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^:.<^
Society's Iconographic Collection
THE GOOD ROADS MOVEMENT
IN WISCONSIN, I890-I9II
By Ballard Campbell
T3APID and efficient transportation is an -*-'¦ essential component of American society in the mid-twentieth century, for the modern community depends upon the movement of goods and people. Shouldering a major share of this transportation burden is the motor ve¬ hicle, the mechanized workhorse of the twen¬ tieth century. Indeed, the millions of trucks and automobiles which glide over the tens of thousands of miles of four-lane superhighways interlacing the nation symbolize a highly in¬ tegrated industrial society. Safe and durable highways in the 1960's, of course, are now clearly a necessity to accommodate a motorized population. But the importance of roads was not always so apparent, and not long ago in the United States and in Wisconsin most roads were little more than mud-clogged byways.
When a resident of Winnebago County commented in 1846 on hauling his supplies from Oshkosh over "horrible roads" filled
with "seemingly bottomless mud pits," he only slightly exaggerated the shape of Wisconsin's roads during most of the nineteenth century. To be sure, exceptions existed. During Wis¬ consin's territorial period federal military roads provided some improved wagon thor¬ oughfares, and many of these remained in ser¬ vice after statehood. But the state itself failed to assume the responsibility of financing trans¬ portation arteries. Reacting to the experiences of other Midwestern states that had overex¬ tended internal improvement investments dur¬ ing the booming 1830's, the framers of Wis¬ consin's constitution in 1848 inserted a clause which prohibited state appropriations or loans for transportation projects. To help finance road construction—a responsibility invested with local government—private turnpike and plank road companies were chartered during the early years of statehood. But their general unprofitableness, plus the prospect of railroad
273
Object Description
| Title | Wisconsin magazine of history: Volume 49, number 4, summer, 1966 |
| Article Title | Wisconsin magazine of history: Volume 49, number 4, summer, 1966 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | State Historical Society of Wisconsin |
| Series | Wisconsin Magazine of History ; v. 49, no. 4 |
| Format-Digital | xml |
| Publisher-Electronic | Wisconsin Historical Society |
| Rights | © Copyright 2007 by the Wisconsin Historical Society (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Publication Date-Electronic | 2007 |
| ISSN | 1943-7366 |
| Identifier-Digital | vol49no040000 |
| Description | This issue includes articles on the Good Roads Movement, the problems of popular history, and missionary work among the Menominee Indians. |
| Volume | 049 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Year | 1965-1966 |
Description
| Title | 273 |
| Page Number | 273 |
| Article Title | The good roads movement in Wisconsin, 1890-1911 |
| Author | Campbell, Ballard C., 1940- |
| Page type | Article home; Image |
| Format-Digital | jpeg |
| Publisher-Electronic | Wisconsin Historical Society |
| Rights | © Copyright 2007 by the Wisconsin Historical Society (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Publication Date-Electronic | 2007 |
| ISSN | 1943-7366 |
| Identifier-Digital | vol49no040005 |
| Description | The Good Roads Movement in Wisconsin, 1890-1911: The effort to make Wisconsin's roads passable began in 1890, motivated by bicyclists, civic leaders, and, according to the author, a desire to convince farmers of the need for state road aid. The formation of the Good Roads League, the bicycle craze, the introduction of the automobile, and the reaction of the farming community are all discussed at length. The article documents the movement through 1911, when a highway law requiring states to provide financial aid for road construction was passed. (19 pages) |
| Volume | 049 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Year | 1965-1966 |
| State/Province | Wisconsin; |
| Decade | 1890-1899; 1900-1909; 1910-1919; |
| Organization Name | League of American Wheelmen Wisconsin Division; |
| Subject | Roads; Transportation; Cycling; Automobiles; Legislation; |
| Full Text | ^:.<^ Society's Iconographic Collection THE GOOD ROADS MOVEMENT IN WISCONSIN, I890-I9II By Ballard Campbell T3APID and efficient transportation is an -*-'¦ essential component of American society in the mid-twentieth century, for the modern community depends upon the movement of goods and people. Shouldering a major share of this transportation burden is the motor ve¬ hicle, the mechanized workhorse of the twen¬ tieth century. Indeed, the millions of trucks and automobiles which glide over the tens of thousands of miles of four-lane superhighways interlacing the nation symbolize a highly in¬ tegrated industrial society. Safe and durable highways in the 1960's, of course, are now clearly a necessity to accommodate a motorized population. But the importance of roads was not always so apparent, and not long ago in the United States and in Wisconsin most roads were little more than mud-clogged byways. When a resident of Winnebago County commented in 1846 on hauling his supplies from Oshkosh over "horrible roads" filled with "seemingly bottomless mud pits" he only slightly exaggerated the shape of Wisconsin's roads during most of the nineteenth century. To be sure, exceptions existed. During Wis¬ consin's territorial period federal military roads provided some improved wagon thor¬ oughfares, and many of these remained in ser¬ vice after statehood. But the state itself failed to assume the responsibility of financing trans¬ portation arteries. Reacting to the experiences of other Midwestern states that had overex¬ tended internal improvement investments dur¬ ing the booming 1830's, the framers of Wis¬ consin's constitution in 1848 inserted a clause which prohibited state appropriations or loans for transportation projects. To help finance road construction—a responsibility invested with local government—private turnpike and plank road companies were chartered during the early years of statehood. But their general unprofitableness, plus the prospect of railroad 273 |