Introduction
In these days of Ipods and DVD players, it isn't too often that people stop at historical markers or scenic overlooks anymore. Although a lot of those are simply bronze plaques with "there used to be a building here", a lot of these areas are more interesting to those with at least a passing interest in history or highways or geography. This page is dedicated to some of the more interesting ones I've found in my travels.

Slayton Crash Memorial
On August 31, 1949, two cars packed with teenagers plowed into each other in the fog on the gentle curve at the south end of town. 12 out of the 13 were killed in what is arguably the nation's deadliest two car collision. The incidene t gave the town notariety that lasted for decades, long after the highway was rerouted around the edge of town.
Originally there was a billboard memorializing the site, but over the years it deteriorated. As the generation that can remember firsthand is passing, they found it fit to erect this more permanent memorial.

The metal "X marks the spot- Think!- Please Drive Safely" signs are the same ones used by South Dakota since the early 80's to mark DWI crash scenes, but are derived from an older design that used to be used by automobile insurance companies.
The bronze plaque reads:
April 21 1940
 Our Nation's most tragic car accident
Leo Egge - 18, Carl Falk - 21, Ruth Fisher - 15,
  Wayne Gamble - 15,Cecil Jensen  - 23, Everett Johnson - 16,
George Larson - 20, Hollis Luft - 21, Gordon Meyers - 22,
 Irene Schwab - 18, Harold Tuynman - 18, Lorens Tuynman - 19
Only one survived
 Elmer Meyers - 18

Iowa-Minnesota-South Dakota Tri-Point
Overview of the area, with the survey marker, the monument, and the states annotated.
Myself standing in three states at once, with my feet in Iowa an a hand each in Minnesota and South Dakota.

Top view of the marker with some highway maps I had in my truck in the appropriate locations. That black thing is the strap from my camera.

The monument
Although there are numerous spots where three states meet, this tri-point is one of the most easily accessable. It is not underwater, and there is a paved road right to it. The actually point is a metal survey marker in the middle of the road, the monument is in the northwest corner of an intersection in South Dakota.
The plaque on the monument reads:
TRI STATE MARKER
1859
 Set at the junction of the states of Minnesota, Iowa, and Dakota Territory by
  the federal land office survey of Minnesota's western boundary
Early 1900's
 Removed after partial destruction by vandals
1938
 Repaired and reset by adjacent counties at original site under direction
  of the US Department of Interior
1979
 Broken from base by vehicle traffic
1980
 Restored and relocated at this site by the county governments and historical societies of Lyon County, IA.,
  Rock County, Minn. and Minnehaha County, S.D. Flush marker set at original location 48 deg 30 min n.l.
Dedicated to the Pioneers of Souixland this 26th day of Octobert 1980




Jefferson Highway Marker
Before there was I-35, there was the Jefferson Highway. This marker is on the old route, US 65, at the Minnesota Iowa border.

 It reads:
This marker, dedicated October 28, 1930 by Minnesota Governor Theodore Christianson and Iowa Governor
John Hamill commemorates the completion of the Jefferson Highway Across their states.

This was to be somewhat of the last hurrah of the auto trail days. The constutional trunk highway system had already been established for 10 years, and the coming depression would finish off the Jefferson Highway Association and all the others.
Minnesota High Point
Overlook near the summit, looking west. The Boundary Waters is more towards the right of the photo. I took this photos in 1989, but the wilderness has a timeless quality- except for the clothing styles it could be 1950 or yesterday.
My old youth group at the bronze plaque at the summit. I'm in the white shirt in the at the very back, the first of my three trips here.
Minnesota's High Point, Eagle Mountain, is located just inside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Besides breathtaking views on the way up, at the very top is a bronze plaque, no doubt brought in via helicopter.
The plaque reads:
GEOLOGY OF MINNESOTA

EAGLE MOUNTAIN
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
When Newton H. Winchell, Minnesota state geologist, and Ulysses S Grant II (the president's son) surveyed this area in the 1890s, they concluded that a peak in the Misquah Hills was the state's highest point. Using an aneroid barometer they set it's elevation at 2230 feet. Later comers argued that Eagle Mountain which Winchell and Grant did not measure and can be seen from the Misquah Hill was higher.

In 1961 A United States Department of the Interior survey team remeasured, using aerial photographs and controlled benchmarks. They found Eagle Mountain to be 2301 feet, making it Minnesota's highest point. The also determined that the first Misquah Hill peak is surpassed by another unnamed summit 2265 feet above sea level located in section 19 of T93N, R1W, in the ... Cook County area. The state's lowest point is Lake Superior which has an elevation of  602 feet.

The igneous rock composing Eagle Mountain is as old as the Duluth Gabbro, which Geologists estimate at over a billions years in age.

Erected by the Minnesota Historical Society
196...

...And so every pre-1961 highway map that lists the Minnesota High Point is wrong. I've unfortunately not been able to find a non-copywrited map to scan.

Although located on pubic property getting there is no "walk in the park". The trailhead is miles from the nearest paved road and even farther from any kind of service. Once you get there it's a 7 mile round trip over a rocky trail. Take food and water, wear appropriate gear, and make sure you start in the morning. Don't do like the two teenage guys I saw, carrying two small bottles of water, wearing tennis shoes, and leaving their parents waiting in the parking lot.

The Golden Slab
A monument of a different sort, this gold tinted slab was the last to be poured on I-90 to between Boston and Montana. The completion was celebrated on Sept 23, 1978. Originally there was a plaque at the adjacent rest area, but it were removed when the rest area was rebuilt a few years ago, and not replaced.



Page last updated: May 2006