The Jefferson Highway, the much-less-known north-south counterpart to the Lincoln Highway in Iowa, is getting its time in the spotlight. There is now a book about the route, which went from Winnipeg to New Orleans (“Pine to Palm”).
In Iowa, the Jefferson — important enough to be numbered the first IA 1 in 1920 — roughly followed US 69 from the Missouri state line to Ames, US 30 between Ames and Colo, and US 65 to Minnesota. The big curve at Niland’s Cafe is because that’s the way the Jefferson went. US 65 did not run south of Colo through Collins and Bondurant to Altoona until 1940. (The book’s author says the first route of the Jefferson went through Shipley, south of Nevada, but by the time of the first Highway Commission map in 1919 the straight route through Ames had won out.)
The WHO story says the Jefferson Highway will be signed as a historic byway like the Lincoln Highway, so that will be something to check out next year.