Green Bay Road was the main route of settlement and communication in 19th century eastern Wisconsin. Following an ancient Indian trail network, it was surveyed for use as a military road between Fort Dearborn in Chicago and Fort Howard in Green Bay by the United States War Department in 1835. Completed in 1840 with private funds, it served for many years as the only north-south route in eastern Wisconsin. Waves of European immigrants seeking a new home traveled this route and settled along it, and eventually about 30 different ethnic communities were established there. Their rich cultural heritage remained visible in building methods such as German Fachwerk and Irish fieldstone, in place names such as Oostburg and Freistadt, in annual festivals such as Holland Fest and Slovenian Picnic, and in distinctive architecture such as the rural housebarn and the ethnic church.