Iowa History Daily: October 6 - Take a Ride on the White Pole Road

Iowa History Daily: On October 6, 1913, the White Pole Auto Club (formerly Southwestern Iowa Auto Club) applied to make the “White Pole Road” the first Iowa State Highway Commission certified auto route in the state.

Encouraging motorists to take the “Great White Way” on a road stretching along the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad from Des Moines to Council Bluffs, the route eventually extended east all the way to Davenport. The initial application cost $5 to file with the state highway commission, and was approved during July 1914.

In 1922, the Great White Way Highway combined with River-to-River Primary No. 7 Highway to form the Whiteway-7-Highway. Another change in 1926 led the name to change to U.S. Highway 32, and in 1931 sections joined the longest east-west route in the United States (U.S. 6) linking Massachusetts and California.

Over the late 20th century the highway again saw designation change, first the DOT renumbered the route to Iowa 925 before eventually transferring the road to counties. With the shift to county control, the route again became the White Pole Road marking a roundtrip for the popular and historic Iowa auto trail. #IowaOTD #IowaHistoryDaily #IowaHistoryCalendar