The White Pole Road

Designated in 1910; the original White Pole Road followed along the Chicago; Rock Island and Pacific Railroad from Des Moines to Council Bluffs. Poles along the route were painted white; and drivers were encouraged to travel the "Great White Way." Sections of the road eventually became part of U.S. Highway 6; once the longest continuous east-west route in the United States. Today's re-created section of the White Pole Road links Dexter; Stuart; Menlo; Casey and Adair. Follow more than 700 painted white poles to explore heritage sites such as the location of a Bonnie & Clyde shootout and the site of the first Jessie James Gang robbery of a moving train.