Tree in the Middle of an Iowa Country Road is Over 100-Years-Old

I've written about some eccentric landmarks over the last few years, including "Volvo Island" near Ottawa, IL, and a sad, abandoned stretch of Route 66, also in Illinois. I've even written about what I believe to be the worst road in all of Iowa.

Somehow, someway, I wasn't aware of a literal tree that's been growing in the middle of an Iowa intersection for over 100 years. It's a criminal oversight, I know, but I went ahead and dutifully read about this local landmark that's noteworthy enough to have been covered on Iowa PBS' show Road Trip Iowa. Here's the skinny on this strange bit of Iowa history.

Photo Credit: Iowa PBS, YouTube

Located one mile west of Audubon, Iowa, at the intersection of two Level B roads, sits the "Tree in the Middle of the Road." The name says it all. A large, hulking cottonwood tree sits dead center in the middle of a four-way, demanding its own, nature-branded roundabout in order for motorists to continue traveling.

I wonder how many accidents it's caused. Maybe not many multi-car crashes, but I wonder if anyone has ever driven into it head-on.

The History of the Tree in the Middle of the Road:

I'm sure if you walked into a bar in the region and asked of the origins of the Tree in the Middle of the Road, you'd get four or five different answers from four or five different patrons, and perhaps even one guy claiming his great-great-grandfather planted the seeds himself.

The legend goes like this, at least according to the website Olio in Iowa. In the 1840s, brothers John and Umphrey Parker were surveying the land to mark lines between counties. Umphrey cut a cottonwood sprout to use as a walking stick, and when it dawned on them that they didn't have any materials to mark a specific county line at the intersection of 350th and 710th Streets, the brothers sharpened the end of the sprout and used that to suffice.

That sprout sprouted roots and grew into a towering tree that has stood tall and proud for generations.

How Do You Get to the Tree in the Middle of the Road?:

Photo Credit: Google

The Tree in the Middle of the Road is located at the intersection of 350th and 710th Streets. Once you get off I-80, you can follow green "Tree in the Road" signs that will take you right to it, per Olio in Iowa. Clearly, the locals and adjacent town governments are proud of this curious piece of history.

Forewarning: If you've spent time driving in rural Iowa, as I have, you know that Level B roads are unfriendly to your tires and the slightest of unfortunate conditions. These rural roads are unpaved and don't get a lot of maintenance. When it rains, they're a slippery, slushy mess. When it snows... you're best bet is to avoid them all together, or to white-knuckle it and go a whole 10 mph.

Get our free mobile app

The Google Maps address for the Tree in the Middle of the Road is 2401-2449 350th Street in Brayton, IA. Read more about the Tree in the Middle of the Road on Olio in Iowa's website.