The Lewiston Trail (1827) crossed Rock river at Prophet's Village (Prophetstown), but its exact location across the southern third of Carroll county can not be authenticated because the government surveys of York and Fairhaven townships show no roads. Almost certainly, it followed a ridge which enters the county about one-half mile east of Route 78, angling northwesterly down one of the tributaries into York (Johnson creek) valley, and crossing that creek on about the Big Cut road. Two early state maps show a town or post­office at this crossing named "Johnson," but so far as can be ascertained from descendants of the oldest settlers, the only earlier name for Argo Fay was the Bailey settlement which included no Johnsons at all.

The Lewiston Trail intersected the Savanna road just east of the Brethren church and cemetery at Center Hill, and followed a ridge west of Cedar creek to cross Straddle (or Carroll) creek at the early milltown and post­office of Jacobsville (or Jacobstown), a stage coach stop on this trail. The next was Polsgrove where the trail crossed Plum river just below the fork of that stream where there was a milltown and postoffice. The routing between Jacobsville and Polsgrove was first east along the east-west ridge, then northwesterly on the intersecting ridge about a mile west of Route 78 then on about the routing of the Old Galena trail to the north line of the county. Continuing north for about three miles along the ridge parallel to the west fork of Plum river (the Pleasant Valley routing of Route 78), the road intersected what became known as the Old Sucker trail, and there turned north­westerly to Elizabeth and Galena.

Early records are lacking, but a "missing link" in the search for the origin of this trail was uncovered in a letter from the postmaster at Prairie du Chien to a superior in Illinois mentioning its "view" and urging it as a winter overland route for mail. This letter published in Volume IX, Wisconsin Historical Collections, pages 364-366 states:

"Can you give any aid in establishing a mail route to this place which shall be an extension of the route from Edwardsville? . . .It will be of considerable advantage to your population at Fever River (Galena) as two-thirds of the proposed route lies in your state. . . You, no doubt, saw the report of Osian M. Ross and two other persons who viewed and marked the route from Springfield to Fever River by way of Lewiston last spring. (A footnote adds that Mr. Ross of Lewiston, one of the first settlers in Fulton county, was the first justice of the peace in that county, the first postmaster and tavern keeper, and kept the ferry at the mouth of Spoon river, present site of Havana; he was therefore interested in having the highway between Springfield and the lead mines run by way of his Havana ferry and his Lewiston tavern.) They say the distance is only 205 miles from Springfield to Galena. I estimated it at 225. They report the road to be excellent, and that several loaded wagons proceeded directly after them upon their route and found no obstructions in their way except Rock river."

This, of course, ties in this trail with Lewiston near Peoria about which there has been some confusion. In addition to roads being "viewed" by order of the County Commissioners Court upon petition, many were laid out as "State" roads by virtue of special acts passed by the legislature then sitting at Vandalia. However, the cost of the "view" or survey, and the cost of improvements and maintenance, were not assumed by the state but by the respective counties through which the road passed.

The northern half at least of the Lewiston trail was adopted by the viewers appointed by the Legislature in establishing the state road from Alton to Galena via Bairdstown (Beardstown), passing well west of the downstate Lewiston whereas the present Elizabeth in Jo Daviess county, and on this trail, was then also shown on a number of early maps as "Lewiston." It was therefore accepted fact by some students of early trails that this road was called the "Lewiston" trail merely to distinguish it from the much more northerly "Gratiot's" trail which passed through Gratiot's Grove just north of the Wisconsin state line en route to Galena.

Another sidelight. In 1831, the Lewiston trail was designated the western boundary of an election precinct of Jo Daviess county which contained the western two-thirds of Ogle and Lee counties, and the eastern halves of Carroll and Whiteside counties, as well as much territory to the south. It was said that no more than fifty voters then resided in the area although it included the present sites of Sterling, Rock Falls, Dixon and Oregon, among others. Also in the 1878 histories of Carroll, Ogle and Lee counties, early settlers are quoted as saying that this Lewiston trail passed within a few miles west of Lanark. This was probably incorrect. The trail several miles west of Lanark was the Bushes Ferry road, whereas the Lewiston trail apparently passed three to four miles west of Mt. Carroll.

Samuel Preston, who with his father were the earliest settlers in Mt. Carroll township, said that the father of the Bowen brothers of Savanna started on foot from the Owing's Indian trading store at Cherry Grove late one afternoon en route to see his sons. In the dark, he turned off by mistake onto the Lewiston trail at its intersection with the Savanna road. His body later was found a considerable distance toward Prophetstown frozen and partly burned by a prairie fire. As Preston Prairie, home of these settlers, was about a mile east of the junction of these trails, any uncertainty should be laid to rest by this reference in Preston's historical articles.

As with other roads, the Lewiston trail was no exception to the common practice of communities and owners of ferries and stage coach inns not on the original trail, to seek legislation or orders of the county commissioners courts for "viewing" alternate routings which might siphon off some or all the traffic for the benefit of such competitors.

In 1837, the Illinois Legislature passed a special act for viewers to establish a state road from Galena to Beardstown via Wappals (Hanover), Savanna, Prophetstown, et cetera. This of course would be an alternate route to that passing through Jacobsville, Polsgrove and Elizabeth. At one of the early meetings of the Carroll County Old Settlers, Norman D. French, first settler of York township, said he was a lineman on the survey of this road which was routed from Prophetstown to Union Grove in Whiteside county, thence to Bluffville and along Bluff road to Savanna in Carroll county, then following the Military trail from thence to Galena. Until the Western Union railroad located through the present Thomson, there was a postoffice, Pettit's Mill, a school and other places of business at Bluffville located several miles west of Ideal on Highway 78, but like many other communities upon the early trails, it was literally "railroaded" out of existence.

Contributed by Lori Gilbert from the Goodly Heritage

Other writings of Samuel Preston note that the Lewiston Trail was made during the Black Hawk war by the United States Army marching over it from Prophetstown to Galena and struck the Savanna road a little to the east of the U. B. Church