North Carolina Highway 21 (NC 21) was a primary

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

in the U.S. state of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. Originally, NC 21 began at the South Carolina state line west of Fair Bluff. The highway travelled north connecting Lumberton, Fayetteville, and

Lillington Lillington may refer to: Places England * Lillington, Dorset, a hamlet in Dorset * Lillington, Warwickshire, a suburb of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire * Lillington Gardens, a housing estate in Pimlico, London Elsewhere * Lillington, North Carolina ...

before ending in

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

. By 1926, the highway was realigned south of Fayetteville, beginning in Whiteville and running north through Elizabethtown and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

before reaching Fayetteville. The highway was realigned once again in 1929, replacing NC 231 from Elizabethtown to

U.S. Route 17 U.S. Route 17 or U.S. Highway 17 (US 17), also known as the Coastal Highway, is a north–south United States Highway that spans in the southeastern United States. It runs close to the Atlantic Coast for much of its length, with ...

/ NC 20 near Delco and being routed north of Raleigh to

US 15 U.S. Route 15 (US 15) is a -long United States highway, designated along South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from U.S. Route 17 Alternate in Walterboro, South Car ...

/ NC 75 Creedmoor.

Route description

NC 21 began at US 17/NC 20 east of Delco. The highway ran to the northwest to Elizabethtown, largely paralleling the

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Carol ...

north of

Acme Acme is Ancient Greek (ακμή; English transliteration: ''akmē'') for "the peak", "zenith" or "prime". It may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Acme'' (album), an album by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion * Acme and Septimius, a fictional ...

. NC 21 intersected US 701/ NC 23 in Elizabethtown. From Elizabethtown, NC 21 ran west through Dublin, intersecting NC 201 northwest of the town. From NC 201, the highway continued north for through

Tarheel Tar Heel is a nickname applied to the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is also the nickname of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina athletic teams, students, alumni, and fans. The origins of the Tar Heel ...

to Fayetteville. In Fayetteville, NC 21 began a

concurrency 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 US 401 to Raleigh. NC 21 also ran concurrently with US 421, NC 60, and NC 210 for northeast of

. The US 401/US 421/NC 21/NC 60/NC 210 concurrency crossed the Cape Fear River and the highways split at an intersection north of the bridge. From the intersection US 401/NC 21 continued north, entering

Wake County Wake County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most-populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake County was the 9th-fastest growing county in the U ...

near Fuquay Springs. US 401 ended in Raleigh, and NC 21 traveled north for from Raleigh to US 15/NC 56/NC 75 in Creedmoor.

History

NC 21 was established in 1921 as an original North Carolina state highway. At the time of establishment, the highway ran from

South Carolina Highway 47 South Carolina Highway 47 (SC 47) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It serves to connect the town of Elloree with U.S. Route 301 (US 301). Route description SC 47 is a two-lane rural high ...

(SC 47) to NC 10 in Raleigh. The highway traveled through Lumberton, Fayetteville, and Lillington between its termini. By 1926, NC 21 was rerouted south of Fayetteville. The southern terminus was moved to NC 20 in Whiteville. NC 21 traveled north through Clarkton to Elizabethtown, where it turned to the northwest toward Fayetteville. The NC 21 realignment largely replaced NC 22 south of Fayetteville. The former alignment of NC 21 between South Carolina and Fayetteville became part of NC 22. The southern terminus was moved to the east by 1929, instead ending at US 74/NC 20 near Delco. The highway replaced of NC 231 between Delco and Elizabethtown. The former routing of NC 21 between Whiteville and Elizabethtown was renumbered as part of NC 23. By 1935, NC 21 was completely decommissioned. The route between Delco and Fayetteville became NC 28. The NC 21 was removed from the US 401 concurrency between Fayetteville and Raleigh, and NC 13 was signed between Raleigh and Creedmoor.

Junction list

References

{{Reflist

021 021 is: * in Brazil, the telephone area code for the city of Rio de Janeiro and surrounding cities (Greater Rio de Janeiro) * in China, the telephone area code for the city of Shanghai. * in Indonesia, the area code for the city of Jakarta and su ...

U.S. Route 15