
This Major Highway Ran Through the St. Cloud Area
Many of the interstate roads will see in the United States go east to west but St. Cloud was a part of a highway system that went north to south in the early 1900s. The Jefferson Highway originated in Winnipeg and made its way south to Bourbon Street in New Orleans starting in 1916. Most sections of the route were gravel roads with two-lane bridges. It wasn't an extravagant 4-lane divided highway. The Jefferson highway was called the "Pine to Palm Highway".
Jefferson Highway came through the area with Division Street in Rice and went south to what is now Benton Drive in Sauk Rapids. Lincoln Avenue on the east side of St. Cloud was once the Jefferson Highway before crossing the St. Germain Street bridge. The road passed St. Cloud Teachers College before crossing the river again and going passed the St. Cloud Reformatory. If you have ever driven on Jefferson Boulevard in Big Lake, Highway 169 in Champlin or Osseo, Jefferson Road in Northfield, or even Washington Avenue in Minneapolis, you have traveled on a stretch of the Jefferson Highway system.

The Jefferson Lines bus company, formed in 1919 was named after the Jefferson Highway. Learn more about the Jefferson Highway by going to jeffersonhighway.org.
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