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This 6-foot granite obelisk marks a bygone era in highway construction.
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Photo by Eileen Loh Harrist
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Hey Blake,
I was recently walking downtown and stumbled upon a marker at the corner of Common Street and St. Charles Avenue. The marker states that it is the official end of the Jefferson Highway. It further adds, "Winnipeg to New Orleans," and that the marker was placed by a local society in 1917. The Louisiana Purchase exhibit at the New Orleans Museum of Art has piqued my curiosity on all things Jeffersonian, and I figured that you were just the guy to enlighten me regarding the highway.
Todd Gilbertson
Dear Todd,
I sincerely hope that you did not sustain an injury when you "stumbled" upon the marker. Meanwhile, most folks who work in the CBD or just walk through on the way to the French Quarter don't notice the monument -- even though it's a 6-foot granite obelisk.
This is one of my favorite leftovers from a bygone era, and it does indeed indicate the southern end of the Jefferson Highway.
Mass production of automobiles began in the early part of the 20th century. Cars became affordable for regular folks, and Americans were able hit the open road. However, most of the roads were not exactly fit for your average horseless carriage, especially if you wanted to go long distances. So various groups were formed -- one being the National Old Trails Association -- for the purpose of promoting highway construction. They began by marking popular national trails that were already in existence. This activity began around 1913, before the federal and state governments decided that road building should not be left up to private citizens.
The Jefferson Highway Association was another group that wanted to improve a particular trail that ran north to south. Since the group wanted to increase commerce in the Mississippi Valley, the various chapters collected money to upgrade the road. This particular trail ran the entire length of the Louisiana Purchase and into Canada, so they named it the Jefferson Highway. It was dedicated in 1919.
As you might imagine, the road wasn't straight, but meandered all over the place. It ended in New Orleans, but began in Winnipeg, located in the geographic center of Canada, about an hour's drive across the border. Travelers on the highway would leave Canada and drive through Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri, then veer west through Oklahoma and Texas. Shreveport was the first big town it passed through in Louisiana. Next, those who were determined to complete the trip drove through Alexandria and Baton Rouge. When they finally arrived in New Orleans, chances are they found a place to park that tired old car and dragged themselves across Canal Street to a friendly watering hole in the French Quarter.
Soon enough the governments took over road building and planned the elaborate highway system we have now. They also started the numbering system. Here in Louisiana, much of the Jefferson Highway has been incorporated into U.S. 71, U.S. 190, and River Road. But there are still stretches in the state that remind us of the days when you had to be almost as intrepid as Lewis and Clark if you wanted to make the journey from Winnipeg to New Orleans.
Hey Blake,
As a Baton Rouge native living in New Orleans, one thing seems very confusing. The West Bank isn't really west. Geographically speaking, shouldn't the West Bank be called the East Bank or the South Bank?
Confused Jacob
Dear Confused,
Do you know how many people are confused right along with you? This problem with our meandering river drives locals and tourists alike crazy. Sometimes it appears that west is east and north is south, but don't be fooled. To work it out and make the directions make sense, you have to imagine that our muddy Mississippi River is like a very long snake creeping down from the north to the Gulf of Mexico. It twists and turns so many times that sometimes the directions seem all wrong. However, if you were able to get the snake -- er, river -- to go in a straight line, everything would fall into place. All locations on the right side of the river are on the east bank, and those on the left are on the west bank.
