Calamus

CALAMUS	Pop. 270	Control, Opposite Center of Village.
Clinton 29.7	Cedar Rapids 50.3	One hotel, 1 garage. Local speed limit, 10 miles per hour, enforced. Express company, telephone. Camp ground.
Concrete

- A Complete Official Road Guide of The LINCOLN HIGHWAY Fifth Edition (1924)

Calamus.
The Lincoln Highway entered Calamus through today's "back door" to the southeast, having covered a series of scenic gravel roads on its way from Grand Mound. This photo illustrates an unusual characteristic of the Lincoln that occurs in every state - the street was designated Lincoln Highway for only a block before turning.

Calamus.
Many of the 1928 concrete markers remain, serving to identify the Lincoln Highway across America. In this case, however, the marker has been moved from its original location on the Lincoln to a more prominent position on current U.S. Highway 30. As the folks living here must know, if you're going to advertise, put it where the most people can see it. Clinton County Consul Elmer Ketelsen says that near the marker a calamus bush is growing.

Calamus
Almost directly across from the concrete marker is a house with the usual backyard - a swing set, picnic table, and basketball court. However, what looks like a storage shed is actually the last remaining cabin from a Lincoln Highway tourist cabin camp, its siblings scattered to who knows where. Actually, when you consider all the families who have stayed in this humble shack, it's right at home with the swing, table, and court.

West of Calamus.
Between Calamus and Wheatland, the old Lincoln Highway ambled slightly to the north to go through the Syracuse section of the county. The pavement on the right is actually old U.S. Highway 30, with new 30 on the left. The original Lincoln is all but obliterated here, out of frame to the right. The parts you can find are short private driveways and access roads. Center right is the bridge in the following photo.

West of Calamus.
This is a view from the pony truss bridge over Calamus Creek, taken in 1996 when the bridge was still open to traffic. The Clinton Board of Supervisors had decided to remove the bridge due to its decrepit condition. However, Clinton County Consul Elmer Ketelsen worked tirelessly to convince county residents that the bridge was worth preserving, even if closed to automobile traffic. Elmer's efforts were successful, and the bridge is now open only to hikers and bicyclists for whom the road ahead to Wheatland is a nice trail. By 2001, however, the county had created so many access roads from new U.S. 30 to this old route that it would have been more cost effective to just replace the bridge and leave this outlet open.

West of Calamus.
At the Fall 1996 ILHA state meeting, Elmer Ketelsen took members on what could be found of the 1913 Lincoln Highway, shown here and in the next two photos as little more than a berm to the north of old U.S. Highway 30. The roadway starts on the north of old 30, crosses underneath it, and then parallels it on the south.

West of Calamus.
Clear as mud? The Lincoln Highway is the elevated berm now sprouting trees and shrubs. Given the water-logged condition of the lower ground, it was important to elevate the road surface and keep it dry. The grade is parallel to old U.S. 30.

West of Calamus.
Now on the south side of old 30, the 1913 route crossed a marshy area by bridge but where today only concrete embankments remain. The spot is difficult to hike to unless the weather has been quite dry. The area is a lonely reminder of an important, but nearly forgotten, piece of the Lincoln Highway in Clinton County.

"In the 1916 and 1924 Road Guides, Calamus was shown with a population of 270. The 1980 census lists it at 452. By 1924 it had added a campground, a feature more and more communities added to try to keep travelers in town a little longer."