In March 1863 Abraham Lincoln signed an Act of Congress that enabled Michigan and Wisconsin to begin building a road between Fort Howard at Green Bay and Fort Wilkins near Copper Harbor. It took one year to build the road from Fort Howard to Keshena, and by 1869 it had reached the Michigan state line. First used to transport federal troops and supplies, it was also traveled by explorers, settlers, trappers, and hunters. By the turn of the century it had become an artery for the lumbering interests, who kept it repaired until it became part of the State trunk highway system in 1923. Along the road were many points of historic and legendary interest, including Nine Mile Creek, Langlade, and Lily, which were important logging centers. During the 1880s, way stations at the Otter Slide, three miles north of Sullivan Falls, the Gauthier Place near Shotgun Eddy, and Mag Lawe's station, two miles north of Keshena Falls, served both the lumber trade and weary travelers.