Margaret and I recently took a mini road trip up the Michigan Road. We made it as far as Logansport, where we had dinner and then headed back. But on the way up we stopped to see Sycamore Row.
It’s always grand to see these old trees, even if the story on the historic sign might be more legend than fact. Nobody knows for sure why these trees are here.
But we’re glad they are. We’re also glad that new sycamores are occasionally planted. Historic photos of Sycamore Row show many, many more sycamores here than there are now.
To me, late autumn is the best time to see these trees as it makes their jagged and knurled branches visible.
This old alignment ends at Deer Creek. A steel truss bridge carried this alignment over the creek here until 1987, when a new alignment was built several feet to the east. Locals above a certain age remember how harrowing it was to encounter an oncoming semi in here.
Turning around for a look back, you can see how the Michigan Road used to flow directly from this road segment.
Canon PowerShot S95
I’ve documented Indiana’s historic Michigan Road extensively. To read all about it, click here.
To get Down the Road in your inbox or reader six days a week, click here to subscribe!
To get my newsletter with previews of what I’m working on, click here to subscribe!
Another great history / on-the-road story! Love these….
You’re welcome!
There is a great stand of Arizona Sycamores along a creek in southern New Mexico that I used to visit every year after the leaves had fallen. The morning light on the smooth white bark was really spectacular. I don’t get down that way any more, but there are a few plantings around Albuquerque including some trees at the local art museum that remind me of visits to that creek in the south.
Do you have any photos of those sycamores published? I’d like to see them. They sound wonderful.
I probably do have some old sycamore shots, but they are likely in those uncatalogued boxes of slides.
Perhaps scanning them all in is a perfect wintertime project? :-)
Speaking of old trees, this is a fascinating story from my local paper about reclaiming old growth pines from a 110 year old warehouse! Didn’t know pine really existed like this at one time!
https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2018/12/12/ji-case-warehouse-gutted-racine-prized-old-growth-wood-found/2167389002/
Oh that’s super cool. I wish this had always been a thing. I remember when my college remodeled its old main building in the 80s and just hauled out dumpsters full of great old material. Broke my heart even then.
Great post. Had this been a two lane road before the realignment? And if so, were both lanes able to handle two way traffic simultaneously? With those trees right there, too…
Yes, this was a two-lane road. It was suuuuuuuper tight for two oncoming trucks. The pavement used to stretch all the way to the trees and I guess it was common for large vehicles to lose side mirrors against them.
Photo from when it was still in use as the highway:
https://jimgrey.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/sycamorerow1940s.jpg
Fascinating, Jim. So a bit of the width between the sycamores side was reclaimed by nature. Seems unreal that this alignment was in service as a state highway into the ’80s!
(- side)
Good to see they have survived. When I was a kid we used to visit the Dark Hedges in County Antrim. Same idea but in Beech rather than Sycamore planted in 1775. Then Game of Thrones used it for a backdrop in some of the episodes and it became a tourist attraction. Now the road has been closed since the GoT tourist industry drove so much traffic to the area that it was damaging the roots of the trees. Your road looks like it’s traffic free so hopefully the trees will thrive.
My wife and I visited County Antrim in 2016 — Portrush, the Giant’s Causeway, etc. — and were surprised by how much of that country is awash in Game of Thrones tourism. Fortunately, we were there in the off season and it wasn’t busy.
This road is traffic free because it’s closed. Here’s a link to it on Google Maps so you can see. The modern road skirts this abandoned section by about 30 feet. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Sycamore+Row+(Michigan+Road)/@40.6065634,-86.3932525,572m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x8813834b3e7f83fb:0x26f2d1cef2290d18!8m2!3d40.6053747!4d-86.39123
See the comment above for a photo of when this was still in use as a highway.
Fact or legend it’s a great story and the trees are a lasting reminder that we weren’t the first here.
I love those kinds of reminders!
Jim, love this post about the trees. I love trees and have many photos of them over the years. I’m now wanting to collect door photos and gate photos. I must track down the cathedral doors photo you made recently
Have you ever heard of the Thursday Doors group? It was started by the blog linked below. It’s a treasure trove of door photos.
https://miscellaneousmusingsofamiddleagedmind.wordpress.com/
Jim, thanks so much for telling me about Norm and his doors. he also does a bit of history and travel like you do too. thanks so much for this. I have just subscribed to his blog. I am loving this community of photography and travel bloggers