This pole shows a typical early scene along the Lincoln Highway which Henry B. Joy described as "Two ruts across the prairie." An occasional marker like this was a very welcome sight on featureless terrain.

Originally this was the roadbed for the transcontinental railroad, used from 1867 to 1901 when trains began taking an easier grade. With rails and ties removed it continued as a wagon road before being incorporated into the Lincoln Highway. This location is along the dirt road leading to the Ames Monument and railroad ghost town of Sherman.