Iowa Highway 99 (1920 Series)

(July 1, 1920-August 1931)

In 1920, they knew it as: A river road between Davenport and Clinton (2 counties)
We know it as: US 67
Let's get granular: Not all of the original route hewed near the west side of railroad tracks as today. In fact, it jumped the tracks repeatedly.

Davenport to Le Claire: 4th Street, US 67/River Drive, State Street, Valley Drive, US 67, Canal Shore Drive (to dead end), US 67, 2nd Street, May Street (small corner)
Le Claire to Camanche: US 67, River Drive (double-dead-end), US 67, vacated road bouncing around current 67 at the marsh surrounding the Wapsipinicon River, US 67, 292nd Street and vacated road east to next intersection, US 67, vacated road south of Washington Boulevard in the area where the 67 bypass angles northeast

Between Le Claire and Princeton, the road was between the Clinton, Davenport & Muscatine Railway (an interurban abandoned by WWII) and the Davenport, Rock Island & North Western Railway (now Canadian Pacific).
Today's US 67 on the north side of Princeton (near 285th Avenue) is closer to the original line than an older curve in use until the late 1980s.

In Camanche: Washington Boulevard, 3rd Street, 9th Avenue, Washington Boulevard, 4th Avenue, 10th Place, 2nd Avenue, Washington Boulevard

Much of Washington, except for the pre-existing road between 9th and 4th avenues, was built in 1927 as the bypass of most of Camanche. The route above is educated speculation pieced together from the 1927 construction plan, the 1905 city map, and the 1925 Camanche Township map.
Two more complicating factors: A geography-based plat in the late 19th century (the 10th and 11th Place area) countered the river-based original city plat, and Camanche renamed its streets sometime in the 20th century.

Camanche to Clinton (1920-25): US 67, Harrison Drive, S 19th Street, Bluff Boulevard, 5th Avenue S
Camanche to Clinton (1925-27): US 67 to end at present US 30, in the same spot since before the dedication of the Coan marker in 1925
Camanche to Clinton (1927-31) (probably): US 67, Harrison Drive, 27th Avenue S, Camanche Avenue (now WB 30/SB 67), S 4th Street, 5th Avenue S, S 2nd Street (US 67).

I'm 75% sure that what has been interpreted as a third alignment of the Lincoln Highway in the vicinity of present US 30 is actually the Iowa Scenic Trail as seen in the 1912 Huebinger Automobile and Good Road Atlas of Iowa.
The Harrison/27th intersection was destroyed in 2019 as part of a Harrison reconstruction project.

Related route: IA 417, an inland alignment from Riverdale to Le Claire on Valley Drive. State Street, which carries 67 today, parallels the railroad here. Part of this became unsigned IA 984 for a while.
See also: Clinton Highway Chronology

NORTH End (1): 5th Ave. S at S 2nd St. (probably), Clinton, Clinton County

The present intersection of US 30 and US 67 was too far out from Clinton in 1920 for 99 to end there, so its designation continued into the city. If the route did not end at the above intersection, where the Lincoln Highway turned north and intersected a short route to the south toll bridge, it probably ended at either the courthouse or the Lyons-Fulton Bridge as the Lincoln Highway exited Iowa.

On March 4, 1930, the IHC extended the official designation of 99 from Clinton to Dubuque. There was one slight problem: There was no road between Clinton and Dubuque. It was built over the next two years, and by the time it was completed, it was an extension of US 55.

NORTH End (2): IA 6, now US 67 at US 30, Clinton, Clinton County

Facing generally northwest (unknown year)

This would be looking toward the Clinton National Bank at the 30/67 intersection.

Facing north on 99 (6/27/20)

Facing east on 6 / Southeast corner of intersection (7/6/13 and 10/24/04)

In January 1925, 99 was pulled back "to IA 6 west of Clinton." But by the end of the decade it was back into Clinton as US 30 either got an official bypass or an unofficial "relief route", taking the river/railroad alignment to 4th Street at 5th Avenue.

To dedicate Coan memorial Wednesday; public invited to enjoy interesting program
Monument commemorates devotion of Clinton man to better roads
Honoring the memory of the late W.F. Coan, a beautiful memorial erected at the junction of Lincoln and Scenic highways will be dedicated at 5 o'clock Wednesday afternoon. ...
G.S. Hoag, executive secretary of the Lincoln Highway association will, it is hoped, be among the guests. ...
The beautiful memorial, nearing completion today, is erected at the [spot] where Lincoln and Scenic highways connect, near Mill Creek bridge just west of the city. Permission was granted by the state highway commission to construct the monument there, as it was selected as the most fitting place for the memorial inasmuch as the late Mr. Coan was an incessant worker on behalf of both highways, and is remembered as the "father" of the Scenic highway project.
— Clinton Advertiser, August 3, 1925

SOUTH End: IA 7, Davenport, Scott County

Facing west, but heading south, on 99 (8/31/07)

The probable end for IA 99 is 4th Street at Perry Street, where it met IA 7 as that highway went to the Government Bridge. A possible other end for it, continued west four blocks, is at Main Street, which carried IA 20 (US 61). That might be more probable because it's the site of Davenport City Hall, and could have junctioned IA 74 here.

In early 1930, before US 55 was extended to Davenport, the last few blocks of then-IA 99 were moved south from 4th to 3rd, putting its end at the front door of the Blackhawk Hotel.

Page created 4/14/20; last updated 11/21/22

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