Please Don't Quote Me By Caralee Aschenbrenner "The people of Prophetstown at a very early day called their roads streets. The road to Sterling was called Jackson Street; the Geneseo Road, Washington Street and the one opened directly south of the village Benton Street, names they retained for many years.".

Long before routes and roads were numbered they were named for some feature along their way or for an even currently event taking place ... Some special, local identity which by now has been forgotten, unfortunately. There was a certain tradition loosely (though not strictly) followed that labeled streets, too. Such ads most riverside towns named a street, the second or third up from bankside, Bench. Look for it. Above Main!!!

Many towns around the Midwest have streets named Locust or Franklin so we can surmise what or who ws being given tribute. Railroad companies laid out many of the plats of towns hereabout. Trees, fruits, presidents label streets and are common besides the CEO's of the day, and the industry.

But we began talking about roads, not streets, a topic for another day. There are plenty of interesting OLD names which we list here though not the cutesy-tootsey ones of the multitude of new subdivisions that quickly soak up nice, dignified ones. No, not Gingham Row, Queen Anne's Lace Lane or Doe-eyes Drive, etc., etc. (Too much for me.) You?

Most here have been observed over the years. Yes, Chicken Bristle Road is a long-time road near Springfield. And Apache which makes me grind my teeth for its inappropriateness! There was never an Apache within a thousand miles of Carroll County and the former old name, Indian Trail Road was just right unrolling as it does over the prairie north of Georgetown. Apache. Humph! But let's get on with the interesting roads which tell a story behind the sign.

Right photo:

"When the earliest settler came the methods of travel were of the most primitive kind, and the way encountered with difficulties and dangers. The great lines of railroads which now intersect almost every nook and corner of our great state were unknown. In fact, there were but few known roads and those but seldom traveled. Trails led here and there, and these were followed as far as possible, and when one could not be found, the sun during the day, and the North Star at night, guided the pioneer toward his destination."

History of Whiteside County, 1877