End of US highway 370

View a map showing this route.

Photo credits: Steven Nelson
Additional research: Robert Droz

Approx. time period East terminus West terminus
1926-1931 Bowie, TX Washburn, TX
1931-1939 Bowie, TX Amarillo, TX

US 370 was among the original routes of 1926. Pretty important, too: serving the Ft. Worth - Amarillo corridor. Its eastern terminus was always at US 81 in Bowie TX. According to the 1936 TX DoT map, it would've began where today's northbound Business 287 splits off from US 81:

Nelson, Apr. 2006

That's looking west on northbound US 81, which curves to the right here. Straight ahead was the east beginning of US 370. Later on, that was part of US 287, until today's bypass was built to the south of Bowie. Below we're looking south on US 81:

Nelson, Apr. 2006

Eastbound US 370 came in from the right (like the red car) and ended at this junction.

The west end of US 370 was listed as "Claude" in the early AASHO lists, but as yet I haven't come across any evidence that US 66 was ever actually routed through Claude itself. However, early US 66 did zigzag southwest out of Conway and through the little town of Washburn (now on US 287, just across the county line from Amarillo, and about 12 miles west of Claude)...

1928

...so my guess is that Washburn was the original terminus of US 370, and that "Claude" was listed simply as a general reference point. More specifically, I'm guessing westbound US 66 would've come south on FM 2373, then west on US 287. So westbound US 370 would've ended at the junction with FM 2373 (that's about 1.5 miles east of Washburn). The photo below was taken from southbound US 287:

Nelson, Jan. 2006

During the early years of the US highway system, that would've been eastbound US 66, which continued by taking a left turn here. Straight ahead on US 287 would've been the west beginning of US 370.

Within a few years US 66 was rerouted more westerly from Conway into Amarillo, bypassing Washburn. So US 370 was extended west along the former route of US 66, ending in Amarillo where it joined the "new" US 66 (you can view photos from there on this page). US 370 was decommissioned in 1939 when it was swallowed up by an extended US 287.