Linn

Iowa's Ancient Trails

Thursday, June 7, 2018

Almost all of Iowa’s existing roads postdate 1850. Today’s familiar one-mile checker board of roads replaced a far-older trail system built by Indians, traders,and soldiers before American settlement. Traces of these ancient trails still exist and have evolved into field roads,gravel roads, or modern highways. The Office of the State Archaeologist documented the surviving pre-settlement roads and trails in the northern half of Iowa, and developed a plan for these ancient routes to be preserved and appreciated. Eight driving tours were designed to highlight archaeological and historic points of interest along these routes. OSA archaeologist Cherie Haury-Artz will discuss the Ancient Trails projectand highlight Tour 5 featuring Decorah to Spirit Lake. Cost: $2.50/adult, $1/child (16 and under) or $5/family. 

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