State Highway 321 (Texas)
Encyclopedia
State Highway 321, or SH 321, is a north–south highway in southeastern Texas, starting at US 90 in Dayton
Dayton, Texas
Dayton is a city in Liberty County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,242 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:...

 and ending at Loop 573 in Cleveland
Cleveland, Texas
Cleveland is a city in Liberty County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,605 at the 2000 census.-History:In 1854, a church and convent was built by Father Peter La Cour near the town's present site...

.

In Cleveland
Cleveland, Texas
Cleveland is a city in Liberty County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,605 at the 2000 census.-History:In 1854, a church and convent was built by Father Peter La Cour near the town's present site...

, SH 321 is also known as Houston Street, providing the main street for downtown Cleveland. It is a two lane urban highway with a left turn lane as it travels throughout Cleveland, until roughly 3/4 of a mile northeast of the city limit. From Loop 573, on southward until junction with SH 105, SH 321 is also known as SH 105. In the city of Dayton
Dayton, Texas
Dayton is a city in Liberty County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,242 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:...

, it is referred to as North Cleveland Street, passing through residential Dayton as a 4-lane urban highway, before narrowing back down to a 2-lane rural State Highway.

SH 321 is part of the eastern Greater Houston
Greater Houston
Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown is a 10-county metropolitan area defined by the Office of Management and Budget. It is located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas...

 area evacuation route, providing a corridor for communities such as Baytown
Baytown, Texas
Baytown is a city within Harris County and partially in Chambers County in the Gulf Coast region of the U.S. state of Texas. Located within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area, it lies along both State Highway 146 and Interstate 10. As of 2010, Baytown had an population of 71,802...

, Kemah
Kemah, Texas
Kemah is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The city's population was 2,330 as of the 2000 census. Located in Galveston County, Kemah's main industry comes from shipping...

, and Pasadena
Pasadena, Texas
Pasadena is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area. It is the second-largest city in Harris County, 17th-largest in Texas, and 162nd largest in the United States. The area was founded in 1893 by John H. Burnett of Galveston....

.

History

Based on Handbook of Texas article about Tarkington Prairie, SH 321 is believed to cover part of the Nacogdoches-Lynchburg trail, being the Old Wells store (as it is referred to on the historical marker) sits along the trail, and SH 321 runs directly in front of the building.

Historical markers

  • Old Wells Store, Tarkington Prairie: Roughly 7 miles (11.3 km) southeast of Cleveland where CR 2274 meets SH 321.
  • Burton B. Tarkington, Tarkington Prairie: Roughly 5.5 miles (8.9 km) southeast of Cleveland in front of the Tarkington Volunteer Fire Department, near CR 2249 and CR 2250 on SH 321.
  • John Cherry, Ryan Cemetery: on SH 321, 13 miles (20.9 km) southeast of Cleveland.

Route Description

The southern terminus of SH 321 is at US 90 near downtown Dayton
Dayton, Texas
Dayton is a city in Liberty County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,242 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:...

. As its travels north, it carries the street name North Cleveland Street, immediately north of US 90 is the Union Pacific Lafayette subdivision, which SH 321 crosses by an underpass under the railroad right of way. FM 1960
Farm to Market Road 1960
Farm to Market Road 1960 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Texas. Its western terminus is at an intersection with U.S...

 terminates at the next intersection, as well as is the southern terminus of FM 1008. SH 321 continues northward through the neighborhoods of Dayton as a 4-lane highway, eventually changing to a 2-lane rural road, then has 2 directional overpasses over the Union Pacific Beaumont subdivision rail line. The eastern terminus of FM 686 occurs just inside the northern edge of Dayton city limit. To the west of SH 321 is 3 Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is a department of the government of the state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails and private correctional facilities, funding and certain...

 units; Plane State Jail, Henley State Jail, and the Hightower Unit. The road continues north through rural Liberty County
Liberty County, Texas
Liberty County is a county located in Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 75,643. Its county seat is Liberty.-Geography:According to the U.S...

 and meets again with the northern terminus of FM 1008. Continuing north SH 321 passes FM 163, and a mile later becomes a concurrent
Concurrency (road)
A concurrency, overlap, or coincidence in a road network is an instance of one physical road bearing two or more different highway, motorway, or other route numbers...

 route with SH 105
State Highway 105 (Texas)
State Highway 105, or SH 105, is a state highway in the U.S. state of Texas that runs from Brenham to the outskirts of Beaumont. The route was originally proposed in 1933 and took its current routing in 1984.-Route description:...

. As it joins SH 105, the route turns west then northwest as it approaches the city of Cleveland
Cleveland, Texas
Cleveland is a city in Liberty County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,605 at the 2000 census.-History:In 1854, a church and convent was built by Father Peter La Cour near the town's present site...

, where is it known as Houston Street. Just inside of the Cleveland City limit, Business SH 105 cuts south around the city. As SH 321 nears the terminus, the route passes FM 787 and FM 1010. One block before the terminus in downtown Cleveland the route crosses Union Pacific Rabbit line. SH 321 then reaches its terminus at Loop 573, while SH 105 turns south and become concurrent with Loop 573.

Ghost towns

Martha is on State Highway 321, three miles (5 km) north of Dayton.

Lyric was 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south of the route of present-day SH 321, ten miles (16 km) east of Cleveland.

Macedonia is five miles (8 km) northeast of the junction of SH 321 and FM 1008 sixteen miles northwest of Liberty.

Future

The Houston-Galveston Area Council
Houston-Galveston Area Council
The Houston-Galveston Area Council is a voluntary association of cities, counties and special districts in the Greater Houston area of Southeast Texas...

 long term plans (by 2025) show plans to expand SH 321 to an urban four lane divided highway with left turn lane, south out of Cleveland until SH 105 cuts east (6–8 miles south of Cleveland).

Junction list

County Location Mile Junction Notes
Liberty
Liberty County, Texas
Liberty County is a county located in Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 75,643. Its county seat is Liberty.-Geography:According to the U.S...

Dayton
Dayton, Texas
Dayton is a city in Liberty County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,242 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:...

South end of SH 105 concurrency
Cleveland
Cleveland, Texas
Cleveland is a city in Liberty County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,605 at the 2000 census.-History:In 1854, a church and convent was built by Father Peter La Cour near the town's present site...

North end of SH 105 concurrency
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK