The first five-mile section of the Great River Road project, originally named the Mississippi River Parkway, was built near here in 1953 and extended east across the Black River. The route was intended eventually to follow the Mississippi River through the scenic and historic heartland of the United States, from the river's source near Lake Itasca, Minnesota, to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico, offering panoramic views and spectacular vistas. Built by Wisconsin with federal aid and with confidence that the other nine river states would continue the work, this section symbolized Wisconsin's faith in the integrity and permanence of the nation's institutions. Completion of the first part of the two thousand mile project provided tangible evidence that the concept of a pleasurable riverside highway along the banks of the Mississippi River, from its source to the sea, would be realized.