Skip to main content

Seagrove and the Uwharries

Image
By
Took a drive to the heart of the state Saturday to Pottery Country to get birthday gifts for Mom and Erin.

Route:
I-540, I-40, NC 147, I-85, US 220, US 220 Business, US 220, NC 705, US 220A, NC 24/27, NC 109, Various Secondary Roads through Uwharrie National Forest until I arrived at NC 49 near Denton, NC 49, US 220, I-85, I-40, I-540.

Notes:
It's hard to believe that a road like this was built as a "Super-Two" fifty years ago.

Now only to get photos of how what is now I-40/85 looked as a two lane limited access US 70 in the 1950s.

Seagrove is the heart of Pottery Country. And within a mile drive from the US 220 freeway to the NC Pottery Center and Museum there had to be at least a dozen different pottery shops. The NC Pottery Center features the work of various local potteries and others throughout the state. There is also a $2 admission to tour the museum which shows numerous samples of work. It is amazing to see some of the creations and how they are made.


After seeing a few other shops, I headed south on US 220 Alternate. Came across the first of a few surprises just south of Seagrove. First an old alignment of US 220, known as Asbury Church Road, that has been severed by an access road (Black Ankle Road) to the US 220 Freeway. It appears that there are quite a few of former US 220 alignments in the area to explore.

Below, you can see the other segment of Asbury Church Road (Old US 220) across the barrier and Black Ankle Road.

US 220 Alternate is a trip through the past. Tiny crossroads -- like Ether shown below -- are throughout.

Or the shell of former towns, like Star. While driving through and seeing the number of abandoned brick storefronts through the heart of this tiny town, I wish I could have had the opportunity to drive through fifty or more years ago when things were much more active.

Another idea came through this trip and it is a project I may take up. But I've always wanted to document the small towns and rural crossroads within North Carolina. I took other photos in case I ever start that endeavor.

There's a By-Pass NC 109 in Troy. Although it's not much of one. It's just a two lane surface road with a number of homes that NC 109 was put on to avoid downtown Troy.

I took NC 109 as far as Eldorado where I then took some backroads through the Uwharrie Mountains (they aren't real mountains now but years ago they were over 20,000' tall). Following Low Water Bridge Road (a dirt and gravel one lane road that winds its way down to the Uwharrie River), I came across what the road was named after. A one lane wooden bridge that couldn't be more than two feet over the surface of the river.

Many of the secondary roads I took through the National Forest had great scenery. Here are a few examples.



It took me a little bit of time to locate the Pisgah Covered Bridge. (I was reversing a course of a scenic driving book, and there was one error in the book. She had the wrong secondary route number 1110 vs. 1310. But anyways...) I did make it to the Pisgah Covered Bridge and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a small park Complete with a small nature trail that gave various views of the bridge.




Of course what did I accomplish? I added new mileage to US 220 Business and US 220 Alternate and NC 109. But the idea on the crossroads and small towns is something I think I would enjoy greatly. Let me know what you think on that!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grand Loop Road of Yellowstone National Park

By
  Grand Loop Road is a 140 mile loop highway which traverses the interior of Yellowstone National Park.  Grand Loop Road connects all of the major attractions and geological features of Yellowstone National Park along with the entrance roads.  Grand Loop Road is a seasonal highway and despite some conjecture never has been part of the US Route System.   Part 1; the history of Grand Loop Road The majority of history pertaining to Grand Loop Road was taken from the below National Park Service article: Historic Roads - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) Yellowstone was declared the first National Park of the United States on March 1st, 1872.  The first real highway to access Yellowstone National Park came in 1873 when a tolled facility was constructed from Bozeman, Montana via Yankee Jim Canyon to Mammoth Hot Springs.  Numerous attempts were made to fund construction of roadway infrastructure during the early years of Yellows...
Post a Comment
Read more

The last 1956-63 era California Sign State Route Spade?

By
Along southbound California State Route 170 (the Hollywood Freeway Extension) approaching the Hollywood Freeway/Ventura Freeway interchange a white California State Route 134 Sign State Route Spade can be observed on guide sign.  These white spades were specifically used during the 1956-63 era and have become increasingly rare.  This blog is intended to serve as a brief history of the Sign State Route Spade.  We also ask you as the reader, is this last 1956-63 era Sign State Route Spade or do you know of others?  Part 1; the history of the California Sign State Route Spade Prior to the Sign State Route System, the US Route System and the Auto Trails were the only highways in California signed with reassurance markers.  The creation of the US Route System by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926 brought a system of standardized reassurance shields to major highways in California.  Early efforts to create a Sign State Route ...
Post a Comment
Read more

California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway

By
From 2017 through to early 2019 I drove the majority of the California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway from CA 89 southwest to CA 99. CA 70 is an approximately 178.5 mile state highway which starts at US 395 near the Nevada State Line and travels west through the Feather River Canyon to CA 99.  CA 70 is often referred to as the Feather River Highway" given it's close association with the river.  Historically CA 70 was previously signed as US 40A and CA 24.  The Legislative Routes prior to the 1964 California Highway Renumbering that made up the current route of CA 70 are as follows: -  Legislative Route Number 21 from US 395 westward to Oroville. -  LRN 87 from Oroville south to Marysville. -  LRN 232 from Marysville to the current junction with CA 99.  CA 70 was even dual signed with CA 99 into Sacramento on what was LRN 232 for a time. The change from US 40A/LRN 21/LRN 87/LRN 232 can be seen by comparing the 1963 State Highway Ma...
Post a Comment
Read more