State Road 3 North - Muncie to Markle

North of U.S. 35 north and SR 28, SR 3 resumes as a two lane highway as it heads north toward Hartford City across northern Delaware County.

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SR 3 at the intersection with County Road 800 North, which heads east toward the town of Shideler.

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A view of SR 3 to the north of the intersection with County Road 800 North.

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In the northern part of Delaware County, SR 3 crosses the Mississinewa River near the town of Eaton.

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On the other side of the Mississinewa River, SR 3 approaches the intersection with Eaton-Wheeling Pike/Indiana Avenue which leads east to the town of Eaton. To the west, the road heads toward the town of Wheeling.

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SR 3 enters the fourth-smallest county in Indiana by size, Blackford County (population 12,766).

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Blackford County is small as compared to the other counties that SR 3 goes through. A few rural miles of highway precede the Hartford City area.

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SR 3 enters the Blackford County seat of Hartford City (population 6,220). In town, SR 3 is known as Walnut Street.

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SR 3 (Walnut Street) bisects the residential street grid north from Little Lick Creek through southern Hartford City.

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Near Downtown Hartford City, SR 3 (Walnut Street) nears the intersection with SR 26 (Washington Street). SR 26 goes for 150 miles across the state from the Illinois state line east through Lafayette, Rossville, Fairmount, Upland and Portland before crossing into Ohio near Fort Recovery.

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Now at the intersection of SR 3 (Walnut Street) and SR 26 (Washington Street). The Blackford County courthouse and the Historic District that surrounds it is one block to the east within Downtown Hartford City.

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North of central Hartford City, SR 3 (Walnut Street) goes through some residential neighborhoods before transitioning into a commercial zone that serves the city and Blackford County.

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Views of SR 3 as it leaves Hartford City and continues northward towards Markle, which is now the only community left along the highway. From the retail corridor along SR 3 north of Hartford City, the highway quickly transitions back to rural, agricultural fields.

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SR 18 totals 141 miles from the Illinois border to U.S. 27 in Bryant. The highway goes through Fowler, Delphi, Galveston, Converse, Marion and Montpelier along its route.

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The only decent-sized town in Blackford County, Montpelier is five miles to the east while Marion, the county seat of Grant County, is about 16 miles to the west.

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Now at the intersection of SR 3 and SR 18 near the town of Roll.

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North of the intersection with SR 18, Markle is now 20 miles away. Fort Wayne, which used to be along SR 3 before the 1972 decommissioning, is 43 miles away. Despite no longer reaching Fort Wayne, the city remains a common destination for those traveling along SR 3 to the north.

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North of the intersection with SR 18, SR 3 enters the southwestern part of Wells County (population 27,636). SR 3 spends seven uneventful miles across Wells County as it continues to the north toward Markle. Traffic remains low as most of the traffic that is not local has been moved to Interstate 69, which is only a few miles to the west.

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Nearing the boundary with Huntington County, SR 3 approaches the junction with SR 218.

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SR 218 goes for over 91 miles in two segments. The western segment exists in Carroll, Cass and Miami Counties. The eastern 50 mile segment begins at SR 15 in La Fontaine and heads east toward Warren and Berne before reaching the Ohio border. Here, SR 3 is four miles east of Warren and nine miles west of Poneto.

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Now at the junction with SR 3 and SR 218. Upon crossing the intersection, SR 3 enters Huntington County (population 37,124).

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We are now 12 miles away from the northern end of the southern stretch of SR 3 at Markle, and 35 miles from Fort Wayne.

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Views of SR 3 in southeastern Huntington County. As with Wells and Blackford Counties, SR 3 crosses flat terrain on its trip toward Markle.

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Approaching the junction with SR 124 along SR 3 north. SR 124 is a 67 mile highway that travels from Peru to Bluffton and the Ohio border. Mount Etna is just east of the intersection between the two highways.

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From the junction of SR 3 and SR 124, Mount Etna is just under ten miles to the west while the Wells County seat of Bluffton is 11 miles to the east.

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A four-way stop marks the intersection between SR 3 and SR 124.

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The last distance sign along the southern segment of SR 3 marks two familiar communities: Markle (6 miles away) and Fort Wayne (29 miles away).

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SR 3 finally makes its way into the Markle area. For the last few miles, the highway follows Interstate 69 to the west as it turns toward the town of Markle across the Huntington Lake area.

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ndiana 3 enters its first town since Hartford City, the town of Markle (population 1,095). Within town, SR 3 is called Clark Street.

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Nearing the north side of Markle, SR 3 (Clark Street) nears its northern end at U.S. 224 (Logan Street). U.S. 224 totals 289 miles from U.S. 24 in Huntington through Markle and Decatur en route across the state of Ohio to New Castle, Pennsylvania.

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Now near the northern end of SR 3 (Clark Street) at the junction with U.S. 224 (Logan Street). Guide signs direct SR 3 traffic west along U.S. 224 to Interstate 69, where SR 3 will pick up again at Exit 111. SR 3 was decommissioned in 1972 upon completion of the Interstate 69 freeway which made the highway between Markle and Fort Wayne obsolete.

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Clark Street continues beyond the northern endpoint of SR 3 (Clark Street) northeast as Marzane Road (named for the fact that it connected Markle and the town of Zanesville) and Indianapolis Road into the city of Fort Wayne. From this intersection, the road reenters Wells County, which means that before the decommissioning, SR 3 entered Wells County twice.

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