Convicts make for historic site in Louisa County

Hometown Pride Louisa County Inc. dedicated a new visitor and historic attraction on Friday, Sept. 27: the 1914 convict-built concrete road through Fredonia.

Louisa County built this 1.32 miles of costly road because it was the only feasible and long-term solution to ensure reliable transportation through an impassable sand bank. The expense was born by local taxpayers and was very controversial because concrete in rural areas had never happened because of cost. Prison labor from Anamosa was used to lessen the cost, and the road was built under the supervision of the newly formed Iowa Department of Transportation.

Brad Quigley, chairman of the Louisa County Board of Supervisors, was master of ceremony for the program. Speakers were members of Hometown Pride Louisa County; Mark Lowe, IDOT director, and Bill Sperslage, Iowa Prison System director. Other guest speakers were Will Thomson, the project Designer, Armadillo Arts on the historic prospective of the Convict Road, and local educator Mary Masonholder Wilson sharing her special ode to the convicts titled 'Legacies.”

The dedication program started at the Louisa County Fairgrounds Youth Center. Dignitaries were then transported to the ribbon-cutting at the informational sign site by members of the Red Flag Auto Horseless Carriage Tour group in their early 1900s vehicles. It was quite a sight to replicate that early road vehicle traffic by these appropriate age vintage cars, said Tom Woodruff, of the Hometown Pride Louisa County Inc.

The tour ended with a ribbon cutting at the main informational sign which visitors are directed to from Highway 92 with signs posted east of the Iowa River. Other directional and information signage guide the visitor along its route.

Of significant historical interest is the installation of four old pole road markers duplicating the traffic signage along this, the route of four Registered Iowa Highways. Painted poles were used at the time to designate roadway routes.

Of very special historic interest, too, is the descriptive signage at the River Forks recreation area at the west terminus at the Iowa River where the convicts camped.

The entire event was video taped by Eyeworks a professional service from Wapello. The film will be available later.

A book 'Sands of Time” was written by Hometown Pride Louisa County Inc. members sharing solicited personal accounts, photos and poems about the project and prisoners along with the engineering and construction. It is available for a fee by contacting Woodruff at 319-321-0276.