Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1912-01-31
THE NORTH IOWA PIKE.
Early History Made McGregOr.FOrt
Atkinson Highway Famous as
Will New Auto Pike.

The recent decision of the North
Iowa Pike association to incorporate
the old military road from McGregor
to Fort Atkinson with the across-the-
state-highway from Sioux Falls to
the Mississippi, highway which will
some day, it is expected, be part of
great motor road from Chicago and
Milwaukee to the northwest, recalls
the story of the building of the mill
tary road and the important bearing
its construction had on the early his
tory of northern Iowa and Mime
sofa.
In building Fort Atkinson, the SOL
diers from Prairie du Chen cut
road northwest to it from Coulee de
Sioux, the present site of McGregor
on the west bank of the Mississippi.
"A government warehouse was put up
at the landing and supplies for the
garrison We're unloaded there from
steamboats, and carried by OK teams
over the road to the Fort. A model
farm of several hundred acres was
brought under cultivation by the
government near the stockade and
mission schools established at differ
ent points.
AS emigration to northern Iowa
set in in the fOrties, the military
road with its eastern terminus on
the Mississippi opposite Prairie du
Chen afforded a convenient entrance
to northern Iowa and Minnesota and
SO early became main line of ira
vel. In the fifties and sixties so pop
ular had it become that tayerns dot
ted it all along the way from the
river to the fort. Trains of prairie
schooners'' passed over it daily
bound for western Iowa and Mime
sofa. In the fall other long lines of
teams drawing wagons loaded with
wheat went eastward over the road
where it could be shipped south by
to market their grain at McGregor,
steamer.
At Postville, the famous old north
and south trail from Dubuque to ST.
Paul met the military road and fol-
lowed it for several miles before it
turned northward over the Mime
sofa prairies. A frame house which
was built beside this trail in north
ern Iowa in 1916 is still standing,
though now used as a garage instead
of residence. 1t is believed to be
the Oldest frame house today be-
tween Dubuque and St. Paul.
Mark B. Sherman, who with his
wife and child moved from Prairie
up land beside the old trail and
du Chen in the spring of 1915, took
erected the frame house on the open
prairie. The first summer that Mrs.
Sherman spent upon the farm she
was often left alone. No sign Of
human habitation was in sight. Her
first caller was a Winnebago chief:
he spoke the Indian word for bread
signifying his hunger. Food was set
before HIM and the young mother,
with her baby in her arms and terror
in her heart watched him eat Hav-
ing finished he arose and with a
polite bow laid silver quarter on
the table, and pointing to his pony
he emptied the contents of the salt
cellar into a corner of his blanket,
tnen departed. He was dressed in a
fine suit of broadcloth, but wore the
customary blanket over his head.
Soon land to the north and west
of the house began to settle up rap
luly and a food tide of immigrants
poured along the old trail bound for
Minnesota and western Iowa. Such
were the moving pictures of the Du-
buque st. Paul trail in early days.