A History of the Hiawatha Pioneer Trail
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Iowa promotional event
The first major event on the Iowa section of the trail was held June 19-21, 1964, at Mason City’s 22-acre Margaret M. MacNider Park. The park, new at the time, was located in a wooded area on the Winnebago River just north of East Park. The park promised visitors access to the modern camping amenities, including water, flush toilets, showers, and a sanitary dumping station for the self-contained trailers.The event featured a campout hosted by the
Wigwam-N-Wagon Campers of North Iowa. Joining approximately 1,500 other campers at the event, where Governor Harold E. Hughes and his family, and Mason City’s Mayor George Mendon.
Route abandoned
Over the years, the promotional effort for the Hiawatha Pioneer Trail faded into history, along with many of the road signs.The trail was last shown on the 1975 Iowa Transportation Map. The trail brochures are no longer in print. Illinois removed all of its Hiawatha Pioneer Trail signs in 1972. Wisconsin discontinued maintenance of their signs and over the years removed them from their highways. While Minnesota continued to maintain their signs, they will be removed in 2008.
Because the trail is no longer supported or sponsored by the four states, the Iowa Department of Transportation decided in June 2008 to abandon the trail and remove the signs for Iowa’s roadways.
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