Chatfield in Fillmore County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Main Street—From Wilderness Trail to Modern Highway

Photographed by McGhiever, October 4, 2025

1. Main Street—From Wilderness Trail to Modern Highway Marker

Inscription.

Main Street—From Wilderness Trail to Modern Highway. . ,

"The Territory of Minnesota opened a road from Winona to Chatfield and further west and the stage line followed the road. A stagecoach business flourished for many years and Chatfield was the crossing of two major lines, the stage from Winona to Chatfield continuing on to the west, to the edge of civilization, and the north-south St. Paul and Dubuque Line crossing at Chatfield. Here on the lower side of Main Street between Spring Street and First Street were the corral and stables for the horses and mules, where tired teams were replaced by fresh animals … A very early resident, Mr. Frank Shimer, told me that when he was a boy the exciting time of day in Chatfield was the arrival of the coaches. The traveling was long and tiresome and during it the teams progressed at a slow walk but when they arrived at the top of Winona Hill the driver would flourish and snap his whip, the horses would take on new life, and the stage would come rolling down the hill with great gusto, rounding the corner to First Street and again at the corner of Main Street and pulling up in front of the Medary House, the animals coming to a halt almost on their haunches. The driver would leap down, the coach doors would be opened and the passengers would alight with great enthusiasm to be met by their friends. The mail pouches would be hustled to the Post Office and there other citizens would be waiting anxiously for letters from friends back home" -George A. Haven

, For over 150 years, Main Street has been Chatfield's primary thoroughfare and a focal point for community life. When the town was laid out, the street was little more than a narrow footpath which was eventually worn deeper and wider by pedestrians and wagons. Actual street building officially began in 1856 when the right of way was plowed level using a team of oxen. Many of Chatfield's earliest commercial establishments were located along Main Street in order to take advantage of the system of local roads which developed as the 19th century progressed and southeastern Minnesota filled up with settlers. One of the earliest roads was the wagon road connecting St. Paul and Dubuque, which was authorized by the territorial legislature in 1854. The 272-mile route was surveyed by Martin O. Walker, a Chicago stagecoach line owner. Parts of the road followed ancient Indian pathways, which were later widened and graded to accommodate wagons and other wheeled conveyances. The road entered Minnesota at a point near present-day Harmony and a branch connected it with with [sic] Chatfield. Another territorial road connected Chatfield with Winona. These early roadways allowed Chatfield to be served by various stagecoach lines until the first railroads were constructed through the region in the 1870s. Choked with mud in the spring, thick with dust in the summer, and often blocked by snow in the winter, overland travel was fraught with the most arduous labor and hardship., After a century of experimentation, mostly with steam power, the first practical gasoline-driven motor vehicles were produced during the 1890s. After 1900 there ensued a period of rapid development of the American automobile industry. The first automobiles appeared in Chatfield around 1910. One of the most important effects of the coming of the automobile age was a widespread movement for better roads. Minnesota established a state highway commission to oversee construction of roads and bridges in 1905 and in 1919 voters approved an amendment to the state constitution creating a statewide system of 70 trunk highways (known as "constitutional routes"). Route 20 ran from Cannon Falls south through Rochester, Chatfield, Fountain, Preston, and Harmony. In Chatfield, the highway followed Main Street through the downtown district, then turned east at Fifth Street. The section of highway between Chatfeld and Fountain was later rebuilt on its present-day alignment. Route 20 was renumbered Highway 55 in the late 1920s and became Highway 52 in 1934 when the modern-day federal highway numbering system was created. The highway was paved through Chatfield in 1931., As described in the amendment to the Minnesota State Constitution approved by the voters on November 2, 1920 (the "Babcock Amendment," named for Charles M. Babcock, Minnesota's first highway commissioner), Constitutional Route 20 began at a point on the boundary between the states of Minnesota and Iowa near Canton and ran in a northwesterly direction through the towns of Harmony, Preston, Fountain and Chatfield; from Chatfield, the trunk highway extended northwards through Rochester, Oronoco, Pine Island, and Zumbrota, with its northern terminus near Cannon Falls. When the modern U.S. highway system was created in 1925, Constitutional Route 20 became U.S. Route 55, although the Highway 20 designator remained in common use locally for several years. In 1934 the federal-aid highway between Iowa and the Twin Cities was renumbered U.S. 52. Grading and paving work was largely complete by the late 1930s., The original state constitutional route marker was a yellow five-pointed star set inside a black circle on a square yellow background. These markers were originally placed on telephone poles. The old Highway 20 signs were replaced with the traditional black-and-white shield type route markers after the highway was designated U.S. 52 in 1934.

"The Territory of Minnesota opened a road from Winona to Chatfield and further west and the stage line followed the road. A stagecoach business flourished for many years and Chatfield was the crossing of two major lines, the stage from Winona to Chatfield continuing on to the west, to the edge of civilization, and the north-south St. Paul and Dubuque Line crossing at Chatfield. Here on the lower side of Main Street between Spring Street and First Street were the corral and stables for the horses and mules, where tired teams were replaced by fresh animals … A very early resident, Mr. Frank Shimer, told me that when he was a boy the exciting time of day in Chatfield was the arrival of the coaches. The traveling was long and tiresome and during it the teams progressed at a slow walk but when they arrived at the top of Winona Hill the driver would flourish and snap his whip, the horses would take on new life, and the stage would come rolling down the hill with great gusto, rounding the corner to First Street and again at the corner of Main Street and pulling up in front of the Medary House, the animals coming to a halt almost on their haunches. The driver would leap down, the coach doors would be opened and the passengers would alight with great enthusiasm to be met by their friends. The mail pouches would be hustled
Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online
to the Post Office and there other citizens would be waiting anxiously for letters from friends back home" -George A. Haven

For over 150 years, Main Street has been Chatfield's primary thoroughfare and a focal point for community life. When the town was laid out, the street was little more than a narrow footpath which was eventually worn deeper and wider by pedestrians and wagons. Actual street building officially began in 1856 when the right of way was plowed level using a team of oxen. Many of Chatfield's earliest commercial establishments were located along Main Street in order to take advantage of the system of local roads which developed as the 19th century progressed and southeastern Minnesota filled up with settlers. One of the earliest roads was the wagon road connecting St. Paul and Dubuque, which was authorized by the territorial legislature in 1854. The 272-mile route was surveyed by Martin O. Walker, a Chicago stagecoach line owner. Parts of the road followed ancient Indian pathways, which were later widened and graded to accommodate wagons and other wheeled conveyances. The road entered Minnesota at a point near present-day Harmony and a branch connected it with with [sic] Chatfield. Another territorial road connected Chatfield with Winona. These early roadways allowed Chatfield to be served by various stagecoach lines until the first railroads

Main Street Marker (right) in front of the information center in City Park image. Click for full size.

Photographed by McGhiever, October 4, 2025

2. Main Street Marker (right) in front of the information center in City Park

were constructed through the region in the 1870s. Choked with mud in the spring, thick with dust in the summer, and often blocked by snow in the winter, overland travel was fraught with the most arduous labor and hardship.

After a century of experimentation, mostly with steam power, the first practical gasoline-driven motor vehicles were produced during the 1890s. After 1900 there ensued a period of rapid development of the American automobile industry. The first automobiles appeared in Chatfield around 1910. One of the most important effects of the coming of the automobile age was a widespread movement for better roads. Minnesota established a state highway commission to oversee construction of roads and bridges in 1905 and in 1919 voters approved an amendment to the state constitution creating a statewide system of 70 trunk highways (known as "constitutional routes"). Route 20 ran from Cannon Falls south through Rochester, Chatfield, Fountain, Preston, and Harmony. In Chatfield, the highway followed Main Street through the downtown district, then turned east at Fifth Street. The section of highway between Chatfeld and Fountain was later rebuilt on its present-day alignment. Route 20 was renumbered Highway 55 in the late 1920s and became Highway 52 in 1934 when the modern-day federal highway numbering system was created. The highway was paved through Chatfield

Paid Advertisement

in 1931.

As described in the amendment to the Minnesota State Constitution approved by the voters on November 2, 1920 (the "Babcock Amendment," named for Charles M. Babcock, Minnesota's first highway commissioner), Constitutional Route 20 began at a point on the boundary between the states of Minnesota and Iowa near Canton and ran in a northwesterly direction through the towns of Harmony, Preston, Fountain and Chatfield; from Chatfield, the trunk highway extended northwards through Rochester, Oronoco, Pine Island, and Zumbrota, with its northern terminus near Cannon Falls. When the modern U.S. highway system was created in 1925, Constitutional Route 20 became U.S. Route 55, although the Highway 20 designator remained in common use locally for several years. In 1934 the federal-aid highway between Iowa and the Twin Cities was renumbered U.S. 52. Grading and paving work was largely complete by the late 1930s.

The original state constitutional route marker was a yellow five-pointed star set inside a black circle on a square yellow background. These markers were originally placed on telephone poles. The old Highway 20 signs were replaced with the traditional black-and-white shield type route markers after the highway was designated U.S. 52 in 1934.

Erected by the Chatfield Heritage Preservation Commission.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Roads & Vehicles. A significant historical year for this entry is 1856.

Location. 43° 50.662′ N, 92° 11.264′ W. Marker is in Chatfield, Minnesota, in Fillmore County. It is on Main Street S. south of 3rd Street SW, on the right when traveling south. The marker is in City Park in front of the visitor information center. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 305 Main Street S, Chatfield MN 55923, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Minnesota

and in Greater Rochester.

It is also in the American Midwest,

in the Corn Belt,

and in the Driftless Area — Bluff Country.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Chatfield (here, next to this marker); Chatfield's Historic Carnegie Library (within shouting distance of this marker); Chatfield Loses County Courthouse, Gains Its First Municipal Park (within shouting distance of this marker); Chatfield's Civic Geometry (within shouting distance of this marker); Chatfield's Legacy of Community Music (within shouting distance of this marker); Chatfield's Public Education Legacy (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Chatfield High School (1916-1959) (about 300 feet away); The New Deal Comes to Chatfield (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chatfield.

Credits. This page was last revised on November 9, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 9, 2025, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota. This page has been viewed 77 times since then and 33 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 9, 2025, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota.