March 3, 1839 – President Martin Van Buren signs the bill into law and Iowa’s Military Road is approved.
With waterways limited and railroads still a dream, Iowa’s Territorial Governor Robert Lucas decided in 1838 to go with an extensive plan for road construction – and within days of his inauguration, federally-funded roads were proposed. In late December, U.S. Congress passed a bill appropriating $20,000 for Iowa’s first “Military Road,” requiring it to pass through as many county seats as possible.
President Martin Van Buren, on March 3, 1839, signed the bill into law and Iowa’s Military Road was underway: one north/south road stretching from the mining and river town of Dubuque in the north to Keosauqua, near the Missouri border on the south. Thus, between 1840 and 1870, the stagecoach business was a-rolling all over the Hawkeye State, with Iowa City being right in the center of the action.
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