In July, 1833, Lt. Alexander Center blazed a nearby oak, marking the 100-mile point of a military road he and James Doty were surveying. The Old Military Road, built from 1835 to 1837, connected Ft. Crawford at Prairie du Chien, Ft. Winnebago at Portage and Ft. Howard at Green Bay, a distance of 235 miles. In two months, troops from Ft. Crawford under Col. Zachary Taylor, later our 12th President, built the section between Prairie du Chien and Poynette, at a cost of $1200, excluding soldiers' labor. Milestones were erected as work progressed. In Dane County, the road went east from Blue Mounds to Mt. Horeb, then northeast near the present villages of Pine Bluff, Cross Plains and Dane. In this area, it followed the survey route rather than Indian trails. Of limited military value, the road aided the settlement and economic development of Wisconsin.
Comments 0 comments