U.S. Route 23 - History

History

Originally known as the Columbus–Sandusky Turnpike, the road was laid out about 1820. Within four years it was noted as having frequent use, although it was in poor condition. As a result, on February 10, 1824, James Kilbourne of the Ohio House of Representatives introduced a petition to revise and correct the state road leading from Columbus and Worthington to Delaware, Norton and further north. Kilbourne believed that the Sandusky Bay was the perfect place for a harbor to open up the Ohio marketplace to New England. He fought relentlessly to establish roads from the capital to Sandusky. He laid out a southern extension of the road to tie Portsmouth on the Ohio River to the central and northern parts of the state. As a result of Kilbourne's efforts, the State of Ohio chartered the Columbus and Sandusky Turnpike Company on January 31, 1826. The following year the federal government gave 31,840 acres (128.9 km2) in trust to the state of Ohio for the turnpike company to finance road improvements and development.

An 1820 map of Ohio shows the turnpike leading from Columbus to Worthington, through Delaware into Marion County. The southern portion of the improved road was built and in use by 1828. The Columbus-Sandusky Turnpike, also sometimes known as Kilbourne Highway, was completed to Sandusky in 1834. Although the Turnpike was much needed and well traveled, the Columbus and Sandusky Turnpike Company did not have the funds to maintain the road. Early maps show the route as "Mud Pike." Angry at the poor, muddy condition of the road, particularly in the rainiest seasons, travelers occasionally destroyed tollgates. The Columbus and Sandusky Turnpike Company was disbanded February 28, 1843 when the Ohio legislature repealed the act that incorporated it. Two years later an act was passed that established the road as a public highway.

US 23 was established in 1926 as part of the original U.S. highway system. The original route began at US 52 in Portsmouth, Ohio, and followed the old turnpike north to Sandusky, where it continued north to end at US 31 in Mackinaw City, Michigan.

In 1929, U.S. 23 was extended from Portsmouth, Ohio into Kentucky, ending at Pikeville. The following highways form the original route of US 23:

• Former U.S. Highway 23 Business through Pikeville
• Kentucky Route 1428, Allen to Prestonsburg
• Kentucky Route 321, Prestonsburg to north of Paintsville
• Kentucky Route 2565 into Louisa from the south
• Kentucky Route 3, Louisa to south of Catlettsburg
• Kentucky Route 3294, Catlettsburg

The southern terminus remained in Pikeville for only two years. In 1930, US 23 was extended to Atlanta.

US 23 was extended into Florida along U.S. Route 1 in 1951. When the 20th Street Expressway was built around downtown Jacksonville, U.S. Route 1 was moved but US 23 remained. It has never changed its route in Florida, though at one time it was planned to extend south, maybe to Fort Myers via US 17, SR 19, SR 33, US 98, US 17, and SR 31.

In the mid to late 20th century when the coal industry declined in the Appalachian Mountains, US 23 was often dubbed the Hillbilly Highway, and it was said the three "R's" of the region were "reading, writing and Route 23", as workers migrated to northern industrial cities such as Detroit, Cleveland, Columbus, or Chicago.

In 1985, U.S. 23 was upgraded to interstate standards on the initiative of Eddie Williams, chief executive officer of economic development for Johnson City, Jonesborough and Washington County, Tenn. "The original idea for that project happened in 1985, when two young men walked into my office with a plan to upgrade Highway 23 to interstate standards," Williams said. "And all it cost us was to change the signs." Later that year, a section of U.S. 23 near Johnson City was designated as I-181, the first section of U.S. 23 to be designated as an interstate in either Tennessee or North Carolina. Williams claims that this project was a catalyst for the five-state I-26 extension project.

On March 1, 1994, a bill sponsored by State Representative Hubert Collins was passed by the Kentucky State Legislature. This bill allowed U.S. 23 to become known as "The Country Music Highway" in order to recognize all the country music stars that had come from the counties the highway passed through. At every county line there is a sign that lists the country music star or stars from that county. Also, in the early 2000s, the U.S. 23 Country Music Highway Museum opened in Paintsville to further commemorate these legendary people.

Law enforcement officials from Ohio and Kentucky set up the "US Route 23 Drug Taskforce" in 1996 to patrol the highway for drug trafficking, attempting to halt a major artery of drug networks bringing high-quality cannabis grown in Kentucky north for distribution in Ohio and elsewhere. Lately, it has been primarily used to stop the flow of narcotics from large cities like Columbus, OH, Dayton, OH, and Cleveland, OH into Portsmouth, OH, all of which have to pass through U.S. 23 to reach Portsmouth. Signs can be spotted along Route 23 in Ohio from Portsmouth to Columbus warning traffickers that efforts have been taken to prevent their actions. Some random police stings have been set up at portions of the highway.

During the past few years the highway has been widened to four or more lanes through its entire length within Kentucky and is one of the more scenic routes in Kentucky. It is six lanes in parts of the city of Pikeville. In 2002, it was officially named a National Scenic Byway.

U.S. 23 also gains attention during college football season as it connects Columbus, OH, home of The Ohio State University and Ann Arbor, MI, home of the University of Michigan. Each year at the end of November a convoy of fans travels either north or south depending on where that year's game is being held. Unsubstantiated rumors that the Highway Patrol of either Ohio, if The Game is being held in Columbus, or Michigan, if The Game is being held in Ann Arbor, increase enforcement of traffic laws along the route in their respective states to cite opposing fans and add to the rivalry.