The Jefferson Highway was inspired by the east-west Lincoln Highway.
It was nicknamed the "Palm to Pine Highway", for the varying types of trees found at either end.
The cities the highway passed on its route included Alexandria, Louisiana, Shreveport, Louisiana, Marshall, Texas, Muskogee, Oklahoma, Baxter Springs, Kansas, Kansas City, Missouri, St. Joseph, Missouri, Des Moines, Iowa, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Bemidji, Minnesota.
The Jefferson Highway was replaced with the new numbered US Highway system in the late 1920s; see: United States highway.