King's Highway 74, commonly referred to as Highway 74, was a provincially maintained highway in the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

province of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

that travelled north from Highway 3 at

New Sarum Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

to Middlesex County Road 29 (Hamilton Road) on the outskirts of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The was assumed by the province in September 1937. Aside from paving and the construction of an interchange with

Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian provin ...

, it remained generally unchanged for the next six decades until it was decommissioned in 1997 and transferred to

Elgin County Elgin County is a county of the Canadian province of Ontario with a 2016 population of 50,069. Its population centres are St. Thomas, Aylmer, Port Stanley, Belmont, Dutton and West Lorne. The county seat is St. Thomas, which is separated from t ...

and Middlesex County. The road has since been redesignated as Elgin County Road 74 and Middlsex County Road 74.

Route description

Highway 74 began at an intersection with Highway 3 in the community of New Sarum, midway between the city of St. Thomas to the west, and the town of

Aylmer Aylmer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Edward Aylmer, Welsh MP * Edward Aylmer (cricketer), first-class cricketer and Royal Navy officer * Felix Aylmer, English stage actor * Sir Fenton Aylmer, 13th Baronet, British Arm ...

to the east. It crossed the

St. Thomas and Eastern Railway The St. Thomas and Eastern Railway was a shortline railway division of the Trillium Railway, operating near St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. The main commodities transported on the railway were grain, salt, and chemicals. St. Thomas and Eastern conn ...

just north of Highway 3 before curving to cross the West Catfish Creek, which it meandered alongside into

Mapleton Mapleton may refer to: Places Australia * Mapleton, Queensland, a rural town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region Canada * Mapleton, New Brunswick, a rural community in Kings County * Mapleton, Moncton, New Brunswick, a neighborhood * Maple ...

. Immediately north of that community, the route curved to the north and was straight for the remainder of its route. The highway continued, entering the village of Belmont, where it intersected a

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

line. North of there it crossed the boundary between

to the south and Middlesex County to the north. North of the county line, Highway 74 continued into the community of Derwent. Shortly thereafter, it crossed and interchanged with Highway 401 at Exit 195. The highway ended just north of Highway 401 in Nilestown at an intersection with Middlesex County Road 29 (Hamilton Road).

History

Highway 74 was established in mid-1937 when the New Sarum to Dorchester Road was designated by the Department of Highways (DHO), the predecessor to the

Ministry of Transportation of Ontario The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) is the provincial ministry of the Government of Ontario that is responsible for transport infrastructure and related law in Ontario. The ministry traces its roots back over a century to the 1890s, when the pro ...

(MTO). The section within Elgin County was assumed by the DHO on August 25, 1937, while the section within Middlesex County was assumed one week later on September 1. Originally an unpaved gravel road, the route was paved between Belmont and its northern terminus by 1938. The remainder of the route was paved in 1952. Otherwise, the route remained generally unchanged for six decades until March 31, 1997, when it was decommissioned in its entirety and transferred to Elgin County and Middlesex County. It has since been known as Elgin County Road 74 and Middlesex County Road 74.

Major intersections

References

{{Ontario King's Highways 074