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| M-74 is a former state trunkline route existing from July 18, 1916 until July 13, 1939*. | |
| Southern Terminus*: | M-55/Houghton Lake Rd at the cnr of Star City Rd in southwest of Merritt in Missaukee Co. |
| Northern Terminus*: | M-66/Burkett Rd at the cnr of Moorestown Rd at Pioneer in northern Missaukee Co. |
| Final Length*: | 18.5 miles |
| Maps: |  Route Map of Former M-74 |
| Notes: | * The termini and final length for M-74 reflect the beginning and ending of the route and its length as of the time of the route's cancellation on July 13, 1939. |
M-74, which existed from 1916 until the last segment was decommissioned in mid-1939, was a somewhat odd route with an odd history. From the earliest days of the Michigan state trunkline highway system, even before the now-familiar M-routes were even signed and used by the motoring public, what became M-74 seems to have been part of an early routing of one of the state's major long-distance trunkline routes. The first two state trunkline routes from 1913 were Trunk Line 10 (or T.L. 10, later M-10) up the east side of the state from Toledo to the Straits of Mackinac via Detroit, Flint, Saginaw and Alpena, followed by T.L. 11, the West Michigan Pike up the west shoreline of the Lower Peninsula.  M-74 in 1920. Click for enlarged map.But then a new trunkline route northerly from Harrison toward Houghton Lake was established in 1916 and T.L. 14 was moved to it, although it still cut west into Missaukee Co and picked back up on its former route at Merritt and continued on toward Kalkaska. The former T.L. 14 route via Leota, Moddersville and Merrit remained a trunkline, however, and was assigned the Trunk Line 74 (T.L. 74)  M-74 in 1932. Click for enlarged map. |
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| The case of the community of Leota in northern Clare Co was one of a town hit with a "double-whammy" of negative events back in the early 1920s, one of which was highway-related. Today, Leota is a quiet town nestled alongside the Muskegon River catering largely today to the recreational off-roading crowd and the entire township is only home to 450 people. But from the 1890s into the 1920s, it was a major stop in the logging drives down the Muskegon. It had a major sawmill, a stave mill, several stores and other businesses. However, even as the availability of timber dried up and the lumber industry began to move on to other areas, the town was still on the Pere Marquette Railway line (a spur from Clare through Harrison, ending at Leota) and M-74 ran through the heart of town. But in 1922, as the Pere Marquette was given approval to abandon its line north of Harrison and started removing the tracks leading to the community, the State Highway Dept also decided to cancel the portion of M-74 from Moddersville south to Leota then east to the Summerfield/Frost Twp line and abandon it as a trunkline. Leota lost both of its primary connections to the outside world in 1922, the same year the last of the lumber mills shut down. The town still exists, though, and it's still a sleepy little place, but does cater to outdoors-oriented tourists these days. |
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| M-74 was involved in an inter-governmental quarrel between the county and state levels. State Highway Commissioner Murray D. "Pat" Van Wagoner decreed all state trunkline highways carrying fewer than 300 vehicles per day should be transferred back to local control, as they were not deserving of state highway status carrying primarily local traffic. Several highways of varying lengths around the state, but mostly concentrated in the northern areas, were abandoned as trunklines in 1939. However, in a few cases, notably concerning M-74 in Missaukee Co, M-186 and M-69 in Delta Co and M-184 in Kalamazoo Co, the local road agencies refused to accept the former state highways, also refusing to perform any snowplowing or maintenance on them. The impasse came to a head in Missaukee Co when a group of several hundred farmers and business owners first demanded that either county or state road crews plow the snow-clogged (former) M-74 route then, when rebuffed by both, forcibly "borrowed" several state and county plow trucks to begin the tasks themselves. After involvement by the County Sheriff, a compromise was reached to ensure the roadway was opened and continued to be plowed while the two sides tried to resolve the situation. Eventually, an agreement was reached and Missaukee Co has maintained the former M-74 route to this day. |
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| History: | Note: The history section below includes the early history of M-14 as it relates to the route of M-74 and would factor into its establishment. For the complete history of M-14, see the M-14 route listing. |
| 1914 (Apr 23) – A 4.5-mile segment of state trunkline, part of Trunk Line 14 (T.L. 14), is established in northern Clare Co beginning at the Front/Summerfield Twp line and proceeding westerly along Pierce and Muskegon Rds through the community of Leota, turning northerly via Harding Rd to the Missaukee Co line. Additionally, the majority of T.L. 14 through Clare Co from Clare northerly through Harrison (with the exception of the sections within the incorporated cities) to Stockwell Rd, three miles north of downtown Harrison, is officially established as well. At this point, T.L. 14 has not yet been established between Stockwell Rd north of Harrison and the southern end of the segment through Leota, described above. |
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| 1914 (June 27) – The entirety of T.L. 14 in Missaukee Co continuing north from the Clare Co segment added two months prior, is established from the Clare Co line heading northwesterly along Long Rd, westerly via Strief Rd, north on McVety Rd, west again on Stoney Corner Rd, northerly via Merritt Rd and west on FInkle Rd to Moddersville. There, it turns northerly along 13 Mile Rd through Butterfield, then east on Kelly Rd, north via Merritt Rd through Merritt, turning west along Goose Lake Rd, northerly along 13 Mile and Young Rds, west via Gaukel Rd, north on Star City Rd through Star City, jogging east via Walker Rd, then north again on Nelson Rd, turning westerly via Moorestown Rd through Moorestown Rd, and north on Vandermullen Rd to the Kalkaska Co line. From there, the 10.8 miles of T.L. 14 in Kalkaska Co are established continuing northerly along Vandermullen and Dutch John Rds, then west via Lund Rd across the Manistee River, turning north on Donathan Rd, jogging west along West Sharon Rd, then northerly via present-day M-66 to T.L. 13 (later M-13, then M-131 and US-131) at East Boardman Rd. |
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| 1915 (Nov 9) – An additional 6.0-mile segment of T.L. 14 in Clare Co is established through Frost Twp, from Arnold Lake north of Harrison northerly along Clare Ave to the Roscommon Co line. Interestingly, the segment does not connect with the 4.5-mile portion established 15 months earlier through Leota. In fact, this new segment continues northerly along Clare Ave instead of turning northwesterly via Bailey Rd then west along Pierce Rd to the beginning of the Leota section. Just over three miles, as the crow flies, separates these two segments. Why this was done has not been explained to date. |
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| 1916 (May 10) – A rerouting for T.L. 14 occurs in east-central Missaukee Co which would directly figure into the future route of M-74. The 3.5-mile section of T.L. 14 from Merritt at Houghton Lake Rd running northerly via Merrit Rd, then westerly along Goose Lake Rd, northerly again along 13 Mile and Young Rds, and west on Gaukell Rd to Star City Rd is cancelled as a trunkline route. That stretch is replaced by a new 3.7-mile establishment from Merritt Rd westerly via Houghton Lake Rd (present-day M-55), then northerly along Star City Rd back to the former route at Gaukell Rd. |
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| 1916 (May 10–17) – An additional rerouting of T.L. 14 occurs in northern Missaukee and southern Kalkaska Cos. The 9.75-miles of T.L. 14 along Vandermullen Rd from Moorestown Rd north into Kalkaska Co, continuing via Dutch John, Lund, Donathan and West Sharon Rds to present-day M-66 are cancelled as a trunkline route, replaced by a new 10.0-mile segment continuing west from Vandermullen Rd along Moorestown Rd, then turning north for a short distance on Burkett Rd (Old M-66), before striking off to the northwest for 1.2 miles along a road that likely does not yet exist, then due northerly along the section line into Kalkaska Co and on to the Muskegon River, then northerly via present-day M-66 back to West Sharon Rd. |
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| 1916 (July 18) – Two new segments of state trunkline are established in Roscommon Co, leading northerly from the portion established in northern Clare Co eight months earlier in late 1915 via Harrison Rd/Old 27, then north via Deadstream Rd, easterly for a mile along Emery Rd, north again on Loxley Rd for two miles, and east again for almost a mile via Federal Ave to the community of Houghton Lake on the shores of its namesake lake. A second 5.4-mile segment is established from Federal Ave northerly along Loxley Rd, northwesterly on Heightsview Dr then W Houghton Lake Rd and west along Lake City Rd (present-day M-55) to the Missaukee Co line. An additional 4.6 miles of trunkline are established in Missaukee Co continuing west via Houghton Lake Rd (present-day M-55) to existing T.L. 14 at Merritt Rd at Merritt. As these segments connect with existing portions of T.L. 14 at each end, the new route through Roscommon and Missaukee Cos is incorporated into the route of T.L. 14, leaving the 18.5-mile route from east of Leota, then westerly and northerly through Moddersville to Merritt without a trunkline designation. It is assumed at this point, the Trunk Line 74 (T.L. 74) designation debuts along this segment of trunkline. |
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| 1920 (Apr 15–30) – T.L. 74 is signed in the field as M-74 as all state trunkline highways in Michigan are signed with route markers. Sources indicate M-74 is signed as a full loop route beginning at M-14/Clare Ave (later designated as US-27) north of Harrison and continuing northwesterly via Bailey Dr and westerly along Pierce Rd to the southern end of the established route of M-74, then through Leota and northerly through Moddersville, Butterfield, and Merritt to a terminus at M-14/M-55/Houghton Lake Rd (present-day M-55) just north of Merritt. The length of M-74 is approximately 22.95 miles. |
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| 1922 (June 16) – The 4.5-mile segment of M-74 in northern Clare Co from the Frost/Summerfield Twp line westerly along Pierce and Muskegon Rds through Leota and then northerly along Harding Ave to Missaukee Co as well as the 5.5 mile stretch in Missaukee Co from the Clare Co line northerly to Moddersville is cancelled as a state trunkline route. It is also assumed at this point the signed-but-never-established portion of M-74 (also known as a "marked-and-maintained" route) betwen M-14/Clare Ave north of Harrison to the Frost/Summerfield Twp line east of Leota is also discontinued as a signed trunkline route and maintenance is resumed by the county. M-74 is now a spur route from M-55 at Merritt running southerly to a terminus Moddersville measuring just 8.5 miles in length. |
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| 1923 (Apr 4) – While it had been earmarked to become the route of M-14 for several years, until now, no state trunkline route passed Houghton Lake to the south. With the establishment of the trunkline route between M-14 in the community of Houghton Lake on the southwest shore of said lake and M-18 at Prudenville, the route of M-14 is redirected easterly along this new stretch of highway to Prudenville, then northerly, replacing the M-18 designation through Roscommon, Grayling and Gaylord to Cheboygan, as it had been originally destined to do years prior. What had been concurrently designated as M-14/M-55 from Houghton Lake westerly to Merritt retains the M-55 designation, while the portion of M-14 from Merritt northerly through Star City, then westerly through Moorestown to Pioneer is designated as an extension of the route of M-74, more than tripling the length of the route to 29 miles. (The former M-14 from Pioneer northerly into Kalkaska Co is redesignated as a segment of M-66, although the portion south of Pioneer won't be officially established as a trunkline route for another year.) |
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| 1938 (Dec 6) – The 8.5-mile segment of M-74 from M-55/Houghton Lake Rd at Merritt southerly along Merritt, Kelly and 13 Mile Rds to Finkle Rd at Moddersville is cancelled as a state trunkline route and turned back to county control. The M-55/M-74 concurrent designation along Houghton Lake Rd between Merritt and Star City Rds also reverts to just M-55, thus bringing the length of M-74 down to 18.5 miles. |
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| 1939 (July 13) – Just over seven months after the southern spur portion of M-74 to Moddersville is cancelled, the remaining 18.5 miles of M-74 are cancelled in their entirety and turned back to county control, signalling the end of M-74 as a route designation after nearly a quarter century. M-74 has not yet been used on any other route in Michigan since. |
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| 1940 (Jan 2–4) – On January 2, Missaukee Co formally refuses to take over responsibility and jurisdiction of the former M-74 route, rendering the roads as "orphans" where snow removal and other routine maintenance work is not being performed by the county or the state. In its formal notice to the State Administrative Board, the Missaukee Co Road Commission stated it plans to go as far as erect signage along the 18.5 miles of former M-74 "giving reasons for lack of maintenance if necessary." Similar situations are occurring in Baraga and Delta Cos in the Upper Peninsula whereby those counties are also refusing to recognize the cancellation of trunkline routes in their areas as well. Two days later on January 4, both State Highway Commissioner Murray D. Van Wagoner and Missaukee Co Prosecutor Gerrit J. Leemgraven appeal to Attorney General Thomas Read to settle matter. Leemgraven states that Van Wagoner has no authority to abandon an entire trunkline. |
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| 1940 (Jan 31) – The standoff between the Missaulee Co Road Commission and the State Highway Dept over the jurisdiction and maintenance responsibility for the 18.5-mile stretch of former M-74 between M-55 and M-66 reaches a breaking point when a group of 200–300 local farmers and storekeepers (reports vary) commandeer seven state and county plow trucks to clear accumulated snow blocking the route which has not been allowing school buses to pick up school children, preventing doctors from attending births and other emergencies, interrupting mail deliveries, and denying livestock access to feed supplies during the month. After involvement by County Sheriff Mearl Burkett, two local storekeepers from Pioneer and Moorestown agree to confer with the state and county road road officials and a compromise is reached to make one state truck and one county truck available to keep the highway clear of snow until the dispute is resolved. The impass is eventually settled and the former M-74 remains in county hands permanently. |
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| Controlled Access: | No portion of M-74 was freeway or expressway, existing largely before modern-day control of access principles are practiced. |
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