U.S. Highway 161 (US 161) was a
U.S. Highway in
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...
that ran from
Keokuk to
Dubuque
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...
by way of
Cedar Rapids. It was designated in 1925 and signed in 1926 along two
primary highways. The route began at the
Missouri River with
US 61 southwest of Keokuk ran north through
Mount Pleasant and
Iowa City to Cedar Rapids. There, it turned to the northeast through
Anamosa and
Monticello
Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...
towards
Dubuque
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...
. The route ended at US 61 in
Key West, a few miles west of Dubuque.
The route changed very little while it was in service. It was paved from end to end by the summer of 1932. In January 1938, it was removed from the US Highway System. From Keokuk to Cedar Rapids, it was replaced by
US 218, which was extended southward. From Cedar Rapids to Key West it was replaced by
US 151, which was extended westward.
Route description
US 161 began on the
US 61 bridge over the
Des Moines River
The Des Moines River () is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the upper Midwestern United States that is approximately long from its farther headwaters.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe Na ...
, which represents the border between
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
and Iowa. The two routes
ran concurrently within of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
until they reached
Keokuk, where the two routes turned to the northeast and turned away from the river. As the highway curved to the north, it passed the now-unincorporated towns of
Mooar and
Summitville. Southwest of
Montrose, US 61 split off to the northeast to run along the banks of the Mississippi.
After the US 61 split, US 161 continued northeast towards
Donnellson along Main Street where it met
Iowa Highway 3 (Iowa 3). North of Donnellson, the highway diverted away from the
Keokuk and Northwestern Railroad, which the highway had theretofore closely paralleled the railway.
As the highway headed due north towards
Mount Pleasant, it passed many small communities, but did not enter any of them. West of
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
, it intersected Iowa 103, which served as a shortcut to
Fort Madison until 2003.
Iowa 16 intersected the highway in northern
Lee County.
Shortly after it entered
Henry County, US 161 intersected Iowa 125, a short
spur highway that connected
Salem to the primary highway system. The road headed due north, jogging to the east only slightly to cross the
Skunk River
The Skunk River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the state of Iowa in the United States.
Geography
The Skunk River rises in two branches, the South Skunk ( long) and the North Skunk ( long).U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography ...
. In Mount Pleasant, it intersected
US 34 and Iowa 133. Further north, it briefly
overlap
Overlap may refer to:
* In set theory, an overlap of elements shared between sets is called an intersection, as in a Venn diagram.
* In music theory, overlap is a synonym for reinterpretation of a chord at the boundary of two musical phrases
* O ...
ped
Iowa 78 near
Olds Olds may refer to:
People
* The olds, a jocular and irreverent online nickname for old age, older adults
* Bert Olds (1891–1953), Australian rules footballer
* Carl D. Olds (1912–1979), New Zealand-born American mathematician
* Chauncey N. Old ...
.
In
Washington County, US 161 only intersected two primary highways:
Iowa 2 near
Ainsworth
Ainsworth may refer to:
Places
;Canada
*Ainsworth Hot Springs, British Columbia
;United Kingdom
*Ainsworth, Greater Manchester, England
;United States
* Ainsworth, Indiana
*Ainsworth, Iowa
*Ainsworth, Nebraska
*Ainsworth, Wisconsin
*Ainsworth, Wa ...
and
Iowa 22 near
Riverside. In
Johnson County, the highway entered the
Iowa City area from the south.
Iowa 1
Iowa Highway 1 (Iowa 1) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Iowa that extends from Keosauqua to Anamosa. It travels nearly , mainly through rich farmland and small communities. Iowa 1 provides an important link to Iowa City and ...
joined US 161 from the southwest and the two routes briefly headed north together. At the banks of the
Iowa River
The Iowa River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the state of Iowa in the United States. It is about longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 and ...
, they were joined by
US 6, and all three routes crossed the river. US 6 split away from the two routes near the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...
Pentacrest. A few blocks north of campus, Iowa 1 split away to the east. A few more blocks north was the southern end of
Iowa 261. North of Iowa City, the highway crossed back over the Iowa River and headed to the northwest towards
North Liberty, where it intersected Iowa 153.
US 161 continued to the northwest before turning north at its last Iowa River crossing. It passed through
Shueyville and entered
Linn County. It entered the
Cedar Rapids area from the southwest side, where it intersected
US 30 and
Iowa 64. The three highways headed to the northeast towards and crossed the
Cedar River before entering downtown. East of downtown, US 30 split away to the east near the intersection with
Iowa 11. US 161 and Iowa 64 continued northeast towards
Marion Marion may refer to:
People
*Marion (given name)
*Marion (surname)
*Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion"
*Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992)
Places Antarctica
* Mario ...
, where they met Iowa 94 near its downtown. Outside of Marion, they intersected
Iowa 13.
Southwest of
Anamosa, the two routes met the northern end of Iowa 261. Closer to Anamosa, they crossed the
Wapsipinicon River
The Wapsipinicon River (, locally known as the Wapsi) is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 starting n ...
before Iowa 64 split away to the east. Now heading northeast, US 161 traversed the farmland of
Jones County. In
Monticello
Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...
, it met the ends of
Iowa 38 and Iowa 113. It crossed the
South Fork Maquoketa River and headed towards
Cascade, where it crossed the north fork of the river. At Cascade, US 161 met the ends of
Iowa 136 and Iowa 188. Now in
Dubuque County, the highway continued northeast past the
New Melleray Abbey
New Melleray Abbey is a Trappist monastery located near Dubuque, Iowa. The abbey is located about 15 miles southwest of Dubuque and is in the Archdiocese of Dubuque. Currently the Abbey is home to about 16 monks. Several of the monks work in the ...
. The route ended at an intersection with US 61 in
Key West, a few miles west of
Dubuque
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...
.
History
US 161 was an original
U.S. Highway; it and the rest of the system were designated in 1925 and were signed by the summer of 1926.
US 161 replaced parts of two primary roads in eastern Iowa –
Primary Road No. 40, which was known as the Red Ball Route, from Keokuk to Cedar Rapids, and
Primary Road No. 28, parts of which were known as the Red X Route.
The northernmost of US 161 were a part of a territorial and military road from
Dubuque
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...
to Iowa City. This road, authorized by President
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...
in 1839, was known as Dillon's Furrow, named after the Dubuque merchant Lyman Dillon who surveyed the route and marked it with a
furrow
A plough or plow ( US; both ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden, iron or ...
.
Upon designation, only a small portion of US 161 was paved, all of which was located in and around Cedar Rapids. A short section in Keokuk and the remainder of the route north of Cedar Rapids was graveled, but not paved.
A $100 million bond bill ($ in dollars) passed and approved by a plebiscite in 1928 allowed paving to commence in earnest. The entire routing of US 161 was to be completed within six years.
Paving work progressed faster in some counties than it did in others. By 1930, a hard-surfaced road existed from the Missouri state line to Olds in Henry County () and from Iowa City to northeast of Cascade in Dubuque County ().
All of the route were paved by June 1932.
In January 1938, US 161 was removed from the
U.S. Highway System
The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...
. From Keokuk to Cedar Rapids, it was replaced by
US 218, which had previously ended at
US 30 south of
Vinton. US 218 was extended eastward along US 30 and then southward towards Keokuk.
From Cedar Rapids to Key West, it was replaced by
US 151, which had previously only existed in Wisconsin. US 151 was routed westward from
Madison Madison may refer to:
People
* Madison (name), a given name and a surname
* James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States
Place names
* Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...
along
US 18 to
Dodgeville, then along
US 118 to
Dickeyville, then along
US 61 into Iowa to Key West, and then along US 161 to Cedar Rapids.
Major intersections
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:61-1
U.S. Highways in Iowa
1
Former U.S. Highways
United States Numbered Highway System