Inscription
Merrimac's first permanent settler, Chester Mattson, obtained a territorial charter in 1848 to provide ferry service across the Wisconsin River. The State Legislature of 1851 authorized a road, subsequently to become State Trunk Highway 113, to con?nect settlements at Madison and Baraboo via Matt's Ferry. Today, the Merrimac Ferry is the lone survivor of upwards of 500 ferries chartered by territorial and state legislatures before the turn of the century.
The fee charged by early ferrymen for taking a team and wagon across the river was well earned, for their muscles pro?vided a good share of the ferry's power until a gasoline engine was added around 1900.
The ferry changed hands several times before Matt's Ferry Road was added to the state system in 1923 and Columbia and Sauk Counties took over its opera?tion. The name Colsac is a phonetic derivation of the two county names. The State of Wisconsin assumed responsibility for the maintenance and operation of the ferry in 1933, after which the service was provided without charge.
The fee charged by early ferrymen for taking a team and wagon across the river was well earned, for their muscles pro?vided a good share of the ferry's power until a gasoline engine was added around 1900.
The ferry changed hands several times before Matt's Ferry Road was added to the state system in 1923 and Columbia and Sauk Counties took over its opera?tion. The name Colsac is a phonetic derivation of the two county names. The State of Wisconsin assumed responsibility for the maintenance and operation of the ferry in 1933, after which the service was provided without charge.
Details
| HM Number | HMLF |
|---|---|
| Series | This marker is part of the Wisconsin: Wisconsin Historical Society series |
| Tags | |
| Marker Number | 187 |
| Year Placed | 1973 |
| Placed By | The Wisconsin Historical Society |
| Marker Condition |  0 out of 10 (1 reports) |
| Date Added | Sunday, October 12th, 2014 at 2:35am PDT -07:00 |
Pictures
Locationbig map
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 16T E 287787 N 4804754 |
|---|---|
| Decimal Degrees | 43.36566667, -89.61910000 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 43° 21.94', W 89° 37.146' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 43° 21' 56.40" N, 89° 37' 8.76" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 608 |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 1000-1036 Ice Age National Scenic Trail, Lodi WI 53555, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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The Marker Is Missing
marker is supposed to be in wayside adjacent to ferry loading area. It is not present.
Sep 8, 2018 at 5:12pm PDT by wackybadger
Maintenance Issues
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