Minnesota State Highway 44

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Trunk Highway 44

Map
MN 44 highlighted in red
Route information
Defined by MS § 161.%section%
Maintained by MnDOT
Length35.978 mi (57.901 km)
Existed1920–present
Major junctions
West end US 52 in Canton Township
Major intersections MN 43 at Mabel
MN 76 at Caledonia
East end MN 16 in Hokah
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMinnesota
CountiesFillmore, Houston
Highway system
  • Minnesota Trunk Highway System
MN 43 MN 45

Minnesota State Highway 44 (MN 44) is a highway in southeast Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with U.S. 52 in Canton Township, near Prosper, and continues east to its eastern terminus at its intersection with State Highway 16 in Hokah, near La Crescent.

Highway 44 is 36 miles (58 km) in length.

Route description

Highway 44 serves as an east–west route between Mabel, Spring Grove, Caledonia, and Hokah in southeast Minnesota.

The section of Highway 44 between Caledonia and Hokah passes through the Richard J. Dorer State Forest.

Highway 44 runs concurrent with State Highway 76 for three miles at Caledonia.

Beaver Creek Valley State Park is located near the junction of Highways 44 and 76 at the north edge of Caledonia. The park entrance is located four miles west on County Road 1 via Highway 76.[1]

History

Highway 44 was authorized in 1920. The route was paved in its entirety by 1940.[2]

The route was originally designated as an auto trail named the Southern Minnesota Air Line in a 1919 application. The Southern Minnesota Air Line continued west from Preston to the South Dakota state line on a route that later followed old U.S. Highway 16.[3]

At one time, Highway 44 had continued farther west, extending over what is now County Highway 44 in Fillmore County. The section of present-day County 44 between Harmony and U.S. Highway 63 (south of Spring Valley) was designated Highway 44 between 1972 and 1995.

Major intersections

CountyLocationmikmDestinationsNotes
FillmoreBeaver Township0.000.00 US 63 – Waterloo Ia, Spring ValleyProgrammed mile 0; former western terminus
Harmony18.029.0
MN 139 south – Harmony, Cresco Ia
Former west end of MN 139 overlap
18.930.4

US 52 north / MN 139 ends – Preston, Canton
Former east end of MN 139 overlap; former west end of US 52 overlap
Canton Township29.93748.179 US 52 (Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway) – Preston, Decorah IACurrent western terminus
Mabel35.38256.942 MN 43 – Rushford
HoustonCaledonia Township50.41881.140
MN 76 south – Eitzen
West end of MN 76 overlap
Caledonia52.83385.026 CSAH 3 – BrownsvilleFormerly MN 249
53.59586.253
MN 76 north – Houston, Beaver Creek Valley State Park
East end of MN 76 overlap
Hokah66.348106.777 MN 16 (Historic Bluff Country Scenic Byway) – La Crescent, Houston
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  •       Closed/former
  •       Concurrency terminus

References

*Steve Riner Details of Routes 26 to 50. Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Accessed January 21, 2008.

  1. ^ Minnesota DNR website for Beaver Creek Valley State Park - Link
  2. ^ Riner, Steve. "Details of routes 26–50". The Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page.
  3. ^ "Southern Minnesota Air Line". October 20, 1919. Archived from the original on February 13, 2007. Retrieved November 12, 2008.