End of US highway 131

Note: since I don't have access to a comprehensive collection of historical road atlases, much of the info on this page is based on the research of Christopher Bessert and Robert Droz. Photo credits: Jody Aho; Barry Camp; Jon Enslin; Andy Field; Don Hargraves; Eric Meier; Alex Nitzman; David Stilwell

North of Manton MI, US 131 originally followed what is now M-113, ending at M-186 between Fife Lake and Kingsley:

Meier, Sep. 2002

That's looking west on M-186; US 131 originally began to the left. That's a strange place for a US route to end - and when you consider that it didn't connect with US 31 on either end, it makes you wonder how US 131 got its number in the first place. Well, it turns out there was a plan to extend the road north to connect with US 31 east of Traverse City. But that proposed alignment was never built, and in about 1938 the route of US 131 was changed to its current corridor: northeast out of Fife Lake, ending in Petoskey:

Aho, May 2000

US 131 enters Petoskey from the south on Spring Street. US 31 approaches Petoskey from the west via Charlevoix Avenue. At the intersection of the two, US 131 ends, and US 31 continues north into downtown via Spring.

In the photo below, the view is west on Charlevoix, approaching Spring:

Stilwell, Nov. 2005

US 31 continues to the left on Spring, and to the right is the north beginning of US 131. If you turn that way, the first southbound marker is soon visible:

Stilwell, Nov. 2005

David has more photos of this junction on his page.

Originally southbound US 131 continued west from White Pigeon MI with US 112 (today's US 12) to Mottville, and then south to the Indiana line (via today's M-103). The photo below was taken at the Indiana line about 3 miles south of Mottville:

Hargraves, Sep. 2002

Here, northbound IN hwy. 15 becomes M-103. The smaller road heading off to the left is now known as "Old M-103"... but even before that, it was the original south beginning of US 131. That designation was switched over to modern M-103 (on the right) in 1942.

Below we're looking south on Old M-103 where it meets modern M-103. The Indiana line is on the right edge, and that would've marked the original south end of US 131:

Hargraves, Sep. 2002

In 1959 the US 131 designation was changed so it continued south (rather than west) from White Pigeon. It continued to end at the Indiana line until 1980, when the designation was extended just barely into Indiana, ending at its junction with I-80/90 (or the Indiana East-West Toll Road) north of Middlebury. Here's the view from westbound I-80/90:

Field/Nitzman, Sep. 2005

If you were to exit there and then turn left on the overpass in the distance, you'd immediately see the assembly shown below...

Camp, Apr. 2003

...however, if you were to turn right, you'd be at the south beginning of US 131, and you'd see the first northbound confirming marker:

Camp, Apr. 2003

That assembly used to look like this:

Enslin, 2001

The big blue sign in the distance marks the Michigan stateline - that's where US 131 began before there was a reason to extend it a fraction of a mile into Indiana.