This cache marks where the northern route and the southern route between Boyceville and Wheeler split up. The stretch of road west of here is the only surviving part of the northern route. Take a look around you and what do you see? Road signs, all sorts of road signs. There are speed limits, street signs, welcome signs, railroad crossing signs and stop signs. Did you know that the stop sign was first used in 1915, though I suspect one didn't find them on country roads till much later. The stop signs were white and non reflective. Shape could be round, rectangular or the classic octagon we see today.
Part of the Boyceville-Wheeler “Old Roads” series.
Old maps can be fascinating! Our family has a battered 1915 plat book for Dunn County that has probably been in the family since it was new. You might think that our current roads more or less follow along the routes laid out by the pioneers – until you really look at an old map! In the map montage shown here, you won’t find State Highway 170 at all – the idea of a state highway did not even exist until 1917 when Wisconsin enacted the first numbered highway system in the world. Highway 170 was not extended west of Wheeler until 1947! Maybe there were too many marshes to cross? Instead, there were two routes, only one of which survives today.
As you work your way along this series of mostly easy park and grabs, take a moment to look around and compare today’s view to the 1915 map. Some roads from 1915 vanished seemingly without a trace, unless you are an archeologist.