Minnesota Monument: Honoring the father of Minnesota's highway system

What: A monument to Charles M. Babcock, considered the father of Minnesota's highway system, was dedicated on his homesite in Elk River.

When: Oct. 29, 1947.

Back-roads story: Babcock was commissioner of highways from 1917 to 1937, an era that saw the growth of Minnesota's hodgepodge roadways into a planned network of paved highways.

As legend had it, he was working in his father's store in Elk River, having quit college because of the economic panic of 1893. He thought that sales might improve if country folk had easier access to the markets, so he started advocating to improve roads in rural Minnesota.

He got into politics and was elected county commissioner, but later was appointed to the state highway commission, where he would push for a law that still affects every Minnesotan who fills the gas tank: the vehicle tax.

Taxes and challenges: Under the 1920 Babcock Amendment, as it was unofficially known, the state constitution was amended to divert vehicle taxes — and gas taxes — to betterment of roads.

His tenure was cut short and his reputation tarnished in the early 1930s when some citizens sued him, alleging price fixing. The case made it all the way to the Minnesota Supreme Court, where the justices ordered the contractors to repay the state for excess charges, and cleared Babcock of any misdeeds.

He died in 1936. The monument went up 11 years later, and everyone drove on good roads to attend the ceremony.

What remains: Well, the tax, of course. There's also a Babcock Park in Elk River. Fittingly, it's a highway rest area.