Highways:
...more to come, including the U.S. Highways in Wisconsin!
<< Home
>> contact us!
Click here for a map overview
|
"Cookies, Marshes, Sculptures, Fishing...this thing even goes to Berlin"
 | Taking over from a lonely county road, Highway 49 starts up at U.S. 41 and begins a 128-mile journey through the middle of eastern Wisconsin with a lot of interesting stuff ahead. |
Within eyeshot of the interchange where Highway 49 begins, the massive Quad/Graphics plant cranks out incredible amounts of printed material - magazines, books, and just about anything else that can be read - or ripped. Much of its production goes out by train, as evidenced by the railroad crossing. Right after is the junction with the original U.S. 41, which is now Highway 175. Also visible at times to the north is a sign of the future: giant turbines providing wind-generated electricity. Attempts to expand this windfield has generated its fair share of controversy. |
|
  |
| Left: In Brownsville, you can stock up on goodies at a Red Owl, a chain of stores that were once all over this part of Wisconsin. Very, very few still exist, so it's now cool enough to take a picture of them. Right: The flat expanse of Horicon Marsh appears abruptly as Highway 49 approaches from the east. After a curve, the road cuts right across the marsh, providing a great opportunity for bird-watching and animal-dodging. |
Highway 49 runs right through the pleasant little burg of Brownsville (pop. 570), which turns 130 this year (2008). That's the last town before you reach Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, both a State Wildlife Area and a National Wildlife Refuge. It's a pretty unmistakeable feature as you approach it: before you suddenly is a vast expanse of flat land that looks like a lake had been drained there. And that's pretty close to how things got to be this way. When the glaciers that once covered this part of the state retreated, a moraine was formed that worked like a dam and created a large lake. The Rock River, which uses the Marsh as its source, gradually drained the natural lake and turned it, well, marshy. People tried manipulating it again twice: from 1846 to 1896, a dam re-created the glacial lake; after it became a marsh again, there was an attempt to drain it from 1910 to 1914 and use the area for farmland. That didn't quite work either, and today the Marsh is preserved and protected to serve as one of the world's largest "rest stops" for migrating birds. Over 290 species of our winged friends have been documented in the Marsh, making it a top birding area. It's a favorite layover for over 200,000 migrating Canada geese as they make their way back and forth in spring and fall.
| The Horicon Marsh covers about 50 square miles - equivalent to about half of the City of Milwaukee. The southern third of the marsh, near the City of Horicon (where Highways 33 and 28 trek), is managed mostly by the state; the northern two-thirds is under Federal control by the Fish and Wildlife Service. Highway 49 veers into the Marsh by curving onto the Dodge-Fond du Lac County line and cutting across its northern edge. It's a long, straight stretch populated with birds overhead, cattails flanking the swampy land on either side, photographers parked along the shoulders and enough animals crossing to prompt a sign announcing a running tally of year-to-date roadkills (621 at the time of this writing). |
  |
| Left: Cattails a'plenty: the Horicon Marsh area is the largest freshwater cattail marsh in the United States. Right: The state historical marker for the marsh lies right along Highway 49, on the Fond du Lac County side. On nice days - and some not-so-nice ones - photographers will be almost as plentiful as cattails. |
There are two places along Highway 49 that will help you out if you want to find out more or tour the Marsh. From mid-April to mid-November, the Marsh Haven Center offers hiking paths and an observation tower at the northwestern edge of the Marsh itself. The Horicon National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center is on the east side of the Marsh, offering more information and tours.
After the straight shot across the Horicon Marsh, you go up a hill and before long you cross U.S. 151 on its new freeway path between Madison and Fond du Lac. A series of restaurants and hotels hint at the sizable town ahead, Waupun (pop. 10,718). Long known for holding Wisconsin's primary state prison, Waupun is also billed the "City of Sculptures", being the home of famous sculptor Clarence Shaler and a series of his works. Sculptures like End of the Trail, Who Sows Believes In God, Dawn of Day, and Morning of Life grace the city in various parks and streetsides.
West of Waupun and north to Waupaca is coming soon!
Upcoming events in places along Highway 49:
Spring Expo, Waupun, April 25-26, 2008
Horicon Marsh Bird Festival, Waupun/Horicon Marsh, May 9-12, 2008
Horicon Rock 'N River Jam, Horicon, June 12-14, 2008
Autumn Art on the Marsh, Horicon, September 28, 2008
