CRAWFORD COUNTY, OH (CRAWFORD COUNTY NOW) – For three days in August, families, neighbors and treasure hunters will turn Ohio’s historic Lincoln Highway into one giant community yard sale.
For some, it may be a chance to clean out a garage. For others, it could be the perfect opportunity to find an unexpected treasure.
And for communities along Ohio’s historic Lincoln Highway, it has become something more: an annual tradition that brings people together along a road with more than a century of stories behind it.
The 22nd annual Lincoln Highway Buy Way Yard Sales will take place Aug. 13 through 15, stretching across more than 400 miles of the historic route through Ohio.
From yards and porches to barns, garages, tents and open-air locations, residents and community groups will set up sales along the highway, creating a three-day road trip for bargain hunters and history enthusiasts alike.
The Lincoln Highway was dedicated in 1913 as the first transcontinental road for automobile travel in the United States. Its original route extended from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco.
More than a century later, portions of the historic highway continue to connect communities across Ohio.
The Buy Way Yard Sales began in 2005 and has grown into an event involving communities from Convoy near the Indiana state line to East Liverpool along the Ohio River, across from West Virginia.
Along the way, individual families participate from their homes while some communities organize larger group sales in public parks and other gathering places.
In Crawford County, communities along the various Lincoln Highway routes include Oceola, Bucyrus, Leesville, Galion and Crestline.
The appeal of the event is about more than finding a good deal. The sales offer an excuse to get out on the road, explore communities that might otherwise be passed by and experience a piece of Ohio history at the same time.
A shopper might start the morning looking for an old piece of furniture or a collectible and end the day having discovered a new town, visited a local business or learned something about the road beneath their tires.
For sellers, the weekend provides an opportunity to connect with neighbors and visitors while giving new life to items that might otherwise remain tucked away in a basement, attic or garage.
That combination of history, travel and community is what makes the Lincoln Highway Buy Way Yard Sales different from an ordinary weekend of yard sales.
The event turns the historic highway itself into the destination.
Whether visitors are seasoned yard-sale shoppers, collectors, history buffs or simply looking for something different to do, the three-day event offers a reason to slow down and explore Ohio one community at a time.
Sale locations and activities along Ohio’s Lincoln Highway are available at historicbyway.com.