End of US highway 321

View a map showing this route.

Photo credits: Justin Cozart; H.B. Elkins; Alan Hamilton; Steven Nelson; Alex Nitzman; me

Approx. time period North terminus South terminus
1930-1933 Bristol, TN Chester, SC
1933-1949 Boone, NC Chester, SC
1949-1961 Boone, NC Hardeeville, SC
1961-1981 Johnson City, TN Hardeeville, SC
1981-present North terminus South terminus
Elizbethton, TN Hardeeville, SC
North terminus South terminus
Elizbethton, TN (near Lenoir City, TN)

US 321 was originally commissioned in 1930 to begin at its parent route (US 21) in Chester SC. The photo below is looking southeast on Center Street:

Nelson, 2006

That was the south end of US 321 - straight ahead was southbound US 21, while northbound was to the left on Saluda Street.

From Chester, US 321 went north to Bristol TN (more info about the Bristol endpoint on this page). In 1933 the north end was truncated to Boone NC - you can view photos from there on this page. In 1949 the south end of US 321 was extended to its current terminus at US 17 in Hardeeville; you can view photos from there on this page.

In 1961 the north end of US 321 was extended westward, over to Elizabethton TN, and then southwest to a new terminus in Johnson City. It followed today's TN hwy. 91 into town, ending at its junction with US 23 (which at the time was carried by Roan Street). The photo below is looking west on Market Street (TN 91) approaching Roan:

Cozart/Nitzman, Aug. 2003

(US 23 is now multiplexed with I-26 [which runs just behind the camera], so Roan is no longer a numbered highway, but these signs direct traffic to use Roan to access University Parkway and interchange 24.) Historically, US 321 ended at the signal ahead.

US 321 is a very odd highway. Well, to be more specific, it's the relatively recent extension of 321 that I find strange. Because of that extension, US 321 now has two south ends - and no north end! Back when it ended in Johnson City, apparently the route was still signed north-south in its entirety. But about 1981, things began to get strange: the US 321 designation was extended further south along the foot of the Smoky Mountains. This created a considerable complication: as one headed north from Hardeeville, the road was obviously signed "North". But the road could not continue to be signed "North" heading out of John City, now that it went southwest from there for another 130 miles! So the solution for TN, as you'll see in the photos below, was to sign US 321 "North" for travelers heading in the opposite direction. That meant there had to be someplace where both directions on US 321 were "South". Or, to put it another way, there now had to be a point where one would suddenly stop seeing "North" signs, and instead mysteriously start passing "South" signs. It was decided that this irregularity would occur in Elizabethton TN, which is the northernmost reach of US 321.

H.B. Elkins provided much of the information above. For more documentation on US 321, I recommend his page. But I present a few of his photos below simply to illustrate the absurdity and signage complications at the arguable north "end" of US 321 in Elizabethton.

Let's begin by heading west from Boone on northbound US 321. Near Butler TN, the road picks up westbound TN hwy. 67 - and at Hampton, we're joined by northbound US 19E traffic. Continuing west toward Elizabethton, the road signs look like this:

Elkins

Fine. But look what happens after US 19E splits off in Elizabethton:

Elkins

We're still heading west on TN 67 - but now we're heading south on 321!

Here it is heading in the opposite direction. The photo below was taken heading into Elizabethton from John City on northbound US 321/eastbound TN 67:

Elkins

But then, after we pick up southbound US 19E, we're suddenly heading south on 321.

Elkins

And check out the one below - heading south on US 19E into Elizabethton, at the junction with US 321:

Elkins

Notice they don't even post directional markers on this sign. Probably just as well - I know it would fry my brain to come to this intersection and see that both directions on US 321 are "South"!

Anyway, if you're looking for the "north end" of US 321, that's about as close as you can get. Now, let's move on to the actual terminus of US 321 in TN - its "other" south end. The shot below is from the eastbound I-40 off ramp (exit 364, west of Knoxville), at what TN considers the south beginning of US 321:

me, fall 2000

There were no US 321 signs posted on the road itself for another 3 miles or so to the right, until just past US 70 - a junction known as Eaton Crossroads. That first sign is shown below:

me, fall 2000

Even though we're still heading south here (Lenoir City is about 3 miles ahead), the road eventually does begin to head northeast along the Smokies. It's not so much the directions TN uses to sign this road that I have a problem with; it's the use of the 321 designation that I think was an unnecessary mistake. Incidentally, the mockingbird sign is used to designate TN official scenic routes. The photo below shows the TN end of US 321:

Hamilton, fall 2000

No "End" sign - just your options at I-40. TN hwy. 95 continues ahead to Oak Ridge. Even though you're at the "south" end of 321 here, you're actually heading basically north. But again - even though that's somewhat unusual - that's not the problem. The problem is that US 321 no longer has a north end.

How could this messy situation have been avoided? I'm OK with the extension of the 321 designation into John City. But south of there, all the way down to Newport, 321 was co-signed with existing US roads for about 70 miles! The southernmost part of that stretch (from Greeneville to Newport) was initially co-signed with US 411. But later the 411 designation was removed and truncated back to I-40, even though 411 is a much more appropriate number for that segment. So, it wasn't until south of Newport, at I-40 interchange 440, where there was a true necessity for a new US number. And that's so far from John City that I really can't understand the rationale to sign 321 all the way down there. The stretch from Newport to the current TN end of 321 is basically east/west, and both ends are very close to US 70. So why wasn't the route through Gatlinburg, Maryville, and Lenoir City simply called, say, US 170? That way they could've left US 411 alone, and completely avoided this awkward involvment of US 321.