End of US highway 258

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 Robert Droz and Matt Stefora. Photo credits: Adam Prince; Mike Roberson; me

US 258 was commissioned in 1932; at the time its north end was in Murfreesboro NC:

Elkins, July 2008

That's looking east on what is now Business US 158. But originally, US 158 came in from the left (with the "Do Not Enter" sign) and continued straight ahead, so this is where US 258 ended. Then for a few years during the 1940s, US 258 was extended ahead, and to the left became the east beginning of US 158. The shot below is from the opposite direction:

Elkins, July 2008

That's looking west on Business 158, but it was originally mainline 158, and it continued to the right, so straight ahead was the north beginning of US 258. During the early 1940s, this all became US 258, and to the right was the east beginning of US 158. As you can see, that's a dead-end road now; the signal visible straight ahead is the modern functional equivalent of this old junction:

Elkins, July 2008

That's the west end of Business 158. In 1941, when the north end of US 258 was extended into Virginia, replacing part of US 158, it ended where that route formerly ended in Franklin (you can view photos from there on my US 158 page). A few years later US 258 was extended to its current terminus at the ferry landing at Old Point Comfort on Fort Monroe in Hampton VA. I'm unaware of any evidence that the route has ever been cut back from there, but at times the functional endpoint of US 258 will be at its junction with VA hwy. 143, because beyond there is a gate to the military base, and it may not always be open to civilians. The photo below is looking south on Mercury Boulevard, and the light ahead is VA 143:

Roberson, Apr. 2008

Just beyond the light, you can see the gatehouse at the entrance to Ft. Monroe. But apparently US 258 officially continues ahead through there, ending where Ingalls Road ends at Old Point Comfort:

Roberson, Apr. 2008

As far as I know, that's the official endpoint of US 258. As one leaves Fort Monroe, they are greeted by the sign in the photo below:

me, Oct. 1999

I don't know whether you can make out the directionals in the photo - they're quite faded - but the sign says "West 143" and "South 258". Astute observers might wonder, "If west is to the left, then how can south be to the right?" The answer, of course, is that it can't. This is one of those examples where a US highway which ultimately tends in a particular direction, can temporarily head in another. In this case, 258 ultimately goes south from the Tidewater area and ends in North Carolina. But from its north end, it actually heads further northward into Hampton - before turning to the west to serve Newport News, and then to the southwest to cross the James River.

The south end of US 258 is in Jacksonville NC. In the photo below, we're actually heading pretty much east, just shy of the intersection with US 17:

Prince, Sep. 2000