In 1852, the federal government began building the Point Douglas to Superior Military Road. Although intended as a highway for troop movement, this route from Hastings, Minnesota on the Mississippi River to Superior, Wisconsin on Lake Superior, was one of the first roads in Minnesota Territory and attracted a flood of civilian and commercial traffic. When Minnesota achieved statehood in 1858, responsibility for the road devolved to the state, which did not have the funds to finish the project. Although very rough and in places incomplete, the road was still the best route north until railroads were built in 1870. An alternative to the Military Road that ushered in the decline in use of the road came in 1895 when William Henry Grant built a spur of the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad to run to Sandstone, Minnesota. Traces of the unimproved military road can still be seen in Wild River State Park and Banning State Park.
Landmarks
The Point Douglas–St. Louis River Road Bridge in Stillwater Township, Minnesota
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