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100 years of US routes: 1926-2026
Endpoints of
1931-1971
North: Bemidji, MN
South: Little Falls, MN
The original US 371 was commissioned in late 1929 and lasted for only six months. The current US 371 has been around only since 1994...
...but this page is about the second US 371, which was commissioned in 1931, and lasted for about 40 years. Its north terminus was in Bemidji:
c. 1968, USGS
Bemidji
These photos were looking northeast at the intersection of Washington Avenue at Paul Bunyan Drive. This historic junction has been reconfigured a bit in recent years, making it a little difficult to visualize how things were formerly arranged:
Morrison, May 2007
To the lower right is Washington, which was originally southbound US 71. To the left on Washington (which is now part of Paul Bunyan) was northbound US 71 as well as westbound US 2. Eastbound US 2 was off to the center right on Paul Bunyan, and that was also the north beginning of US 371.
Morrison, May 2007
US 2 and US 71 are both on newer bypasses now, so the old road through Bemidji has been renumbered as MN 197. From that intersection, US 371 was overlapped with US 2 east for about 15 miles to Cass Lake. Many maps did not show that overlap, but even as late as 1971 (when US 371 was decommissioned), its north terminus was still located in Bemidji:
From Cass Lake, US 371 followed what is now MN 371 south through Brainerd, and ended at US 10 in Little Falls:
c. 1948, USGS
Little Falls
This photo was looking south on 1st Street; US 371 ended here at Broadway. To the right was westbound US 10, while straight ahead was eastbound US 10:
Morrison, May 2007
In both of these next photos, the view was to the west on Broadway. Before today's bypass was built around the north and east sides of Little Falls, southbound US 10 was to the left on 1st, and northbound went straight ahead, crossing the Mississippi River before turning north again. To the right on 1st was the south beginning of US 371, and a sign to that effect is visible in this first photo:
(date and attribution unknown)
Castleman, 2005
In 1971, US 371 was replaced with today's MN 371 designation. The Little Falls bypass was built just a year or two later, so now neither US 10 nor MN 371 go through that downtown intersection. About 20 years later, the US 371 designation was recycled and applied to another highway in a completely different part of the country.
Research and/or image credits: Monte Castleman; Jeff Morrison; Mike Roberson; Dale Sanderson; Michael Summa
Page originally created 2001;last updated Aug. 31, 2025.
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