(July 1, 1920-July 1, 2003)
- In 1920, they knew it as: A road connecting Manilla to the main north-south road in Crawford County
- We know it as: IA 141 between US 59 and north of Manilla, and the spur that remained IA 45 until the Second Great Decommissioning
- Let's get granular: Before paving in 1938, 45 came into Manilla on the section line, using 330th Street, which becomes 8th Street, and then going west on Main to 3rd Street. That would have taken the route past the school.
| IA 45 endpoint history | |||
| FROM | TO | NORTH | SOUTH |
| 7/1/20 | 11/27/28 |
IA 4 (US 59) | Manilla |
| 11/27/28 | 11/23/38 |
IA 46 (IA 141) - east side RR | Manilla (Main St at 3rd St) |
| 11/23/38 | 5/12/89 |
IA 141 - Y intersection, then T on east side of railroad |
Manilla (Main St at 6th St) |
| 5/12/89 | 7/1/03 | IA 141 - T on east side RR | Manilla (3rd St at Main St) |
1920 WEST End: IA 4, now IA 141 at US 59, Crawford County
There was a one-room schoolhouse inside the Y intersection built when the route was paved.
NORTH End: Stop sign/T intersection, IA 141, Crawford County
This 1950 photo shows the end in a Y intersection. The left leg is gone; the underpass remains but is inaccessible because that farm is gone.
Facing north on 45 (3/26/02)
Photo by Neil Bratney
View of "End" sign with intersection in background (6/29/03)
Facing north on 45 (8/23/19)
Facing north on 45 (5/22/14)
I have gone to Manilla three separate times.
Facing east on 141 (6/29/03)
M55 does not meet 45 at the same intersection. It goes north before the railroad crossing, and 45 goes south after the crossing.
Facing east on 141 (3/26/02)
Photo by Neil Bratney
Facing east on 141 (5/22/14)
Facing east on 141 (5/22/14)
Facing west on 141 (6/29/03)
In the deep background of the left picture you can see the 45 intersection, then the railroad tracks, then the M55 intersection. Oddly, despite M55 and 45 not coming to the same exact point, and the M47 signage at the south end (see below), Crawford County told me 45 became an extension of M55. As far as I could tell, only two addresses along the route needed to worry about changing addresses outside the city limits.
Facing west on 141 (5/22/14)
Although this sign shows a double arrow, there are two intersections, before and after the railroad tracks.
Facing west on 141 (5/22/14)
Facing west on 141 (5/22/14)
Still on the north side of town (5/22/14 above, below)
1920 EAST End: 3rd St., Manilla, Crawford County
SOUTH End: 4-way stop, Main
St., Manilla, Crawford County
Facing south on 45 (3/26/02)
Photo by Neil Bratney
Assuming 45 first came in on the section line, the 1920-28 end and the 1988-03 end were at the same intersection, but coming from different directions: first westbound Main at 3rd/Park, then southbound Park at Main.
Facing south on 45 (6/29/03)
Facing south on 45 (6/29/03)
The general direction of 45 is south-southwest, alongside railroad tracks. The arrows under M47 point to the road you are on, but in this case M47 is NOT duplexed with 45. From here, M47 goes east for five blocks on Main and then turns south.
More expansive view of above (8/23/19)
Originally, 45 came in from the left after going through downtown. Notice the old-style gas station at the corner. There are no signs westbound.
Old SOUTH End: 6th St., Manilla, Crawford County
Facing east, but heading south, on 45 (8/23/19)
Going through route logs, I found out that until 1988 IA 45 turned and went into downtown rather than stopping before entering it. It's one of a handful that were not truncated to the city limits in 1980 yet didn't end in the same place by decommissioning.
Closeup of signs (8/23/19)
The two big hints that state maintenance ended here are the "M47 ^" sign here and the abrupt narrowing of the pavement leaving downtown. The speed limit pole could have held "End 45" in the 1980s.
Facing west, but heading north, on 45 (8/23/19)
This is looking downtown from the 1980s end.
This bench is in a mini-park for the Crawford County Freedom Rock. (8/23/19)
An inevitability merely delayed
When I went to Manilla in 2014, the IKM-Manning school district had just announced that the school in Manilla was going to close. At the time, it was expected that the school would be torn down. I wrote about a column about its closure in the Des Moines Register to that effect. However, the entire complex remained standing for another six years, as seen in this photo (8/23/19). Just short of a year after the above picture was taken, the complex was finally demolished.
Last seen: 2003
Page created 5/18/02; last updated 8/25/20