{{About|the road in [[Indiana]]|the novel by [[John Grisham]]|Sycamore Row}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} [[File:Sycamore Row (Deer Creek) P4250227.jpg|Sycamore Row along the old Michigan Road, leading north to its crossing of Deer Creek, in Carroll County, Indiana.|right|200 px]] '''Sycamore Row''' is a stretch of road in [[Carroll County, Indiana]] lined with [[American sycamore|sycamore]] trees. The trees sprouted from sycamore logs placed in the 1830s as a [[corduroy road]] to cross swampy land on [[Indiana State Road 29]]. The site is noted by the Indiana Historical Bureau with a historical marker. Currently State Road 29 bypasses Sycamore Row and regular traffic does not travel over the road.<ref>Sycamore Row; Indiana Roadside Historic Marker; Indiana Historical Bureau; Deer Creek, Indiana; 1963</ref> The road section was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 2023.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/weekly-list-2023-09-08.htm|title=WEEKLY LIST OF ACTIONS TAKEN ON PROPERTIES: 9/1/2023 THROUGH 9/7/2023|publisher=National Park Service|accessdate=2023-09-12}}</ref>
==History== By 1837, the [[Michigan Road]] had reached [[Logansport, Indiana|Logansport]].<ref name=Gordon>Effects of the Michigan Road on Northern Indiana, 1830-1860; Leon M. Gordon II; /Indiana Magazine of History/I, Vol. 44, Issue 4, pp 277-402</ref> The roadway consisted of leveled dirt and log bridges, which decayed with every rain and snow fall. By 1850 the state approved funding to have the road planked. The roadbed was leveled and then covered with a wooden structure. Planking consisted of log sills or sleepers, laid lengthwise along the outer edges. Crosswise, planks were nailed to the sleepers. The planks were {{convert|2|or|3|in|cm}} thick. Each sleeper run could be up to {{convert|10|ft|m}} in length. When necessary, multiple sleeper sections were linked end to end. Together, these planks provided a road free of dust and mud. With age, mud holes formed under the planks and sprayed outwards and up between the planks, making some sections of roadway impassible during the muddy season.<ref name=Hbyway>http://www.historicmichiganroad.org; Historic Michigan Road Society, 4/1/2015</ref>
Because of the initial construction and continued maintenance expenses, plank roads became [[toll roads]] or pikes. There was a toll booth at the south end of Sycamore Row in [[Deer Creek, Carroll County, Indiana|Deer Creek]].<ref name=Hbyway />
==Authenticity questioned== While the Michigan Road is known to have been routed along what is now Sycamore Row, the explanation for why the road is now lined with sycamores has not been confirmed. The text of the historical marker has been under review since 2010.<ref name=IHB2010>{{cite web|title=Sycamore Row Carroll County 08.1963.1|url=http://www.in.gov/history/files/08.1963.1SycamoreRow.pdf|website=Indiana Historical Bureau|accessdate=May 23, 2015}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}} {{Commons Category|Sycamore Row (Michigan Rd)}} ==External links== *[http://www.in.gov/history/markers/53.htm Indiana Historical Bureau: Indiana Historical Marker Database] *[http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/dynoGallDetail.asp?photoID=2967471 Photograph of Sycamore Row] *[http://www.smugmug.com/keyword/all/sycamore&/146#4580412 Photographs of Sycamore Row] *[https://secure.in.gov/apps/dnr/shaard/r/24eb6/N/Sycamore_Row_Carroll_CO0001.pdf Historic documentation]
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[[Category:Transportation in Carroll County, Indiana]] [[Category:Streets in Indiana]] [[Category:Historic trails and roads in Indiana]] [[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Carroll County, Indiana]]