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A FACT AJDAY ABOUT IOWA CITYThe Military RoadBy I. E. R*Civil war horrors had not come: and the Mexican war, itself, was stall “around the corner, in Iowa, when the ‘‘Military Road4* in this territory was much -traveled by the stages of that day — coaches and teams antedating the coming of the “M. M.” (C.. R. I. P. R. E.) in Iowa City. However, the Iowa City-Dubuque highway was styled “military**,nevertheless* ' ~ „™__livne;fajMlheup nu AI th; nu W)kethHie United States government, itself, recognized the importance of the route, as a main-traveled highway* Uncle Sam's congress, therefore, appropriated 510,000 that year for the improvement of the road, that Improvement took the form of building bridge* on it, and repairing those then in existence. Of course, the industry of bridge-building^ in the new territory was limited m its scope, as bridges were rare, and roads were not particularly numerous.The national road, at that time, was the only one that was not established by Iowa territory legislature. Such highways were bom of the assembly's act, approved in0mianhead of the placement bureau at Iowa State Teachers college-They want teacbeni who aren't fat, who walk briskly but don't stride, who are “peppy,'* and who (most important of all) don’t smoke.This is 1941, Men, women and children in civilized countries are playing hide-and-seek with dive bombers. No one knows whether democracy, as we know it today, will survive. The future of every1 boy and girl in this country to insecure. Hard, perhaps desperate times are ahead.And yet we are still choosing our young folks* teachers on the basis of a race figure, peppy personality and no “bad habits ”Poor Johnny! No wonder he is a sucker for misguided youth movements.racfit.ANCESDecember of the first year of Iowa City's real activity (1838). The legislature appointed commissioners, whose duty it was to survey the roads. The route was marked by praMe-set stakes and blazed forest trees. Then stakes were sunk every seven or eightrods.The national road was establish* ed by congress in 1839, and was to extend through, the new Hawk-eye territory from here to Dubuque, and on to the Missouri north boundary lines. It was surveyed a few months later, and was to cut directly through here, End to cross the placid Iowa on a line with Iowa avenue. Its ^military” title Is due to the fact that thegovernment, appropriating $20,000for the road, counted on it as agood route for U, S. soldiers ordered—or to be ordered—to march across the wide tract.It has been repeatedly declared, whether traditionally or with historic basis in fact, that Lyman Dillon. of Cascade. Iowa (whose name was perpetuated by the title, Dillon’s furrow,”) was the pioneer who first marked the road.He was reputed to have used a big plow, with five yoke of oxen attached thereto, to break the prairie, for the 100-mile tract, from Iowa City to Dubuque. Mr. Dillon is said to have done bis work, in answer to the pleas of other pioneers. who were eager to have a desirable highway, whereon might travel settlers, en route from the east to the new-old capital. Edward Langworthy (speaking off himself and Jair.es I* and Lucius j Langworthy, brothers'', declared re 40 years afterwards, that he and they took the governmental contract to make the road. With an engineer of the United States service, supervising, they did the work. Edward Langworthy stated, too, that the engineer in question employed Mr. Dillon to plow a furrow on one side of the road, for the whole stretch, to guide them in the road-making and that was so doretvctIteS10trXTbiwhiefew
Newspaper Details
Iowa City Press Citizen
Iowa City, Iowa, US
Wed, Jan 29, 1941
Page 7
Full Page
Clipped by
State H.
IA, USA 16 Aug 2019
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