(July 1, 1920-May 22, 1934)
- In 1920, they knew it as: The Koszta Kut Off between Belle Plaine and Marengo; Koszta is a village in the middle of the route
- We know it as: IA 212, and IA 21 from 212 to Belle Plaine
- Let's get granular:
- 8th Avenue and 10th Street in Belle Plaine — see this pair of blog entries — and then IA 21
- Present IA 212 except in the Koszta area, where it used 125th Street and F Avenue (partly vacated), and 141st Street/I Avenue to the southeast
- South Street and Western Avenue in Marengo appear to have been used from the beginning; there is no evidence 73 went farther east on South and then turned south on Eastern Avenue.
WEST End: IA 6, now 8th Ave. at Main St., Belle Plaine, Benton County
Facing east on the Lincoln Highway/IA 6 (7/7/13)
In this view, in the heart of Belle Plaine's downtown, IA 73 started to the right. This is a block east and south of where IA 21 and old IA 131 meet.
IA 73's life is far less interesting than its death and the year preceding it. The number was the prize for a coalition in western Iowa trying to get a border-to-border primary and then getting that into the federal system. They achieved their goal, although the route became US 59 instead.
But in 1934, western Iowa and eastern Iowa weren't quite moving in sync. Newspaper articles of the time give the impression that IA 73 remained signed between Dysart and Marengo even after the new IA 73 had been created. For much, much more about this, see the bottom of the IA 212 page.
EAST End: IA 7, now US 6, Marengo, Iowa County
Facing south, but heading east, on 73 (7/24/08)
The layout of Marengo in relation to transportation features is interesting because I cannot find any evidence that either IA 7 or IA 73 went to the courthouse area. The courthouse itself is a ways north of the railroad, about a third of the way to the Iowa River. I default to 73's end being where IA 212 ends today.
Page created 4/11/20