(left plaque:)
The following inscription was engraved on one of the original bells that hung in the Broadview Mansion Bell Tower:
"Dedicated to the glory of God
and in loving memory of
Bird Colladay Van Leer, 1867-1933 . . . — — Map (db m162820) HM
You are standing on the pavement of the original Route 66 that was commissioned in 1926. The width of the original hard road was only 16' wide and constructed from Portland cement. The road immediately in front of you is the upgraded Route 66 known . . . — — Map (db m157604) HM
The Towanda, Il. Route 66 Parkway stretches 1 mile in front of you and 2.5 miles behind you. You are standing on the 1954 alignment of Route 66. The original 1926 two lane Route 66 is behind you and to the right and just up this road and to the . . . — — Map (db m157605) HM
Ahead of you is Dead Man's Curve, the site of many disastrous accidents from the late 1920s through the 1950s. This curve was part of the original Route 66 that was constructed around Towanda in 1927. Behind you to the east approximatley 1/4 mile, . . . — — Map (db m157594) HM
Your experience of this portion of Historic Route 66 is eight tenths of one mile of the 2448 miles stretching from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California. As the primary road connecting Chicago to the west coast, Route 66 was called the Main . . . — — Map (db m157589) HM
Directly ahead lay the remnants of Henderson's Dairy, which was closed in 1942 due to a calling to war. Upon Jerry Henderson's return home from World War II in 1945, the Standard Service Station was built and opened. It was a small, family owned . . . — — Map (db m157603) HM
Ahead of you is the former location of the Delco Truck Stop, a historic landmark opened in 1952. Three years later, the name changed to Pure Oil Truck Stop with gasoline selling at 17.9 cents per gallon. Pure Oil also featured a restaurant that . . . — — Map (db m157602) HM
Defending Lock No. 2
Confederate forces occupied Bowling Green on September 18, 1861. Young men, eager to support the Union cause and filled with thoughts of adventure, joined Home Guard units across Kentucky. Before the end of the month . . . — — Map (db m123972) HM
Well over 200 soldiers are known to have died of disease during Camp Calhoun's short
existence. The number is probably higher but many records are missing or incomplete.
"there health is so very bad"
It was not long before . . . — — Map (db m124525) HM
Charles Hansford
A privateer in Virginia's Navy during the American Revolution, Hansford sailed off eastern coast of U.S., West Indies, and Spain. He was captured three times by the British. Only he and one other of 36 prisoners survived . . . — — Map (db m123536) HM
County Named
For Judge Alney McLean, lawyer and politician. Established in 1854, from parts of Daviess, Ohio, and Muhlenberg Counties. Solomon Rhoads and James Inman settled in 1788. First county officers were: Sanders Eaves, judge; Alfred . . . — — Map (db m123557) HM
On reconnaissance and search for supplies, late Nov. 1861, CSA Gen. Nathan B. Forrest's cavalry scouted area. Reported USA forces of Gen. T. C. Crittenden gathered here. Forrest moved on to west. Again in area, Dec. 28, 1861, Forrest met and . . . — — Map (db m123537) HM
First American killed in action, World War I. Born Beech Grove, 1893, moved to Indiana, 1901, and enlisted there, 1914. Served under Gen. Pershing on Mexican border, 1916. Sent overseas June 14, 1917. Pfc. Gresham killed, Nov. 3, 1917, in the battle . . . — — Map (db m88960) HM
In memory of those from McLean County who gave the supreme sacrifice
Honor roll
World War I
WorlD War II
Korean War
War on Terrorism - Iraq
Vietnam War
Other war zones — — Map (db m124527) WM
Union Camp Site
In July 1864 Co. D, 35th Regt. Ky. Vol. Mtd. Inf. camped, north on Houston land. Muster, Owensboro Oct. 2, 1863. Guarded area between Cumberland and Green Rivers. Part of Union force that defeated CSA Gen. Adam R. . . . — — Map (db m123923) HM
This early settler owned large tract of "Island" territory, cut off during times of high water. He served in Revolutionary War under George Rogers Clark, 1781. Became circuit court judge, 1803, then postmaster of Worthington (now Island) in 1829. . . . — — Map (db m123533) HM
When this structure was built, a unique contribution to history was made. It is claimed to be only river bridge in the world which begins and ends in the same county (McLean), spans two rivers (Green and Rough), and crosses another county (Ohio), a . . . — — Map (db m123534) HM
Custer Mine, owned and operated by the Truax Traer Coal Company, was a
working surface mine from 1947-1964. The surface or strip mining method of coal
mining is used when the coal seam is near the surface of the ground. The
lignite coal was mined . . . — — Map (db m164410) HM
People have lived in the area now called North Dakota for over 12,000 years. The people of prehistoric
times were nomadic hunters and gatherers. More recent Native American tribes of this area include the Mandan, Arikara and Hidatsa. These . . . — — Map (db m164407) HM
The transition from a working coal mine to today's
Custer Mine Wildlife Management Area took place over
many years. While the coal mine was still in operation,
local residents started planting trees on the mine spoil
banks. The trees were . . . — — Map (db m164412) HM
In December of 1804 the temperature dipped and snow began to fall. Despite waking to an unrelenting cold the Corps of Discovery continued to work on the finishing touches of Fort Mandan, went hunting and preformed the never-ending job of gathering . . . — — Map (db m162597) HM
From this site, North Dakota Wagon Train, that took our message to Valley Forge, left on September 26, 1975.
Outriders presented scrolls from their various bicentennial communities to Wagon Master Jerry Nelson and Governor Arthur Link. These . . . — — Map (db m162594) HM
One of the earliest forms of Missouri River transportation was the bull boat. Used primarily by the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara tribes, bull boats served as the main watercraft for natives living along the river banks. These boats were both built . . . — — Map (db m235041) HM
To attract shoppers to Washburn from west of the Missouri River, the Washburn Road installed a cable ferry in May 1902, known unofficially as the General Washburn. Cable ferries were small, unpowered boats attached to steel cables stretched between . . . — — Map (db m235089) HM
Winter 1804-1805
Named for the nearby Indians, Fort Mandan was winter quarters for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Sited by Captain Clark on November 2, 1804, the fort was built in a triangular shape from cottonwood logs cut in . . . — — Map (db m162536) HM
Fort Mandan, 1804-05 Winter Quarters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also was the birthplace of the son born to Sakakawea and her French husband Charbonneau, interpreter for the explorers. The "Bird Woman" helped guide Lewis and Clark to their . . . — — Map (db m162595) HM
The Mandan Winter
"If we eat you Shall eat, if we Starve, you must Starve also."
Mandan Chief Sheheka-shote, to Captains Lewis and Clark, November 1, 1804
With those words, Chief Sheheke-shote (White Coyote), . . . — — Map (db m162953) HM
Privates John Shields, William Bratton and Alexander Willard manned the blacksmith shop at Fort Mandan. These men provided repair work to native tools, such as sharpening iron hoes and knives and fixing trade kettles.
The Mandan and Hidatsa who . . . — — Map (db m162950) HM
Nettle Creek School was the first school in McLean County, opening on November 6, 1883. Originally located seven miles east of Washburn, the one-room country school was first constructed as a log cabin, with clapboard siding added to it later. In . . . — — Map (db m235060) HM
The first steamboat to reach the upper Missouri was the American Fur Company's Yellow Stone, which arrived at Fort Union in 1832. Nearly 30 years later, steamers began reaching Fort Benton, Montana, the head of navigation on the Missouri. From then . . . — — Map (db m235097) HM
While preparing for the expedition to the Pacific, Meriwether Lewis visited Philadelphia for instructions in natural sciences, astronomical navigation and field medicine. It is believed that it was during this period that Lewis purchased Seaman, his . . . — — Map (db m36352) HM
The last stern wheel ferry on the Missouri. Built by Oscar Anderson in 1951 and operated by him on the Missouri River at Washburn from 1952 to 1962. Restored by the Washburn Bi-centennial Committee in 1976. American Revolution Bicentennial . . . — — Map (db m235096) HM
In 1898, William Drew Washburn, a wealthy Minneapolis flour miller, railroad man, and U.S. Senator from Minnesota, purchased 115,000 acres of land along the line between McLean and Burleigh counties. He formed the Bismarck, Washburn & Great Falls . . . — — Map (db m235098) HM
Pioneer home of Joseph Henry Taylor, soldier, trapper, hunter, author and printer by trade. Born in 1843 of Quaker parents in Chester County, PA., he drifted west, locating in the Painted Woods area, twelve miles south of here in 1869, where he led . . . — — Map (db m235199) HM
In 1950 Oscar Anderson, a native of Washburn who had traveled the world since 1917 as an officer in the merchant marine, returned home to spend his retirement years. He found a community that missed its ferryboat connection with the west bank of . . . — — Map (db m235095) HM
In the early 1920s, most North Dakota towns were served by small local power plants producing direct current (DC) electric power. In 1926, Otter Tail Power Company of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, was one of several companies building a series of power . . . — — Map (db m235057) HM
The bridging of the Missouri River at Washburn had been a longtime goal for residents of the community. As early as 1908, a party of local residents traveled to Washington, D.C., unsuccessfully, in the interests of such a project. During the 1920s . . . — — Map (db m235047) HM
