THERESA — The trip is almost too much to comprehend.
A 1920s-era cabin used by travelers passing through Theresa is reflected in the window of a 1925 Ford Model T owned by Theresa Historical Society Vice President Jim Rodell, foreground, at the society’s historical site in the Dodge County village. The cabin had been on the south side of the village but in 2016 was moved and preserved.
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Members of the Theresa Historical Society gather in one of the four cabins that were originally built at Beck Motor Sales on the village's south side. Pictured are Jim Rodell, left, Wayde Beck, Jim Polster and Robert Beck. The Becks' grandparents owned the cabins from the late 1920s to early 1950s. Only one remains and was moved in 2016 and restored at the historical society.
A guest registration book dating to the 1930s shows names of travelers staying in one of several small cabins built in the 1920s in the Dodge County village of Theresa. Many of the "autotourists," as they were called at the time, were on their way to Yellowstone National Park.
Photos: The Yellowstone Trail and one of its Wisconsin cabins
Yellowstone Trail
A reproduction of a sign marking the Yellowstone Trail is route is displayed outside the Theresa Historical Society. The route included 409 miles through 18 counties in Wisconsin.
Yellowstone Trail
A 1920s-era cabin used by travelers passing through Theresa is reflected in the window of a 1925 Ford Model T owned by Theresa Historical Society Vice President Jim Rodell, foreground, at the society’s historical site in the Dodge County village. The cabin had been on the south side of the village but in 2016 was moved and preserved.
Yellowstone Trail
A guest registration book dating to the 1930s shows names of travelers staying in one of several small cabins built in the 1920s in the Dodge County village of Theresa. Many of the "autotourists," as they were called at the time, were on their way to Yellowstone National Park.
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A log house dating to 1849, behind, and a lodging cabin from the 1920’s share the grounds of a historical site in Theresa, Wis. Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
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Historical artifacts share a wall inside the former home of Solomon Juneau, a founder of the city of Milwaukee, Wis., inside a home he once occupied in the village of Theresa, Wis. Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
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Wayde and Robert Beck, whose grandparents once rented lodging cabins to travelers on the Yellowstone Trail, are pictured at a historical site in Theresa, Wis. Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Yellowstone Trail
Members of the Theresa Historical Society gather in one of the four cabins that were originally built at Beck Motor Sales on the village's south side. Pictured are Jim Rodell, left, Wayde Beck, Jim Polster and Robert Beck. The Becks' grandparents owned the cabins from the late 1920s to early 1950s. Only one remains and was moved in 2016 and restored at the historical society.
Yellowstone Trail
Wayde Beck views a 1925 Ford Model T parked outside the lodging cabin his grandparents once rented to travelers from the late 1920s to early 1950s in the Dodge County village of Theresa. Many of their guests would have driven a similar vehicle.
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Theresa Historical Society president Jim Polster peruses artifacts on display in a home once owned by Solomon Juneau, a founder of the city of Milwaukee, Wis. in Theresa, Wis. Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
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A hand-built mouse trap bearing the carved initials of Solomon Juneau is among the artifacts displayed in a home he and his family once occupied in Theresa, Wis. Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Yellowstone Trail
A home once owned and occupied by Solomon Juneau, a founder of the city of Milwaukee and its first mayor, shares the grounds of a historical site in Theresa. Solomon established a fur trading post in Theresa in 1830 and built the house in Theresa in 1847 as a retreat.
Yellowstone Trail
A map of the Yellowstone Trail's route across the northern U.S. is displayed in a cabin in Theresa once used by travelers on the trail that was established beginning in 1912.
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Artifacts from the early days of a lodging cabin catering to motorists traveling along the Yellowstone Trail route are seen at a historical site in Theresa, Wis. Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
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Artifacts and guest registers from a lodging cabin that provided accommodations for travels passing through Theresa, Wis. are displayed at a historical site managed by the Theresa Historical Society Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Yellowstone Trail
Robert Beck approaches the Yellowstone Trail cabin that was moved in 2016 to a spot next to Solomon Juneau's house that was built in the village in 1847. Both the small cabin, constructed in the 1920s, and Juneau's home are now part of the Theresa Historical Society.
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An original Yellowstone Trail sign, which marked an early cross-country vehicle route, is displayed in Theresa, Wis. Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Barry Adams covers regional news for the Wisconsin State Journal. Send him ideas for On Wisconsin at 608-252-6148 or by email at badams@madison.com.

