John Muir traveled over this road to early settlements such as Kingston and Pardeeville. He was eleven when he came here from Scotland with his father, brother and sister in 1849, and his mother arrived later with the other children after a home had been carved out of the wilderness. The family settled west of here at “Fountain Lake,” at what is now John Muir Memorial Park, where, surrounded by the beauties of nature, he began his love of wild animals, flowers, trees and waters. Later the family moved five miles east to the Hickory Hill Farm. Muir’s early education began at home, and his mechanical skill was shown by many ingenious inventions. He entered the University of Wisconsin but left without completing his studies to travel throughout the West on foot. While hiking through the Sierra Nevadas, he found his real inspiration and life-work. His many persistent articles and letters persuaded Congress to pass the National Park Act in 1890, beginning a formal national park movement.