White Pole Road Scenic Byway

Overview

Let the White Pole Road take you on a memorable Americana adventure on a convenient 26-mile route that runs parallel to Interstate 80. Connecting the communities of Adair, Casey, Menlo, Stuart, and Dexter, the byway highlights our transportation history and how it affected life in rural Iowa. Signs of westward settlers who traveled along a covered wagon trail or on the rails are highlighted along the byway.

From the site of the world’s first robbery of a moving train by the infamous Jesse James Gang to the Barrow Gang shootout site to the Rock Island Train Depot where Jack Kerouac spent a few hours during “On the Road,” the White Pole Road has plenty of stories to share about those who have relied on the freedom allowed by traveling along the open road. History buffs will want to view the artifacts left behind from Bonnie and Clyde’s escapades and learn more about President Truman’s visit to the 1948 National Plowing Matches.

Take a drive on what auto tourists from the early 1900s proclaimed as the “Great White Way,” and reflect on all those that have traveled before you