A Plank Road History

A Plank Road History (HM29MB)

Location: Roseville, MI 48066 Macomb County
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Country: United States of America
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N 42° 30.968', W 82° 55.612'

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Inscription

Gratiot Avenue and “The Junction”

There had to be a better way to travel
through the countryside when Michigan was young. In the mid-1800s, the new Gratiot Turnpike between Detroit and Mt. Clemens was a swampy and rutted dirt road. To improve things, in 1846 the State of Michigan authorized the creation of privately-owned and more-durable plank roads. Gratiot Turnpike was built through the area as a plank road, laying down sturdy wooden planks on frames. Tolls were paid to use the road, and one of the main tollgates was established along Gratiot Avenue at Utica Road, the intersection called "The Junction."

You Auto Know
Local oak and black walnut trees were cut to build the Gratiot Turnpike plank road in the 1840s.
Details
HM NumberHM29MB
Series This marker is part of the series
Tags
Placed ByMotorCities National Heritage Area, National Park Service
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Saturday, July 21st, 2018 at 7:01pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)17T E 341714 N 4708883
Decimal Degrees42.51613333, -82.92686667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 42° 30.968', W 82° 55.612'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds42° 30' 58.08" N, 82° 55' 36.72" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)586, 810, 248
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 18838 VFW Memorial Drive, Roseville MI 48066, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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