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100 years of US routes: 1926-2026
US route endpoint in
1932-1945
When the US routes were first implemented, US 117 [i] began in Virginia Beach, went through Franklin, and then down into North Carolina. But in about 1931, the VA Beach-Franklin segment became part of US 58. So at that time, US 117 began by heading south from Franklin:
c. 1932 (linked to source)
However, that did not last long: US 58's two branch routes (US 158 and US 258) were commissioned in about 1932, with US 158 completely subsuming US 117. In the initial arrangement, US 158 branched off from US 58 at Franklin, and then US 258 branched off from US 158 in Murfreesboro NC:
c. 1939, Rand McNally
In Franklin, US 117 (and later US 158) came into town on South Street (as US 258 does today), but then turned north on High Street, ending at 4th Avenue (which carried US 58). That was the situation until about 1940. At that time US 158 was changed such that, instead of heading north from Murfreesboro, it went east to the Outer Banks. So then the US 258 designation was extended north along the former US 158, ending at the same intersection in Franklin. This photo was taken looking north on High:
Roberson, Oct. 2009
The signal ahead (at 4th) was the east terminus of US 117 during the late-1920s/early 1930s; the east end of US 158 during the rest of the 1930s, and then the north end of US 258 in the mid-1940s. In 1945, US 258 was extended further north from Franklin, and that was the same year that traffic was changed to follow its current path through town: South Street, Main Street, 2nd Avenue. So it is interesting that, over 60 years later, High Street was still signposted as if it is a highway. It is also interesting that "West US 58" had a straight-ahead arrow, because westbound Business 58 is actually to the left on 4th. Actually, that assembly is an artifact that references an historic routing of US 58, dating back to a time before the current bypass had been built.
Research and/or image credits: Marshall DeBerry; Mike Roberson; Dale Sanderson
Page originally created 1999;last updated May 22, 2025.
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