Grafton Veterans Memorial Park overlooks the Milwaukee River, a very picturesque scene as it flows through town and under Highway 60. Between 19 alone, over 1,600 songs were recorded in Grafton at a make-shift studio that was formerly a chair factory the output accounted for about 1/4 of the so-called “race records” of the era. It was right here where 78 rpm records were pressed and distributed to the nation, allowing artists such as Lawrence Welk, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Tom Dorsey and Louis Armstrong to inspire future music generations and lay the seeds for the R&B and Rock ‘N Roll Eras. Originally a lumber town, Grafton has hosted a series of industries ever since, including the famous Paramount Records from 1917 to 1932. So far, it’s stayed “Grafton” ever since. Originally called “Hamburg” prior to its 1846 charter, Grafton flipped its name to “Manchester” from 1857 to 1862 before changing back. Heading west from Highway 60’s beginning in Ulao is the booming burg of Grafton (pop.11,459). Not bad place to start or finish for the Highway 60 journey. It’s just south of Highway 60 – within sight of the Ghost Town Tavern, actually – along I-43/ Highway 32/ Highway 57. Six beers are brewed on the premises that features an outdoor deck, full restaurant and plenty of beer memorabilia. Grafton features a Water Street Brewery, which also has locations in Milwaukee and Delafield. Juice’s Ghost Town tavern is its main historical marker. The railroad, built in 1873, gave rise to Ulao. Highway 60 begins at the railroad and freeway junctions. We’d head in and look over the cliff, but it’s kind of private property. The old Port Ulao pier lies below the cliff overlooking the lake. Past Highway 60’s eastern end, the road continues as County Q two miles east to Lake Michigan, which lurks beyond these trees. Ulao lives on with an original building from the time, which is now Juice’s Ghost Town Tavern (the “ghost town” being Ulao, of course) and this cool little Wisconsin tavern and restaurant is a State Trunk Tour favorite – try their prime rib bites! They’re also highly-rated for steaks and clever quips from both customers and servers during football games. Ulao itself was established along the railroad tracks when they were built through in 1873, where Highway 60 begins today. You can buzz east real quick from Highway 60’s eastern end and follow County Road Q to the lakefront, where on foot you can discover the original piles that made the piers of Port Ulao, although watch for lots of private property owners in the area. Port Ulao once hosted a 1,000-foot pier to supply Lake Michigan boats with wood it’s also where the first Macadam road in the country was built. So this would have been major connection. Highway 60 is the beginning of what was to be a turnpike from Port Ulao on Lake Michigan to the Wisconsin River, which eventually runs into Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico. Old and new sit right next to each other: there’s a huge Colder’s Furniture showroom gallery, a shopping complex anchored by a Target with chain restaurants, and a freeway interchange right next to the old railroad and the junction it spawned. It’s easy to find, right off the I-43/Highway 32/ 57 interchange with Highway 60 at the edge of rapidly-growing Grafton. Never heard of it? Well, Ulao barely exists anymore and is the inland twin to an abandoned port town from the 1800s. Highway 60 begins in Ozaukee County at some railroad tracks in Ulao. Interestingly enough, between these two towns it’s more hills and valleys than open prairie… Wisconsin Highway 60 Road Trip It’s a major connector highway from Grafton to Hartford and also serves as a very scenic route along the Wisconsin River from Prairie du Sac to Prairie du Chien as the Lower Wisconsin River Road. It runs from just west of the Lake Michigan shore in the well-to-do northern suburbs of Milwaukee to the Iowa state line over the Mighty Mississippi at Prairie du Chien (French for “prairie of the dog”, which is not the same as “hair of the dog”). Quickie Summary: State “Trunk” Highway 60 is one of Wisconsin’s “coast to coast” routes. “Coast-to-Coast from a former port on Lake Michigan to a very old fort along the Mississippi”
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