1926-1931
1932-1934
The west end of US 32 was originally in Council Bluffs, and its east end was in Chicago.
Picture
c. 1927, Rand McNally
Picture
c. 1927, Rand McNally
In November 1931, the US 6 designation was extended far to the west of its former terminus in Erie PA.  West of Princeton IL, it was routed over the top of US 32 through the remainder of that state and through all of Iowa.  So US 32 in Iowa was decommissioned that year.  However, since there was still a portion of US 32 in Illinois that was separate from US 6 (the Princeton - Chicago segment), the route survived in that state for another two years.  During that time, the west end of US 32 was at the Iowa stateline in Rock Island.  Then in 1934, the US 34 designation was extended eastward from Sheffield IL, swallowing up the remainder of US 32.  Since the route existed for only seven years, photos showing a US 32 shield are pretty rare:
Picture
c. 1930, attribution unknown (linked to source)
Research and/or photo credits: Mike Roberson; Dale Sanderson
Page originally created 2000;
last updated Dec. 3, 2018.