The year that Henry Ford founded his famous automobile company saw 4,100 vehicles produced. There was not much place to drive them – only eight miles of paved roads in the entire U.S. – but that did not dissuade like-minded car enthusiasts to meet up and form clubs devoted to their new acquisitions. Among the biggest of these, the Automobile Club of America even staged a race in Long Island, NY (the top speed back then: 8 miles per hour). These were all disparate efforts, however, and wider adoption of the automobile still did nothing to create better driving conditions. That was when the separate automobile clubs of the New England states and the Midwest decided to unite and create the American Automobile Association.

On this day, February 27, in 1902, nine motor clubs met in Chicago for the launch of AAA. Their main goal was to get government development of more roadways and travel infrastructure.

The AAA established itself as a political force, representing the country’s motorists. Their organization was instrumental in the creation of the National Highway Trust Fund, President Eisenhower’s first step towards building a national coast-to-coast highway system, as well as establishing the standard for the highway signage.