White Pole Road, IowaTravel the history through the towns of Adair, Casey, Menlo, Stuart and Dexter.

White Pole Road, IowaTravel the history through the towns of Adair, Casey, Menlo, Stuart and Dexter. Iowa became the 29th state to join the United States on December 28, 1846. The capital city is Des Moines. The highest point is Hawkeye Point at 1,670 feet.

Road Trip 2013 - Day 3 - June 13 - Iowa - Stop 2 (Previous road trip 2013 posts: Indiana Dunes, De Immigrant, Amana Colonies, Des Moines, Madison County Roads, Bridges of Madison County)

There are many iconic roads in the United States that all experienced a similar sequence of events from the initial efforts to build them through a period of high popularity and fame to an Interstate induced decline. Roads like Route 66 and the Lincoln Highway come to mind. However, these national highways are just the tip of the iceberg. There are other roads with state significance and the White Pole Road is certainly one of them in the state of Iowa.

Curious HorseWhite Pole Road, Stuart, Iowa. The White Pole Road was designated in 1910 to improve Iowa's reputation for unpassable roads. It was not funded by state but maintained by people to insure access to their towns to get travelers and customers. It stretched from Davenport, IA to Council Bluffs, IA. Its poles were painted white and the road was advertised as the "Great White Way" people were encouraged to travel.

In 1913 the road became Iowa's first State Route. Since then, it was renumbered several times and bounced between the state and federal highway systems. 1965 did not bring good news to the road nor to the communities it was passing through. The I-80 significantly diminished its popularity.

Bonnie & Clyde Robbery SiteFirst National Bank

In 2003 a 26-mile section was given to the counties (Rte 925) and officially renamed White Pole Road. Once again it's up to the people to maintain the road and grow their communities. It connects the towns of Adair, Casey, Menlo, Stuart and Dexter (between mile markers 76 and 100). It's very close to I-80 so get a break from your high speed chase and the constant rush, slow down, and take a detour through history. I guarantee, you will see and learn more than on the Interstate!

Friendly Gas Station ManMenlo, Iowa (IA) Hit The White Pole Road web site and print yourself a map and a list of attractions and get on the road. Even better, once in the area, stop by a Casey's General Store or a Kum & Go Convenience Store in the five-town area to get your official Audio Tour CD for your self-guided tour of the attractions. Still need more motivation? Turn your volume up and take a listen to the tour theme song.

This section of the road could make for an all-day fun, however, for us this was only one of the day's planned activities. We drove along, had fun watching out of the window, and picked at least one or two places of interest around each town. I'm listing some of our favorites below but if you're going to hit this road, please, refer to the sources listed here for additional details.

It was also nice to see some sense of humor on the towns' welcome boards. Each of them adds a tagline along its name.

Freedom Rock®White Pole Road, Menlo, Iowa

Dexter, the Original One Horse Town:

Bonnie (Parker) & Clyde (Barrow) Shootout Site at the former Dexfield Park, the location of a bloody Barrow Gang fight against the local posse in 1933. The gang camped out here after their painful gateway from the Red Crown Tavern in Platte City, Missouri. However, their cover did not last long and another shootout occurred just a few days later. Bonnie & Clyde escaped but Blanche and Buck were not so lucky. Bonnie & Clyde's future was only about a year long, eventually hunted down by Frank Hamer assisted by a great negative publicity of the gang.

Drew’s Chocolates, started in 1927 and is still hand dipping chocolates and making them to the original recipes in the same location.

Stuart, Home of 1700 Good Eggs and a Few Stinkers:

A brick train depot built in 1879 with material from a demolished Rock Island Railroad Depot in Illinois.

Bonnie & Clyde Bank Robbery Site (former site of the First National Bank of Stuart) that Bonnie & Clyde held up a month before they were shot dead. It recently housed the Stuart Police Department. Right now, it is a salon.

The Curious Horse. This one is added by me and you will not find it on the attraction list. But if you or your kids like horses be on the lookout!

Menlo, a Town of Few & Friend of All:

Friendly Gas Station Man commissioned by the Kalbach Oil Company in 1934.

The Freedom Rock®, an approximately 60-ton boulder that serves as Ray “Bubba” Sorensen’s canvas repainted every year with patriotic images to say Thank You to Veterans (photograph included with the permission from Sorensen Studios). The annual one rock project (in its 15th year) recently transformed into a multi-year project to put a smaller version into every county in Iowa (57 counties have already booked one!): The Freedom Rock Tour®, which has just wrapped up its first year by painting a rock in 10 more counties!

Jesse James Train Robbery SiteWorld’s First Robbery of a Moving Train

Casey, Antique Country:

Slayton Rock was what Robert Slayton dug out while looking for a landscaping accent rock. Only a tiny portion was sticking out of their neighbor's field. It turned out to be 14" high and about 250 - 300 tons! They ended up moving it over one and a half miles involving almost 100 people and some significant machinery.

Adair, Home of the Bombers:

Smiling yellow water tower visible from Interstate I-80 and advertising the happiest town on Earth.

Adair Viaduct over the Rock Island rail line opened to public in 1924 and remains in use to this day. Unlike most bridges that focused on function only the Adair Viaduct combines functionality with aesthetics with its decorative rails and towers.

Jesse James Historical Marker, the site of the world’s first robbery of a moving train on July 21, 1873. It was also the first train robbery west of Mississippi River. While the train was not carrying the expected gold the robbery was not a complete failure and Jesse, his brother Frank, and the rest of the gang left with some decent cash. Jesse James had 9 years to go before being betrayed and killed.

Rural IowaSoak in the Midwest while driving through Adair, Casey, Menlo, Stuart and Dexter.

Despite having thousands of planned miles ahead of us this was such a treat! You can slow down, roll down the windows, and look around and soak in the Midwest rural landscape. That alone makes it worth a while. And then of course, all of the above is a great bonus!

So turn on that right blinker of yours, get off the Interstate, relax and have fun!

Sources:

• The White Pole Road (Map and Attractions)
• Bonnie and Clyde on Wikipedia, the Barrow Gang on Wikipedia, Bad Day for Buck and Blanche
• The Freedom Rock®
• Jasse James on Wikipedia
• History of Stuart, Iowa
• The Lincoln Highway
• Route 66

Equipment used:

• Nikon D600
• Nikon 24-85mm Nikkor Lens
• Promaster 72mm Circular Polarizing Filter
• Think Tank Speed Demon Waist Pack,  Petzl Zipka Plus 2 Headlamp (always in the bag just in case), SanDisk Extreme 32GB SD Cards
• Nikon Capture NX2

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