{"id":2231,"date":"2009-09-05T08:39:56","date_gmt":"2009-09-05T13:39:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/?p=2231"},"modified":"2022-06-27T18:39:59","modified_gmt":"2022-06-27T23:39:59","slug":"taylor-rose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/taylor-rose\/","title":{"rendered":"Rambling Along the Taylor-Rose Segment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I derive inspiration from odd places. Recently I stumbled across a simple notation on a chart, no more than a throwaway comment really, and it fascinated me. I noticed a brief history of Highway 183 on the US Highways website<\/a>,(1<\/a>)<\/b><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Since 1930; original route North Platte, NE – Dresden, KS, extended north to Vivian, SD 1932 (planned 1930), extended south to Ballinger, TX 1938, extended south to Junction, TX 1939, switched places with US 83 from Pierre, SD to Oakley, KS 1941, current 1952, Last US highway to be completely paved @1967 (Final segment – Rose, NE to Taylor, NE), Was planned to extend to Corpus Christi?”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Wait! Hold on a second. The last section of the U.S. highway system(2<\/a>)<\/b><\/sup> remained unpaved until 1967? How could that be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sand Hills<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First, let’s examine the terrain. That segment of Highway 183 traverses the Sandhill Country<\/a> of north-central Nebraska, a vast area of twenty thousand square miles blanketed by sand dunes encompassing a quarter of the state. Most people do not realize they exist because prairie grasses cover the sand. Nonetheless it lies right below the surface hiding in plain site. Nebraska’s Sand Hills comprise the largest dune complex found anywhere in the Western Hemisphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Map<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Glaciers scoured the shoulders of the Rocky Mountains. Then winds and water pushed eroded dust, sand and gravel towards the east. So over time these forces created a distinct layer upon the lands extending hundreds of feet deep. It so differs from surrounding terrain that scientists consider it a completely separate geological area and ecosystem. The Sand Hills do not constitute part of the larger Great Plains that fill the vast midsection of the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Settlers moving westward in the 19th Century largely bypassed these sandy hills. Crops did not fare well in this expanse of gritty soil and scant rainwater, and there were plenty of better choices elsewhere. The Homestead Act opened much of interior America to settlement in the latter 19th Century and into the 20th Century but there were few takers in this hidden corner. The offer, while generous when applied to other parts of the country, simply did not provide a means to scrape a living from the sand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wasn’t until the much later Kincaid Act of 1904 – designed specifically for Nebraska’s sand hill counties – did the population finally begin to climb. It amended the Homestead Act and allowed settlers to claim an entire township section (640 acres = one square mile), rather than limiting them to a quarter of a section or less as was typical elsewhere. This amount of acreage supported cattle ranching, still a dominant agribusiness here. Farming only became feasible only in the modern era with improvements to irrigation and fertilization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even so, the area remains sparsely populated when compared to its neighbors. The large preponderance of the Sand Hills remain untouched by plow. It continues to exist in nearly pristine condition with native prairie grasses intact, just like what the first settlers saw as they began to cross the plains more than a hundred and fifty years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Highway 183’s Final Unpaved Segment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n