Lima Plank Road, 16 Mile Toll Gate - Laotto , IN
Posted by: 
DnRseekers
N 41° 18.477 W 085° 12.295
16T E 650268 N 4574497
This is the location of the 16 mile toll gate for the 60 mile long plank road.
Waymark Code: WMG79P
Location: Indiana, United States
Date Posted: 01/23/2013
Views: 3
The Lima Plank road was opened in 1848 (the road was un-planked but established by 1837). The road ran from Ft. Wayne to Howe (then called Lima). Around 1847 a group of wealthy Fort Wayne men decided to turn the Lima Road into a plank road. The men formed an association and with $70,000 of capital the construction of the plank road got underway. Saw mills sprung up along the route to furnish 3-inch-thick oak planks that were laid down at right angles to the road's direction.
The plank road was 50 to 60 miles long with toll gates six to 10 miles apart. this was the location of one of those toll gates. Although superintendents were employed to keep sections of the road in repair the road failed to repay the stockholders and by 1858 ownership had collapsed.