Long before Sterling became the town we know today, the land around it echoed with the sounds of wagon wheels, horses, and hopeful voices heading west.

In the mid-1800s, the Overland Trail stretched across the plains — a major route used by pioneers, stagecoaches, mail carriers, and adventurers seeking new lives beyond the Rocky Mountains. Unlike the more famous Oregon Trail, the Overland Trail was actually safer and faster, avoiding dangerous river crossings and rough mountain terrain.

As travelers made their way toward the South Platte River Valley, the area near modern-day Sterling became an important rest and resupply point. Fresh water, open land, and relative safety made it a welcome stop. For some, it was just a night’s rest…
For others, it became home.

When the railroad finally arrived in the late 1800s, many of those who once passed through decided to stay. Ranchers, merchants, and families built the foundation of what would become Sterling — a town born from movement, hope, and opportunity.

Today, the Overland Trail is gone… but its path remains woven into Sterling’s identity.
Every time you drive across the sweeping plains or visit the Overland Trail Museum, you’re tracing the same land that carried thousands of dreams westward.

Sterling wasn’t just a place on the map — it was a crossroads of stories.

 Did You Know?

Sterling, Colorado was once part of the iconic Lincoln Highway!

Established in 1913, the Lincoln Highway was America’s first transcontinental road for automobiles, stretching from Times Square in New York City all the way to Lincoln Park in San Francisco. Sterling played a key role along the Colorado segment of the route, helping bring early automobile traffic, tourism, and commerce to the region.

Colorado’s Lincoln Highway auxiliary route, according to the LHA’s (Lincoln Highway Association) official map, heads toward Denver via U.S. 138 and U.S. 6, roughly following the South Platte River before heading due south into the High Plains at a point west of Fort Morgan and then, eventually, west into Denver via Colfax Avenue, also signed as U.S. 40.

The original route did not include the state, perhaps a foolish decision by Lincoln Highway Association officials who announced it at a meeting of governors in Colorado Springs. Denver had been left off the transcontinental railroad and transcontinental telegraph; it was not about to be bypassed again. With on-the-spot pressure from the governor, LHA directors penciled in a Colorado Loop on their way home.

The Lincoln Highway went through Sterling, Colorado, as part of a short-lived “Colorado Loop” from 1913 to 1915. This original route is now paralleled by modern highways, with the portion from Big Springs, Nebraska, to Sterling originally designated as U.S. Route 138 and later U.S. Route 38 (which is now part of U.S. Route 6).

The original 1913 route entered Colorado from Nebraska at the border near Big Springs and went through Sterling. After the original Lincoln Highway Loop was dropped in 1915, this section was absorbed into the new U.S. highway system. The road from Big Springs to Sterling was designated as U.S. Route 138. The route from Sterling to Wiggins became U.S. Route 38, which is now part of the modern U.S. Route 6.

It’s a fascinating piece of local history that connects Sterling to one of the most important transportation milestones in the U.S.!