Martin W. Torkelson

Martin Torkelson, born in Jackson County, served Wisconsin for more than fifty years and was a pioneer in the development of both land and air transportation. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin in 1904, he worked for the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, the forerunner of the State Highway Commission. His recommendations to the legislature in 1917 led Wisconsin to become the first state to establish a numbering system for its highways. His work extended beyond highway improvement: as Secretary and Executive Officer of the Wisconsin State Park and Planning Board, he published a recreational plan in 1939 to set aside land for public enjoyment, and his 1945 report on airport development provided a foundation on which the Wisconsin Department of Transportation has continued to build. He believed adequate transportation was vital to commerce and that neither agriculture nor industry could flourish without it.

Manchester, Wisconsin · United States