Jump to content

Lake City and Rochester Stage Road

Coordinates: 44°24′7″N 92°20′23″W / 44.40194°N 92.33972°W / 44.40194; -92.33972
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lake City and Rochester Stage Road
Route information
Length32 mi (51 km)
Existed1858–circa-1880
Major junctions
North endLake City, Minnesota
South endRochester, Minnesota
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMinnesota
Highway system
  • Minnesota Trunk Highway System
Lake City and Rochester Stage Road-Mount Pleasant Section
The Mount Pleasant Section
Lake City and Rochester Stage Road is located in Minnesota
Lake City and Rochester Stage Road
Lake City and Rochester Stage Road is located in the United States
Lake City and Rochester Stage Road
LocationAlong U.S. Route 63, Mount Pleasant Township, Minnesota
Nearest cityLake City, Minnesota
Coordinates44°24′7″N 92°20′23″W / 44.40194°N 92.33972°W / 44.40194; -92.33972
AreaLess than one acre
Built1858
MPSOverland Staging Industry in Minnesota MPS
NRHP reference No.91001063[1]
Designated August 30, 1991

The Lake City and Rochester Stage Road was an early road between Lake City and Rochester, Minnesota, United States. It was blazed in 1858 to carry stagecoach traffic between the Mississippi River port and a major inland town in southeast Minnesota.[2]

History

[edit]

Construction of the Lake City and Rochester Stage Road was funded by a group of property owners in Lake City, Minnesota, who hoped to funnel trade from the interior through their river port community. They also subsidized a stagecoach line operated by the Northwestern Express Company, which became the Minnesota Stage Company the following year. Work on the 32-mile (51 km) route began in spring 1858 and the stagecoach company was completing daily runs by mid-May. The route was advertised as the shortest between Rochester and the Mississippi River, and superior in condition to all alternatives. In 1859 the U.S. government requested bids from private contractors to deliver mail along the route and received 22, making it one of the most sought-after mail routes in the state.[2]

The Lake City and Rochester Stage Road was blazed near the end of a six-year frenzy of road building in southeast Minnesota. These new transportation connections spurred the region's development. The stage road to Lake City was effective in helping the river port flourish.[2]

Southeast Minnesota's stage roads diminished in importance in 1867 when a railroad line opened between Waseca and Winona, becoming the preferred route to the Mississippi. The route of the Lake City and Rochester Stage Road was eventually straightened and became a leg of U.S. Route 63.[2]

Mount Pleasant Section

[edit]

When the Lake City and Rochester Stage Road was straightened and incorporated into the modern highway system, a curving 600-foot (180 m) was abandoned and remains much as it appeared in the mid-19th century. Known as the Mount Pleasant Section for its location within Mount Pleasant Township, it stands on the northwest side of Route 63 about three miles (4.8 km) southwest of Lake City. It comprises a six-foot-wide (1.8 m) dirt path curving through undeveloped woods.[2] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991 as the Lake City and Rochester Stage Road-Mount Pleasant Section for its state-level significance in the theme of transportation.[3]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d e Hybben, Robert; Jeffrey A. Hess (July 1990). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Lake City and Rochester Stage Road: Mount Pleasant Section". National Park Service. Retrieved 2018-01-30. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. ^ "Lake City and Rochester Stage Road: Mount Pleasant Section". Minnesota National Register Properties Database. Minnesota Historical Society. 2009. Retrieved 2018-02-03.