State Route 53 is a north–south

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 In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

(physically northeast-southwest). Its southern terminus is at the beginning of the U.S. 68/ S.R. 67 concurrency in

Kenton, Ohio Kenton is a city in and the county seat of Hardin County, Ohio, United States, located in the west-central part of Ohio about 57 mi (92 km) northwest of Columbus and 70 mi (113 km) south of Toledo. Its population was 7,947 a ...

, and its northern terminus is on

Catawba Island Catawba may refer to: *Catawba people, a Native American tribe in the Carolinas *Catawba language, a language in the Catawban languages family *Catawban languages Botany * Catalpa, a genus of trees, based on the name used by the Catawba and other ...

in Ottawa County, north of Port Clinton.

Route description

From Kenton, State Route 53 moves northeast to

Forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

, then continues eastward to

Upper Sandusky Upper Sandusky is a city and the county seat of Wyandot County, Ohio, United States, along the upper Sandusky River, which flows north to Sandusky Bay and Lake Erie. The city is approximately 59 mi (96 km) south of Toledo and 62 mi ...

. It then moves north through the small towns of Tymochtee and McCutchenville before entering

Tiffin Tiffin is an Indian English word for a type of meal. It refers to a light breakfast or a light tea-time meal at about 3 p.m., consisting of typical tea-time foods. In certain parts of India, it can also refer to the midday luncheon or, in s ...

. The route then moves due north to Fremont, where it joins a four-route bypass around the city with U.S. Routes 6 and 20 and State Route 19. From its northern bypass interchange, it continues on a northeast heading, following the northern coastline of

Sandusky Bay Sandusky Bay is a bay on Lake Erie in northern Ohio, formed at the mouth of the Sandusky River. It was identified as ''Lac Sandouské'' on a 1718 French map, with early variations recorded that suggest the name was derived from Native American lan ...

to Port Clinton, where it joins State Route 2 on a bypass around that city. From its eastern bypass interchange, State Route 53 heads north onto Catawba Island.

History

State Route 53 was an original state highway which stretched from the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

at Higginsport to Port Clinton. The route followed that of current State Route 221 to Georgetown, then followed the route currently followed by U.S. Route 68 to Kenton, then along its current route into Port Clinton. The route entered Port Clinton and truncated at State Route 163. Before the Fremont bypass was certified, State Route 53 was routed along the

Sandusky River The Sandusky River ( wyn, saandusti; sjw, Potakihiipi ) is a tributary to Lake Erie in north-central Ohio in the United States. It is about longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Ma ...

through Old Fort into Fremont. In 1929, State Route 53 was routed through the town of St. Martin, a town it originally bypassed. This reroute was reversed in 1931 and is now State Route 251. In 1933, State Route 53's southern terminus was moved to Kenton when U.S. Route 68 was certified. In 1946, State Route 53's northern terminus was extended to Catawba Island. It shared a route with State Route 163 for approximately five miles, then split north to the island. This route was formerly the southern portion of State Route 357. In 1969, State Route 53 was routed along the State Route 2 bypass with an interchange approximately south of its split with State Route 163.

Major junctions

References

{{reflist

053 53 may refer to: * 53 (number) * one of the years 53 BC, AD 53, 1953, 2053 * FiftyThree, an American privately held technology company that specializes in tools for mobile creation and visual thinking * 53rd Regiment Alabama Cavalry * 53rd Regiment ...

Transportation in Hardin County, Ohio Transportation in Wyandot County, Ohio Transportation in Seneca County, Ohio Transportation in Sandusky County, Ohio Transportation in Ottawa County, Ohio