Stretching from one coast to the other, the old Bankhead Highway carved a direct path through the South and across Texas, connecting Arlington for the first time to the rest of the country.

On Sunday, Arlington community members and dignitaries gathered near the old highway - at the southwest corner of Division and Center streets in downtown - to dedicate a new Texas Historical Marker.

"Bankhead is the most significant road in this country, whether people have heard of it or not," said Daniel Smith, who is writing a book about the highway and is a member of the Texas Bankhead Highway History Group. "We take roads for granted these days. But at the time, building this highway was an enormous undertaking."

Bankhead, which was among the nation's first transcontinental highways, began in Washington, D.C., wound through the Southern United States and ended in San Diego. Plans began in 1916, when political leaders began pushing for more paved roads.

Named for U.S. Senator John Bankhead, of Alabama, an early leader in the road building movement, the Arlington portion of the highway opened in November 1922. More than 500 people gathered that day by Johnson Creek for a barbecue and dedication ceremony.

Across the state, Bankhead became known as Texas Highway 1, and it closely followed what would become US-80. Bankhead also went by the nickname Broadway of America and the Dallas-Fort Worth Pike.

The highway crossed more than 850 miles of Texas, passing through Arlington, Texarkana, Dallas, Fort Worth, Abilene, Midland and El Paso, among many others.

In Arlington, Bankhead ran along what is now Abram Street, said Steve Barnes, a member of the Arlington Historical Society who researched Bankhead.

"Every small town and big city wanted a piece of Bankhead," Barnes said. "For the first time, our country was connected by a national road system."

Geraldine Mills, director of the historical society, said the group sought a historical marker because it is dedicated to celebrating the area's rich history.

"This is just one more piece of our history and one more way for us to honor those who helped build our city and country," Mills said. "It's important for us to pay our respects."