Minnesota State Highway 44

Trunk Highway 44
Highway 44 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Mn/DOT
Length:	35.978 mi[1] (57.901 km)
Existed:	1920 – present
Major junctions
West end:	U.S. 52 in Canton Township
	MN 43 at Mabel MN 76 at Caledonia
East end:	MN 16 in Hokah
Location
Counties:	Fillmore, Houston
Highway system
Minnesota Trunk Highways Interstate • U.S. • State Inter-County • County roads • Legislative routes ← MN 43 MN 45 →

Minnesota State Highway 44 is a highway in southeast Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with U.S. 52 in Canton Township, near Prosper, and continues east to its eastern terminus at its intersection with State Highway 16 in Hokah, near La Crescent.

Highway 44 is 36 miles (58 km) in length.

Route description

Highway 44 serves as an east–west route between Mabel, Spring Grove, Caledonia, 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 with State Highway 76 for three miles at Caledonia.

Beaver Creek Valley State Park is located near the junction 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.^[2]

History

Highway 44 was authorized in 1920. The route was paved in its entirety by 1940.^[3]

The route was originally designated as an auto trail named the Southern Minnesota Air Line in a 1919 application. The Southern Minnesota Air Line continued west from Preston to the South Dakota state line on a route that later followed old U.S. Highway 16.^[4]

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

Major intersections

County	Location	Mile[1]	Destinations	Notes
Fillmore	Canton Township	29.937	US 52
	Newburg Township	35.315	CR 28
	Mabel	35.382	MN 43
Houston	Spring Grove Township	39.322	CR 8 north
		39.396	CR 8 south
	Spring Grove	42.379	CR 4
		43.157	CR 16 (Maple Drive)
	Caledonia Township	50.418	MN 76	South end of MN 76 overlap
	Caledonia	52.456	CR 12
		52.833	CR 3
		53.595	MN 76	North end of MN 76 overlap
	Hokah	66.348	MN 16
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/Former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

References

*Steve Riner Details of Routes 26 to 50. Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. Accessed January 21, 2008.

1. ^ ^{a b} "Trunk Highway Log Point Listing - Construction District 6" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. August 23, 2010. http://www.dot.state.mn.us/roadway/data/reports/logpoint/d6.pdf. Retrieved October 20, 2010. 
2. ^ Minnesota DNR website for Beaver Creek Valley State Park - Link
3. ^ Riner, Steve. "Details of routes 26-50". The Unofficial Minnesota Highways Page. http://www.steve-riner.com/mnhighways/r26-50.htm#44. ^{[unreliable source]}
4. ^ "Southern Minnesota Air Line". October 20, 1919. http://www.dot.state.mn.us/library/southern_mn_air_line.jpg. Retrieved November 12, 2008.