Transportation
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On old U.S. 16 in Boston Township, Ionia County, the first picnic table along a highway right-of-way was placed in 1929 through the initiative of county engineer Allan Williams. Built from salvage planks formerly used as guardrails, it immediately inspired a practice adopted by the State Highway Department. The Ionia County Road Commission made Michigan's tables until the work became too great, and the roadside table became an emblem of the state's hospitality that was widely emulated across the nation.
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Michigan · United States
