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Chippewa Falls in Chippewa County, Wisconsin — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
 

The Yellowstone Trail

 
 
The Yellowstone Trail Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Keith L, April 27, 2011
1. The Yellowstone Trail Marker
Inscription. Before there were numbered highways in the United States there were names attached to roads to help motorists navigate from town to town or from county to county. In 1912 no one thought in terms of an inter-state highway. However, a small band of men including J.W. Parmley of Ipswitch, South Dakota, envisioned a road from Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts to Puget Sound, Washington and called it the Yellowstone trail. They wanted good roads to travel on and formed the Yellowstone Trail Association in October of 1912 which remained active until 1930.

The Yellowstone Trail Association did not build roads. It lobbied for "good roads" in every level of government and provided instructions to local people for the construction and maintenance of roads. They promoted cross-country tourist traffic, marked the route with signs and provided maps raising the interest in using the automobile for other than local travel.

The Yellowstone Trail began in South Dakota and quickly expanded east to St. Paul, Minnesota, and west to Yellowstone Park in Montana. By 1914 it extended to the Idaho border and east to Chicago. By 1917, the entire route was firmly established coast to coast.

The Yellowstone Trail passed 406 miles through Wisconsin from Kenosha to Hudson covering 18 counties. From the east the road entered Chippewa County
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along what is now County Highway X into Stanley through Cadott, westward to Lake Wissota. The road then turned onto what is now County Highway J west to Chippewa Falls along Park Avenue, past this very site. The Yellowstone Trail continued its cross country route through Chippewa Falls along Park Avenue and County Highway J south to Eau Claire.

With the construction of new highways and the advent of a federal numbering system, this transcontinental road finally faded in the 1930's.

A new Yellowstone Trail Association has now been formed in 2003 to increase public knowledge about the Trail and to promote heritage tourism. Thanks in part to a small group of visionaries in central Wisconsin and in cooperation with the Wisconsin Department of Tourism, motorists can now once again experience this storied piece of American history.

Chippewa County Historical Society
Marker Sign #45

 
Erected by Chippewa County Historical Society. (Marker Number 45.)
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Roads & Vehicles. A significant historical month for this entry is October 1912.
 
Location. 44° 55.699′ N, 91° 23′ W. Marker is in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, in Chippewa County. Marker is on East Park Avenue (County Highway J) east of Chippewa Mall Drive
The Yellowstone Trail Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Keith L, April 27, 2011
2. The Yellowstone Trail Marker
, on the left when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 500 East Park Avenue, Chippewa Falls WI 54729, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Chippewa Springs (approx. ¼ mile away); Notre Dame Church (approx. half a mile away); Reverend Charles F.X. Goldsmith (approx. 0.6 miles away); Hiram Stores Allen (approx. 0.6 miles away); Old McDonell High School (approx. 0.6 miles away); Oldest Commercial Building in Chippewa Falls (approx. 0.6 miles away); The Marsh Rainbow Arch Bridge (approx. 0.7 miles away); Trinity United Methodist Church (approx. 0.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chippewa Falls.
 
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. A marker about the Yellowstone Trail located in Cadott, Wisconsin.
 
Also see . . .  The Yellowstone Trail. The Yellowstone Trail Association. (Submitted on May 5, 2011.) 
 
Historic Yellowstone Trail and Highway Sign image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Keith L, April 27, 2011
3. Historic Yellowstone Trail and Highway Sign
[westbound Park Avenue]
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on May 5, 2011, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 1,098 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on May 5, 2011, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.

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Mar. 29, 2024