a tar-bound macadam road as one would wish for.  It will soon be finished all the way to Eastern Dixie Highway, where a right turn takes you two miles into Falmouth, the left turn to Cincinnati.  But we are headed for Falmouth, where the club has a branch in the Phoenix Hotel,  Maps, etc. are there and a worthwhile Kentucky meal can be had.  Besides the branch we have two official Garages there, Booher Motor Co., and Shoemaker's Garage.

Returning, take the Eastern Dixie Highway, which is tar-bound macadam for fifteen miles, then concrete for twenty-five miles through DeMossville and Independence, passing Latonia and into Covington on Madison Avenue, or turn right one block to Scott Street (asphalt and no street car tracks) to Suspension Bridge and Cincinnati.

An alternate route is to turn right beyond a large sign, five miles from Falmouth on concrete road to Butler, Grant's Lick and Claryville.  At Claryville, you can take right fork to Alexandria on concrete road, the Alexandria Pike to Fort Thomas, through Newport to Cincinnati.  Left fork at Claryville is Licking Pike, all concrete to Newport, thence to Cincinnati.  This road, via Butler, has just been opened to traffic.  It is concrete to Grant's Lick, with tar bound macadam from there to Claryville.  It leads down in the valleys instead of on the ridges, as does the Eastern Dixie.  There are many curves, but no steep grades via the Licking Pike.  Butler, by the way, boasts of the longest covered bridge in the world.  The view along Licking Pike of the Licking River and its beautiful valley is worth while.

from Motour, the Magazine of the Cincinnati Auto Club, October, 1926.