Carthage to Greensboro, 1933

Carthage to Greensboro, 1933

In 1940 or 1941, NC 22 was rerouted at High Falls. Originally, NC 22 jutted east a mile or so on River Rd before crossing the Deep River on Sessom Rd (22 did not cross Buffalo Creek at all unlike today)

NC 22 initial Highfalls routing

NC 22 modern Highfalls routing

Between 1945-49, NC 22-902 was straightened out through Bennett, leaving behind a zig-zag routing using Buffalo and Catham Sts plus NC 902.

NC 22 initial Bennett routing

NC 22 modern Bennett routing

About 1951, NC 22 was extended along NC 27 to Carthage, then as new routing southeast to NC 2 like today, and also replaced a small bit of NC 2 south to US 1 Southern Pines (just May St now).
Although May St is shown as secondary on the 1962 Moore County map, NC 2 and NC 22 continued to run east of the US 1 bypass. However, Official maps starting in 1967 or 1968 show NC 22 south was truncated to its current routing leaving behind Midland, Broad and Vermont Sts.

NC 22 extended south of Carthage

NC 22 usurps NC 2 into Southern Pines

NC 22 current south ending

Also In 1967 or 1968, the north end of NC 22 was shifted a couple miles further south on US 421, leaving behind Pleasant Garden Rd.

NC 22 north end (1934-67)

NC 22 north end (1967-2003)

NC 22 north end (since 2004)

The first NC 22 was an original state highway. Initially it ran from its parent NC 20 (now Bus. US 74-76) Whiteville to Fayetteville, then northeast through Dunn, Benson, and Smithfield before ending at NC 40 (precursor to US 117) south of Wilson.

NC 22 north of Fayetteville

In 1925, NC 22 was removed from the Fayetteville to Whiteville routing in favor of NC 21 (today this is US 701 Bus and US 701 from Whiteville to Elizabethtown and generally NC 87 to Fayetteville...for more detail on the NC 87 potion, check out the history of NC 21). Instead NC 22 was sent from Fayetteville through Lumberton down to the South Carolina line which was a renumbering of part of NC 70.
In late 1926, US 217 was assigned to the entirety of NC 22.
In 1932 US 217 was renumbered as US 301.
In 1934, NC 22 was dropped from the route, which remains US 301 today except Raynham to Lumberton uses old US 301; in Lumberton used Pine St; in Fayetteville used Gillespie St, Clinton Rd, and Dunn Rd.

NC 22 down to Whiteville

NC 21 swaps with NC 22