Embedded Files
100 years of US routes: 1926-2026
Endpoints of
This page is not about the current US 371 (the third route to carry that number), nor the second US 371, but rather about the little-known original US 371, which lasted for about six months, making it one of the shortest-lived mainline US routes ever. Despite that, it appears the highway was actually signposted as US 371, at least in Oklahoma (the Arkansas segment is less certain; please see the Mena page for maps, history, and more info).
Poteau
US 371's north terminus was at its junction with US 271 just south of Poteau. In that area the roads that carried US 271 and US 371 are no longer on the state highway system, because they have both been replaced with newer alignments. But both of the original roadways still exist, including the historic "Y" junction where US 371 ended. Originally US 271 traffic was directed southwest from Poteau via McKenna Street/Old Wister Highway. At the time US 59 did not exist -- neither the designation nor the current roadway. Instead, drivers heading south towards Heavener followed McKenna for about three miles, then turned southeast on a diagonal road now designated County Rd. 124 and/or C.R. D1380. That was the north beginning of US 371 (after about a half-mile it essentially joined the current alignment of US 59). The interactive image below shows the opposite direction, i.e. looking northwest on C.R. 124 approaching Old Wister Hwy:
US 371's north terminus was at its junction with US 271 just south of Poteau. In that area the roads that carried US 271 and US 371 are no longer on the state highway system, because they have both been replaced with newer alignments. But both of the original roadways still exist, including the historic "Y" junction where US 371 ended. Originally US 271 traffic was directed southwest from Poteau via McKenna Street/Old Wister Highway. At the time US 59 did not exist -- neither the designation nor the current roadway. Instead, drivers heading south towards Heavener followed McKenna for about three miles, then turned southeast on a diagonal road now designated County Rd. 124 and/or C.R. D1380. That was the north beginning of US 371 (after about a half-mile it essentially joined the current alignment of US 59). The interactive image below shows the opposite direction, i.e. looking northwest on C.R. 124 approaching Old Wister Hwy:
That was the "Y" junction at the north terminus of US 371. The left fork led to southbound US 271 towards Wister, while the fork to the right led to northbound US 271 and Poteau. The image below shows the same junction from the perspective of northbound Wister Hwy:
That was northbound US 271, which continued straight ahead. Curving to the right was the north beginning of US 371... well, for six months anyway. See the Mena page for more information about why US 371 was so short-lived, and why it was probably never signposted in Arkansas. To my knowledge, there was only one mainline US route that was shorter-lived than US 371[i]; US 466[i] is described at the bottom of this page.
Research and/or image credits: Jeremy Lance; Dale Sanderson
Page originally created 2023;last updated Sep. 06, 2025.
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