North Carolina Highway 37 (NC 37) is 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 northeastern part of 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 ...

. Traveling north–south, it serves as a connector route from

U.S. Route 64 U.S. Route 64 (US 64) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,326 miles (3,743 km) from Nags Head in eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 1 ...

(US 64) to

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a ford on the River Lea, ne ...

and from US 13 to Gatesville.

Route description

NC 37 is a predominantly two-lane rural highway which travels from US 64 near Beasley to US 13 near

Gates Gates is the plural of gate, a point of entry to a space which is enclosed by walls. It may also refer to: People * Gates (surname), various people with the last name * Gates Brown (1939-2013), American Major League Baseball player * Gates McFadde ...

. Beginning at exit 548, along US 64, NC 37 travels northeasterly for before running concurrent with NC 32 and NC 94 near Pea Ridge. Crossing over the Albemarle Sound and entering Chowan County from Washington County, NC 94 splits off towards the

Northeastern Regional Airport Northeastern Regional Airport is a public use airport in Chowan County, North Carolina, United States. It is owned by the town of Edenton and located three nautical miles (6 km) southeast of its central business district. This airpo ...

, followed by NC 32 which heads directly towards Edenton. Entering

Perquimans County Perquimans County ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

US 17 for a concurrency. Connecting with the city of Hertford, it switches concurrences with U.S. Route 17 Business (US 17 Bus.) in Winfall. After a concurrency, it travels solo again as it goes through downtown Winfall then northeasterly through Belvidere. At Gliden, it rejoins NC 32 for a short concurrency, entering

Gates County Gates County is a small, rural county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of North Carolina, on the border with Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,478. Its county seat is Gatesville. Gates County is includ ...

and through Mintonsville, before separating again at Mitchells Fork. Traveling through the communities of

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

and Vivian, it goes through downtown Gatesville, where it shares a short concurrency with US 158 Bus. Continuing north, it connects with US 158 at Eleanors Crossroads. After traveling through the communities of Buckland and

, it ends at US 13 from the

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

state line. NC 37 shares part of the Edenton-Windsor Loop where it crosses the Albemarle Sound (indicated by a Scenic Byways sign). The loop, which connects to nearby Edenton and

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

, showcases historic sites, like the Cupola House and the

Rehoboth Methodist Church Rehoboth Methodist Church is a historic Methodist church located near Skinnersville, Washington County, North Carolina. It was built between 1850 and 1853, and is a one-story, temple-form, Greek Revival style frame structure with a front gable ...

, and scenic views of the

Inner Banks The Inner Banks is a neologism made up by developers and tourism promoters to describe the inland coastal region of eastern North Carolina. Without historical precedent, the term "Inner Banks" is an early 21st-century construct that is part of a ...

. NC 37 is also part of the

Historic Albemarle Tour The Historic Albemarle Tour or Historic Albemarle Highway is a tour route located in northeastern North Carolina. The tour follows several U.S. and State highways in the seventeen county region, identifying historic sites and towns, marked with b ...

, though no actual historic sites or museums are located along its route.

History

NC 37 was established in 1934 as a renumbering of NC 321 from US 17 in Winfall to SR 53 at the Virginia state line. In 1940, NC 37 was extended south in concurrency with US 17 into Chowan County, where it then replaced a segment of NC 172 to NC 32 in St. Johns. In 1952, NC 37 was truncated at US 13, from the Virginia state line. In March 1987, NC 37 was rerouted onto new bypass route, in concurrency with US 17, east of Hertford. North of Hertford, it then shares a concurrency with US 17 Bus. before returning on its routing towards Winfall; its old alignment was replaced by US 17 Bus. In June 2016, NC 37 was extended south from St. Johns, in a concurrency with NC 32 and NC 94, into Washington County near Beasley; it splits onto new primary routing to its southern terminus at US 64's exit 548.

North Carolina Highway 321

North Carolina Highway 321 (NC 321) was an original state highway that traversed from NC 342, in Winfall, northwest to NC 32, in Gilden. In 1928, NC 321 was extended northwest, on new primary routing, to NC 30, in Gatesville. In 1932, NC 32 was extended north again, on new primary routing, to the Virginia state line; the following year Virginia extended SR 53 to the state line to connect with NC 321. In 1934, because of US 321 existing in the state, NC 321 was renumbered to NC 37.

Major intersections

References

External links