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U.S. Route 52

U.S. Numbered Highway in the United States

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionApr 21, 2026
Entity authorityQ409832 ↗
Source-derived summary

U.S. Route 52 (US 52) is a major U.S. Highway in the Central United States that extends from the northern to southeastern region of the United States. Contrary to most other even-numbered U.S. Highways, US 52 primarily follows a northwest–southeast route, and it is signed north–south or east–west depending on the local orientation of the route. The highway's northwestern terminus is in Portal, North Dakota, at the Canadian border, where it continues as Saskatchewan Highway 39. Its southeastern terminus is in Charleston, South Carolina, at Number 2 Meeting Street and White Point Garden along the Charleston Harbor.

Route description

North Dakota

In North Dakota, US 52 continues from Highway 39 from the Canadian border at North Portal, Saskatchewan, and Portal, North Dakota, to the Red River in Fargo, a distance of 361 miles (581 km). US 52 is co-signed with US 2 near Minot, where it also intersects with US 83. US 52 is also co-signed with US 281 for 44 miles (71 km) between Jamestown and Carrington. US 52 is concurrent with Interstate 94 (I-94) between Jamestown and the Minnesota state line, co-signed between Jamestown and Fargo; however, all of the interchanges for the Fargo–West Fargo portion of the route are unsigned.

Minnesota

In the state of Minnesota, US 52 enters the state with I-94 at Moorhead and follows I-94 southeasterly all the way to the Twin Cities. The portion of the highway which overlaps I-94 is unsigned.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “U.S. Route 52” as u.S. Numbered Highway in the United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Route, Numbered and Highway.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current 239-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1926. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Route, Numbered and Highway providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “U.S. Route 52”, the useful work is to connect “u.S. Numbered Highway in the United States” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q409832. VIAF identifies the subject as 315528846. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “U.S. Route 52”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow U.S. Route 52 primary sources, U.S. Route 52 archive and Route research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “U.S. Route 52”?
  2. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
  3. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “U.S. Route 52” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.