In 1917, Attorney W.W. Brown of Kansas City, conceived the idea of a named trail extending from Winnipeg to Mexico City. this was to be the ultimate in trails and was named 'The King of Trails." A log book was published in September 1918 for the benefit of King of Trails Association members and the communities along its route. The KT was hailed as "the best marked road in the United States." Hotels and garages recommended were investigated by representatives of the Assocation and deemed worthy of the patronage of the King of Trails members and travelers along the highway. The Hotels and garages paid nothing for the recommendation.

Specifications fo the KT road markders were adpoted by the Assocation. They were to be a sixteen inch yellow band, extending entirely around a pole, on which the letters KT were stenciled with the letter K above the T. the letters were block letters, five inches high and fours inches wide, with the line of the letter one inch wide. the letters were painted in black.

These markers were prominent along the entire route for a number of years even after November 11, 1926 when the number system was officially adopted

In 1913, the Good Roads Act was adopted and within a decade after the first State Aid was made available, some progress was made as ox trails had become roads and roads become highways. In 1918, we saw the beginning of the King of Trails and today our goal is to get U.S. 75 designated as the "Historic King of Trails."