A historic place in La Crosse County celebrated its 100th birthday today with a surprise gift.

The Mindoro Cut, that's in the town of Mindoro, was placed on the State and National Register of Historic places.

Joan Dolbier says, "I think you forget about the significance of it sometimes or take it for granted."

About 100 years ago, people in Mindoro decided to cut into a hill that was too steep to travel.

Joan Dolbier says, "When they first started it was too steep even to get horses and wagons up there.

So they cut through the rock by hand.

Joan Dolbier says, "The men had to do it by hand with picks and shovels and then put it in wheelbarrows and then they had planks laid out that you pushed the wheelbarrows down it"

Drilling a hole into the rock itself wasn't as easy as it looked.

Joan Dolbier says, "They thought it would be easy because it was sandstone. But it turned out to be solid rock."

But when completed people living in Mindoro had a flat road to travel through.

Joan Dolbier says, "The cut is 86 feet long from one side to the other."

With nothing but high rock on both sides of it.

Joan Dolbier says, "It's 74 feet deep and 25 feet wide."

Protecting the Mindoro Cut became a goal of the community.
They didn't want to see it go.

Joan Dolbier says, "It takes a long time, a lot of research goes into it."

But the hard work had big rewards.

Joan Dolbier says, "It's on the National Register of Historic Places and the State Register.

Gloria Beaser, a co-chair of the Mindoro Cut Centennial Committee, says she thinks the new designation will draw a lot of tourists.

Gloria Beaser says, "We've had a lot of motorcycles the last few days go through there and they really enjoyed it."

Community members say they take pride in the Mindoro Cut and what it brings to the town.

Gloria Beaser says, "We are very proud of our Mindoro Cut. We hear a lot about the Mindoro Cut."

Joan Dolbier says, "Everybody is so proud and so excited of it. We drive through it everyday and everybody loves the hill and loves the cut."

Dolbier says the Mindoro Cut is the largest hand-hewn cut left in the United States.

She says you can find historical information and pictures at the Wisconsin Historical Society and at the National Register of Historic places in Washington D.C.