Illinois' Swastika Trail-- Part 5

RootDig.com

Michael John Neill's genealogy website.

He was looking at the Illinois Highway Maps collection in the Illinois Digital Archives collection. (he also has a place where you can go to it, very interesting).He looked at a 1922 map and noticed there were no numbers on the roads, this being the era of named roads and all.

He was surprised to see one named Swastika Trail near the Quad Cities area.  This brought quite the thought into his head, as it did with me when I first saw it.

Today it is Illinois Highway 17.  This map shows it starting in Galva, Illinois, and running west through Woodhull, Alphi, Viola, Aledo, Joy, New Boston and entering Iowa and going a short distance to Wapello.

Along with the name, a swastika symbol is show, only backwards to the one the Nazi used.

--RoadDog

The Swastika Trail in Illinois-- Part 2: On a Rand McNally Map in 1923

From Worth Point.com  "1923 McNally  Indian Road Map of Illinois Swastika Trail.

A fold out 22 x 28-inch map of Illinois includes Illinois, southeastern Iowa, western Indiana and northeaster Missouri.

It includes a gallery of pole markings for named highways in the era before numbered highways.  Some of the ones shown on this 1923 map are the Kickapoo Trail, National Old Trails Road, Dixie Highway, Lincoln Highway, Bee Line, Yellowstone Trail The Great White Way, Egyptian Trail,  Red Ball Route, Ben-Hur Highway, Waubonsie Trail, Blue Grass Road, Wabash Way and the Swastika Trail.

Of course, today the word swastika is linked with the Nazis, but it is a native southwestern U.S.  design and its use was not uncommon through the 1920s.

Prior to the 1920s federal highway numbering system, one of the named routes through Illinois, indicated by the distinctive hooked cross pole marker, was known as the Swastika Trail.

--RoadDog

Some More About the Illinois Route 66 Bike Path in Towanda-- Part 2: Burma Shave Signs and a 'Walking" Map of 66

 The bike path is alongside and on top of original Route 66 pavement that was abandoned.

A large, suitable for selfies or other photos is located at Historic 66 and Jefferson Street which was funded by projects put on by third graders.

There is also a large map of the United States showing Route 66's path which is believed to be the only map of its type actually on the old road's pavement.  This enables visitors to "walk" from Chicago to Los Angeles.

There is also a large group of volunteers who tend to the landscaping along the length of Towanda's section.

The section also has a five-sign set of those famous old Burma Shave signs:

Around the Curve

Lickety-Split

Beautiful Car

Wasn't It?

Burma Shave

All eight states have their own sign with the state's outline and some pertinent facts.

Check It Out Next Time You're North of Bloomington-Normal, Illinois.  --RoadDog

Along 66, March 2019: Efforts At the Painted Desert Trading Post

MARCH 21--  An original Route 66 road side shield is to be auctioned off for the Painted Desert Trading Post project.

An enthusiast is offering it on e-Bay.  It was used between 1981 and 1985 in Texas, but the exact location is not known.  As of March 28, the sign had 30 bids on it and the amount was over $1,100.

Also at auction is a 1940 Conoco map.

MARCH 25--  The Painted Desert Trading Post in Arizona finally got a new roof.  The building was getting in worse and worse shape so it is good to see some Route 66 enthusiasts are taking care of it.

We'd sure hate to have another John's Modern Cabins.

Get A Real Piece of 66  for the Trading Post.  --RoadDog

Points On the Map-- Part 3: The Mason-Dixon Line

One major accomplishment was transporting the heavy stones, which were made in England and it wasn't like they were using established roads. They were forging through wilderness and setting a marker every mile as well as placing crown stones bearing the coat of arms of the Penn and Calvert families every fifth mile.

Babcock says that toward the end they had 115 men employed in the effort, "a small army." The east-west portion parallels latitude calculated from 15 miles south of Colonial Philadelphia.

Using modern tools, volunteers have located 190 of the 230 markers along the Maryland-Pennsylvania border, repairing many and replacing a few. Many of them are on private land and others are open to public view.

An added bonus of my trip along the old National Road from Wheeling, West Virginia, a few years ago was seeing a couple of the Mason-Dixon markers, especially since I am into the Civil War.

North or South of That Line. --RoadDog

Chicago's Old-School MapQuest-- Part 2" Edward Brennan Way

On Friday, August 30th, a small ceremony was held to officially unveil an honorary street designation at the corner of State and Madison streets which are now Edward Brennan Way. Alderman Brendan Reilly, 42nd War, who sponsored the designation and Brennan's daughter Adelaide were there. She turned 99 that day.

If you know anything about that corner of State and Madison, it is very important to Chicago and is considered the heart of the city thanks to Edward Brennan.

"In the summer of 1901 when he turned 35, Brennan took an armload of maps with him on vacation to Paw Paw, Michigan, and came back, like a prophet from the desert, with a detailed plan for helping people find their way in what was then a very chaotic Chicago."

Makin' Sense of the Chaos. --RoadDog