Traversing approximately 212 miles through the State of Michigan, US-12 retains a rich historic character and offers the traveling motorist a unique opportunity to view the many intrinsic historic, cultural, and recreational assets along this east-west corridor. The US-12 corridor which begins just blocks from the Detroit River within the City of Detroit, extends through southern Michigan and provides access to the following counties: Wayne, Washtenaw, Lenawee, Hillsdale, Branch, St. Joseph, Cass, and Berrien. After leaving the state of Michigan, just south of New Buffalo, US-12 continues westward along the shoreline of Lake Michigan through Indiana, Chicago, Illinois, and ultimately terminating in Aberdeen, Washington.
Among the oldest road corridors east of the Mississippi River, the US-12 corridor has had many names: the Sauk Trail, the Chicago Road, and Michigan Avenue among others. The corridor originally consisted of a network of centuries-old trails created by Native Americans. During the 1820s, a military road was established that followed these trails. At this time, it became known as both the Great Sauk Trail and the Chicago Road and the route became one of the most important migration routes for settlers into the Michigan territory. Paved in the early 1920s, the road was officially designated a United States Highway (US-112) in 1926. The designation was changed in 1961 to US-12. Today, the US-12 corridor continues to provide many of the same functions as it first offered the settlers of Michigan; access to adjacent communities, connectivity between major urban destinations, and access to the many cultural and recreational opportunities which exist in southern Michigan.
Gladys Saborio
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