Near Bertram in Linn County, Iowa — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Linn County Seedling Mile

Lincoln Highway

— Constructed: August, 1918 - June, 1919 —

Linn County Seedling Mile Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Doda, August 30, 2018

1. Linn County Seedling Mile Marker

Inscription. This is the site of the first and only seedling mile of concrete pavement in the state of Iowa on the Lincoln Highway. The Linn County Engineer at the time was R. W. Gearhart and the project was constructed by Ford Paving Company of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Northwestern States Portland Cement Company of Mason City donated 3,000 barrels of cement and Linn county provided grading, draining and construction of the 16 ft wide pavement. Reconstruction of the seedling mile section of Mt. Vernon Rd took place in 2002. Approximately four tenths of a mile of the seedling mile was left in place and used as a base for the new unbounded (Portland cement concrete paving.

Plaque placed by Linn County in 2004
Board of Supervisors
Lu Barron, chair, James M. Houser, Linda Langston
Linn County Engineer
Steve Gannon, engineer, Bradley Ketels, assistant

Erected 2004 by Linn County.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Roads & Vehicles. In addition, it is included in the Lincoln Highway series list. A significant historical month for this entry is August 1918.

Location. 41° 58.472′ N, 91° 30.021′ W. Marker

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is near Bertram, Iowa, in Linn County. It is on West Mount Vernon Road (County Road E48) 0.8 miles west of Smyth Road, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Mount Vernon IA 52314, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Eastern Iowa. It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Seedling Mile (approx. 0.2 miles away); William Abbe (approx. 3.4 miles away); Uranus (approx. 3.4 miles away); The Lincoln Highway (approx. 3.4 miles away); a different marker also named The Lincoln Highway (approx. 4.8 miles away); South Hall (approx. 5.3 miles away); Mount Vernon Mainstreet Fire (approx. 5½ miles away); The Old Military Road (approx. 5.7 miles away).

Photographed by Craig Doda, August 30, 2018

2. Linn County Seedling Mile Marker

Photographed by Craig Doda, August 30, 2018

3. Linn County Seedling Mile Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on December 4, 2020. It was originally submitted on December 4, 2020, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. This page has been viewed 524 times since then and 37 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 4, 2020, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.