Minnesota State Highway 44 (MN 44) is a

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

in southeast

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, which runs from its

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with U.S. 52 in Canton Township, near

Prosper {{wiktionary, prosper Prosper may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places in the United States * Prosper, Minnesota, an unincorporated community * Prosper, North Dakota, an unincorporated community * Prosper, Oregon, an unincorporated community * Prosper, Texa ...

, and continues east to its eastern terminus at its intersection with State Highway 16 in Hokah, near La Crescent. Highway 44 is in length.

Route description

Highway 44 serves as an east–west route between Mabel, Spring Grove,

Caledonia Caledonia (; ) was the Latin name used by the Roman Empire to refer to the part of Great Britain () that lies north of the River Forth, which includes most of the land area of Scotland. Today, it is used as a romantic or poetic name for all ...

, 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 Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

with State Highway 76 for three miles at

. Beaver Creek Valley State Park is located near the

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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.

History

Highway 44 was authorized in 1920. The route was paved in its entirety by 1940. The route was originally designated as an

auto trail The system of auto trails was an informal network of marked routes that existed in the United States and Canada in the early part of the 20th century. Marked with colored bands on utility poles, the trails were intended to help travellers in ...

named the ''Southern Minnesota Air Line'' in a 1919 application. The ''Southern Minnesota Air Line'' continued west from Preston to the

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state line on a route that later followed old U.S. Highway 16. 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 In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

and U.S. Highway 63 (south of Spring Valley) was designated Highway 44 between 1972 and 1995.

Major intersections

References

*Steve Rine
Details of Routes 26 to 50.
Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Accessed January 21, 2008. {{reflist 044 Transportation in Fillmore County, Minnesota Transportation in Houston County, Minnesota