While not ideal for transcontinental travel, Iowa's dirt roads were of high quality. Foreigners even compared them to the best roads in France. However, the same could not be said when they were wet. The mud was so thick and viscous it was nicknamed "gumbo". To show travelers the obvious benefits of paved roads, the Lincoln Highway Association began the process of creating "seedling miles" of paved roads. The idea, according to Henry B. Joy, then-president of the Lincoln Highway Association, was to show travelers, for , how fast and smooth their trip could be, only to bring them back to reality at the end of the mile. Seedling miles were placed at least from the nearest town and in areas where the terrain was rough. Between August 1918 and June 1919, Iowa's first seedling mile was built in Linn County, west of Mount Vernon. The ribbon of concrete, which was wide, thick, and crowned for drainage , cost nearly $35,000 (equivalent to $ in dollars) to build.