End of US highway 385 |
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Summa
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Summa
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1958-present
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Mileage: in 1989 AASHTO listed a figure of 1206 miles for US 385. That is reasonably close to our own 2020 measurement, which yielded 1198.7 miles (reroutings and realignments likely explain the difference).
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Note: there was a different US 385 included among the original 1926 routes. It lasted only about ten years, but it just so happens that today's US 385 overlaps the route of historic US 385 for the 29-mile stretch between Dalhart and Channing, Texas. In Nov. 1958 AASHO approved the US 385 designation for a new route; here is that agenda item from the actual meeting minutes:
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My 1959 Gousha road atlas shows evidence that the US 385 designation was brand new at the time. Their Texas map made no mention of the road; the whole thing was shown as TX hwy. 51. Likewise, the road was shown only as state hwy. 51 on their Colorado map. The segment between Cheyenne Wells and Granada was shown as an "improved gravel" road, and the segment south of Boise City OK was not shown at all. The Kansas map (which included part of eastern Colorado) also showed the Cheyenne Wells-Granada segment as gravel. However, both it and the Nebraska map had US 385 shields along the side of the route (instead of actually being centered on the roadline), as if they were last-minute additions. For the most part, the Oklahoma map showed the 385 markers in the right place, but the roadline itself had not been upgraded to the US highway style. In that atlas, only the South Dakota map had its 385 markers (both in SD and NE) properly placed.
The 1959 Colorado State Highway Map was the first edition that labeled US 385. However, its route from Cheyenne Wells to Lamar was via Kit Carson and Eads. Today's route through Sheridan Lake and Granada was not shown until the 1964 edition. Following is a scan of the front page of an interesting tourist pamphlet promoting the "International Parks Highway" -- which was US 85 out of Canada to the Black Hills, then US 385 to Mexico: "The only National Highway with so many National Parks!" There was no date on it, but since a ZIP code was included at the bottom, that suggests a date of 1963 or later. On the map inside, interstates 90, 80, 70, and 10 were shown -- but so was US 66, as well as US 10 in North Dakota and Montana. On the illustration, notice the state highway numbers that were being removed: |
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In the Black Hills of South Dakota, US 385 began by running along the road that had previously been designated Alternate US 85 (and briefly in the 1930s as "US 85E"). Its north terminus has always been at its junction with US 85 between Deadwood and Lead. This intersection is right at the site of a locale formerly known as "Pluma", although the area has now been annexed into Deadwood city limits:
c. 1952, Rand McNally
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c. 1959, Rand McNally
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Shown here are some of the various "End" assemblies that have been posted at that junction over the years:
Summa, 1979
Sanderson, Aug. 1997
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Sanderson, Mar. 2004
Morrison, Oct. 2020
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Taylor, May 2023
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The gateway monument erected there by the City says "Welcome to Deadwood -- Resting Place of Wild Bill Hickok" (which doesn't strike me as a particularly inviting slogan). Here is the north beginning of US 385 as seen from northbound US 85. The Deadwood sign in the background is mounted on what appears to be an old mining cart trestle:
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Sanderson, Mar. 2004
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(detail)
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The other side of that sign is visible in this shot, which was from southbound US 85. It says "1 Mile to Lead - Home of Homestake Gold Mine":
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Sanderson, Mar. 2004
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US 385 begins to the left, and travelers heading that direction soon see the first southbound sign:
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Sanderson, Mar. 2004
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c. 1971, USGS
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The road continues ahead for 29 miles, to a "T" intersection called Panther Junction. That is the location of Park Headquarters, but between here and that point, there are no more references to US 385, because the road is maintained by the National Park Service.
Heading the opposite direction, the first US 385 sign is posted just after the road exits the Park boundary:
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Karners, Dec. 2014
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On the horizon are the Glass Mountains. The green mileage sign visible in the middleground is shown close-up here:
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Elbert, Mar. 2007
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The first assembly with a "North" tab is just ahead, at the junction with RM 2627:
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Elbert, Mar. 2007
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In 1973, South Dakota and North Dakota asked AASHTO to extend the US 385 designation northward from Deadwood, concurrent with US 85 all the way up to the Canada border. AASHTO denied the proposal, presumably because it would have involved a nearly-400-mile overlap with US 85. So later in 1973 -- and again in 1974 -- the two states jointly proposed having the US 385 designation replace US 85 from Deadwood up to Canada! Fortunately those petitions were also denied.
Research and/or photo credits: Chris Elbert; Karin and Martin Karner; Jeff Morrison; Matt Salek; Dale Sanderson; Michael Summa; Adam Taylor
Page originally created 1998;
last updated May 29, 2023.
last updated May 29, 2023.
