Several years ago when my youngest son left for college, I decided to leave as well, if only for a month and a half to drive cross-country on the second longest highway in the U.S., Route 6. Also known as the vaguely communist sounding Grand Army of the Republic Highway, US Route 6 was once the longest road in America, running 3,652 miles through 14 states from Provincetown, MA to Long Beach, CA, but fell to second place (Route 20 is longer) after California renumbered its highways in 1964. US Route 6 now officially ends in Bishop, CA – a colorful Eastern Sierra’s town rich in murals and mules – but I also intended to retrace Historic Route 6 from Bishop to Long Beach and include that portion, too, in a mile by mile Route 6 guidebook.
Historic Route 6 tour to stop in Newton, pass through Colfax
Newton Daily News
The Route 6 River to River Classic Car Road Trip is taking place this weekend and the first overnight stop for participants will be in Newton on Friday.“The Newton Convention & Visitors Bureau is excited once again to welcome the U.S. Route 6 Tourist Association to Newton” Newton CVB Executive Director Linda Bacon said. “Route 6 has been coming to Newton for the last few years and their presence gets a little larger every year; and we were able to partner them with the South Skunk Blues Society and the Thunder Nites in Newton for this and future trips.”
Iowa’s section of the historical ‘Grand Army of the Republic Highway’ stretches for 320 miles from Davenport to Council Bluffs.
David Darby, Iowa executive director for the Route 6 tourist organization, expects to have somewhere between 150 and 200 cars along on the ride.
“We came in really close to 100 for pre-registration online and then right around the same through the mail,” Darby said. “We usually get quite a few who will just show up without registering on the day of the event too … It’s going to be a great turn-out”
Darby touted the ride as not only an opportunity to get out and experience the historic Route 6, but also as a means to get a better taste of different Iowa communities and to support the locals businesses found across the state.
The banner for the event exclaims, right below the title, “No interstates, No chain restaurants,” and Darby says that they plan to live by that motto for the weekend tour.
“We’re not going to touch the interstate for a moment unless we absolutely have to for a bridge closure or other detour,” Darby said. “If you do the interstate, you’re crossing Iowa in about four and a half hours, and by the time you’re through you’re bored silly and you haven’t eaten anything other than chain restaurant fast food.”
He went on to explain how the Route 6 tour would be a great exhibition of all of the communities along the way, and help bring money back into the local economy at the same time.
“When you’re going to a mom-and-pop restaurant or hotel versus one of the larger corporate chains, that money is able to stay in the community and do much more good for the local economy … Otherwise it would travel up and leave the town, the state and sometimes the country,” Darby said. “We plan to go to as many local businesses as we can.”
He explained that each community might not have enough ‘local’ hotel rooms to accommodate the more than 150 cars that would participate, but they would make a concerted effort to only stop at local restaurants and businesses.
At least four of those stops in Newton have already been planned. When the drivers get into town on Friday night, they’ll have their options in entertainment. The tour organizers have planned for many of the attendees to visit the Valle Drive-In for the nightly double feature. Others will go to the Scoreboard Bar and Grill or the First Avenue Speakeasy, which will both be hosting bands for the travelers.
The next morning, the drivers will break their fast at Newton’s Midtown Café before rallying around the town square and embarking on the next leg of their trip, to Omaha.
The travelers will have a special escort as they pull out of Newton, heading down County Blacktop F48 towards Colfax. The Colfax Fire Department is sending out their 1947 Ford fire truck to run an escort for the group as they begin their second day of travel.
The fire truck won’t be the only Colfax emergency vehicle on the trip however.
Paul Kuhlman, 10-year police officer with the Colfax Police Department, is taking his department’s restored 1964 Ford Galaxy Police Car on the road. Kuhlman is driving the whole stretch of the tour and is also serving as the Jasper County Coordinator for the trip, having helped with arranging traffic safety through the county along with some of the events.
The Route 6 group continues to recruit sponsors for its road signs. To sponsor a sign, contact Darby. Bacon said the Newton CVB also works to promote the organization and its mission.
“The Newton CVB is also selling prints produced by the association at our new Newton Visitor Center,” she said. “Proceeds will benefit the association and the Newton CVB.”
Castle Hall, Walcott
This week’s edition of Then & Now goes to Walcott, Iowa. One of the more interesting sights in Walcott is “Castle Hall” Built in 1905, the designer intended to replicate the Balmoral Castle, an old Norman stronghold in Scotland. When first built, the metal panels that cover the framework were gray. Beneath the tower is a basement dungeon that was once the subject of much speculation. Originally the home and business of Doctor Henry Schumacher, his residence was on the second floor, while the pharmacy was on the main floor. Quite the eccentric, Dr. Schumacher kept a pair of plaster of Paris skeletons in the basement dungeon, painted with phosphorescent paint to awe his visitors. After the doctor passed away in 1934, the first floor was used as a beer parlor. While apparently, there is still a dance hall upstairs, the castle today is a private residence. If you would like to see the castle for yourself, drive out Historic Route 6 to Main street in Walcott. head south to Bryant street, and turn left. — in Walcott, IA.
Government Bridge, Davenport
The Government Bridge or Arsenal Bridge spans the Mississippi River, connecting Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa. It is located near Upper Mississippi Mile Marker 483, adjacent to the Mississippi River Lock and Dam No. 15. The current structure (which was completed in 1896) is the fourth at this location, and includes a swing section to accommodate traffic navigating the locks. The double-rail track above the road level is unusual for a bridge.
The original bridge, which was finished in 1856, was the first railroad bridge across the Mississippi. The bridge was 1,582 feet (482 m) long, and the draw-span was 285 feet (87 m). It was a threat to the South (which sought to create a southern rail route to the Pacific) and to St. Louis, whose steamboats faced competition from Chicago’s railroads. The Effie Afton struck the bridge weeks after it opened, and steamboat companies brought lawsuits. It was replaced in 1866 by a wooden structure…
[ Source: Wikipedia ]
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