Fredonia, Iowa: Drive A 1914 Road Built by Convicts
One of the first concrete roads built outside of a city in the entire U.S. The 16-foot-wide road looks tiny today, but it was a major highway in 1914. Convicts from a prison in Anamosa built it.
- Address:
- 155th St., Fredonia, IA
- Directions:
- On the east side of the Iowa River. From IA-92 turn north onto Co Rd G40 toward Fredonia, then turn either right or left (no stoplight) onto Main St./155th St. Left follows the Concrete Road a short distance to the river; right follows the Concrete Road about 1.5 miles until it ends at P Ave.
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
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Convict constructed road. 1914.
[S Ingram, 03/21/2022]Nearby Offbeat Places
Large Cattails, Columbus Junction, IA - 1 mi.
Lover's Leap Swinging Bridge, Columbus Junction, IA - 2 mi.
Kylie the Gorilla, Olds, IA - 15 mi.In the region:
Rex the Loyal Grave Dog, Rock Island, IL - 41 mi.
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This was one of the first concrete roads built outside of a city in the entire U.S. The 16-foot-wide road looks tiny today, but it was a major highway in 1914. The convicts were from a prison in Anamosa, and were used because building a road through the sandy soil was considered too difficult for local, free labor.