End of US highway 21 |
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1927-1935
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1935-1953
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1953-1971
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1971-1974
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1974-present
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That was looking south on US 21 (or "Low Country Highway" in these parts) at its junction with "Hendersonville Highway". Today US 21 joins with US 17A to the right -- the two go through Yemassee together and then split apart again on the other side of town. But historically this was mainline US 17, and US 21 ended here. (Incidentally, the official 1951 SC state highway map shows US 15 ending here. But that was the only year, so it may have never actually been signed that way.)
In 1935 the south end of US 21 was extended to Beaufort. Maps from that timeframe show US 21 passing through the city and crossing the river, but ending immediately after that on Ladies Island, near the junction with SC hwy. 803 (Meridian Road). It was SC 285 that continued further east along Sea Island Parkway to Hunting Island):
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That was right about where US 21 began for almost 20 years. But the old bridge did not follow the exact alignment of modern US 21. At far left the backside of a stop sign is visible, and just to the right of that is a road disappearing into the trees. That was the original alignment of US 21, but that short segment is the only part of the original alignment that differs noticeably from the current bridge, which was built in 1960. By that time, US 21 no longer ended here, because in 1953 the US 21 designation was extended still further south... or more accurately, east onto Hunting Island, via the former SC 285. Mike has carefully analyzed historic SC county maps, and he has found four slightly different locations for the endpoint. For the first couple years, US 21 ended almost immediately after landing upon Hunting Island. By 1957 it had been extended south about a half-mile on Sea Island Pkwy, then east along a road that skirted the north side of the Hunting Island lighthouse, and then south again for a short distance along the shoreline. That was the situation shown on this USGS topo map:
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The circles indicate the four endpoints. #1 is the junction that marked US 21’s original Hunting Island endpoint. Within a few years, US 21 had been extended down to #2. By 1970 US 21 had been cut back to #3, such that it ended on Sea Island Pkwy at the turnoff to the lighthouse - that is where this photo was taken. Directly to the left from there is where the old road to the lighthouse cut towards the beach, so US 21 really did end here for about 20 years. The "S-07" refers to South Carolina's seventh county alphabetically (Beaufort), and the "406" refers to the designation of the state secondary road ahead:
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However, that "End" tab is no longer accurate, because at some point the old lighthouse road was vacated, and a new access road into Hunting Island State Park was built a little ways further ahead. The approximate location of this junction is shown on the map above as #4, and by 1986 the US 21 designation had officially been extended down to that modern access road:
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To the left is the new state park entrance, so that junction marks the current south end of US 21. But, as of the latest report, the “End” sign is still posted back at the old turnoff to the lighthouse.
Today, the road from the lighthouse heading south along the shoreline is no longer extant because of beach erosion. Although historic US 21 from the lighthouse heading northwest to Sea Island Pkwy (between endpoints #2 and #3) has been vacated and there is no longer vehicular access to it, one can still see the cut through the trees on aerial photos, and it is likely that the pavement itself still exists in some places. So this segment is probably still walkable and/or bikeable. Some of its corridor is visible in this shot:
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That was taken from the top of the lighthouse; the bare cut through the trees was US 21 from about 1955 to 1968. The road continued off the right side of the photo, into what is now open water. Heading the opposite direction, the first northbound shield was nearly five miles north of the terminus:
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For 45 years the northern terminus of US 21 was in Cleveland; photos and more info can be found on the Cleveland page. In 1971 the US 21 designation was removed from all of Ohio and about half of West Virginia. Here is a section of the 1974 official highway map of West Virginia which shows the spot where US 21 ended for a few years:
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In 1974, the north end of US 21 was truncated to its current terminus in Wytheville. Originally -- a few miles east of Wytheville, at Fort Chiswell -- US 52 joined with US 11, and the two highways overlapped into downtown Wytheville, along Main Street. That is where they met US 21 coming north out of Statesville NC. US 11 continued south and west to Bristol, while US 21 and US 52 were co-signed north on 4th Street, toward Bluefield WV.
Now, US 52 still joins with US 11 at Fort Chiswell... but only because US 11 is the same as I-77/81 at that point. US 11 traffic leaves the interstate at exit 73 to follow its historic route along Main through central Wytheville, but US 52 is directed to remain on I-77/81, bypassing town on the north side. Today, drivers who want the quickest route to Bluefield use exit 72 and follow I-77 north. But continuing south and west on I-81, the next interchange (exit 70) is signed for the old route to the north: US 52. That same exit is also signed for the north beginning of US 21.
Now, US 52 still joins with US 11 at Fort Chiswell... but only because US 11 is the same as I-77/81 at that point. US 11 traffic leaves the interstate at exit 73 to follow its historic route along Main through central Wytheville, but US 52 is directed to remain on I-77/81, bypassing town on the north side. Today, drivers who want the quickest route to Bluefield use exit 72 and follow I-77 north. But continuing south and west on I-81, the next interchange (exit 70) is signed for the old route to the north: US 52. That same exit is also signed for the north beginning of US 21.
That is a divided highway: that photo was taken from the median, so the sign for northbound US 52 (which goes off to the right, behind the camera) is not visible. Southbound US 52 is directed to the left, because that's how one would get back on I-81, going the other direction. Turning that way, this assembly is visible:
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That is southbound US 52 (which continues to the left), as well as the north beginning of US 21, which leads to downtown Wytheville, and then on into North Carolina. But the first marker on the mainline is not posted until about a mile ahead, where traffic is directed to join with southbound US 11:
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Northbound US 52 is straight ahead, and southbound is to the right with (oddly enough) northbound I-81. US 21 was once signed ahead with US 52 into Bluefield. That is where the routes split, but US 21 still had a life of its own, serving Beckley, Charleston, and Parkersburg, before crossing the river. In Ohio, US 21 continued through Cambridge, New Philadelphia, Massillon, and Akron, before finally ending in downtown Cleveland. The northern stretch of US 21 was truncated primarily because its functionality was replaced by I-77. The new interstate completely erased some stretches of old 21 -- particularly in Ohio -- and it closely parallels most other segments. However, most of old 21 is still drivable.
Research and/or photo credits: Mark Clifton; David Dawson; H.B. Elkins; Alex Nitzman; Adam Prince; Mike Roberson; Dale Sanderson; Mac Watkins
Page originally created 1999;
last updated Dec. 1, 2016.
last updated Dec. 1, 2016.