State Road 13 South - Michigan to Wabash

We begin on southbound SR 13 just south of U.S. 6 in far southern Elkhart County. The first two communities that the highway comes to are Syracuse (2 miles) and North Webster (10 miles).

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A view of SR 13 as it crosses into Kosciusko County (population 77,385). The county was named for Tadeusz Kosciusko, a Polish general who served in the American Revolutionary War. Warsaw, the county seat, was thus named after the capital of Poland. Upon crossing the county line, the highway enters the community of Syracuse (population 2,810).

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SR 13 winds its way through the north side of town before angling toward the southeast along Huntington Street into the heart of Syracuse. Syracuse is best known for the locations of both Syracuse Lake, adjacent to the town, and Lake Wawasee, located to the southeast of town. Both lakes draw in lots of tourists in the summer and the population of both Syracuse and nearby North Webster explodes with the summer lake season.

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Now at the intersection of SR 13 (Huntington Street) and Main Street in Downtown Syracuse. Syracuse Lake is only three blocks away to the east.

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A view of SR 13 (Huntington Street) south of Downtown Syracuse.

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SR 13 (Huntington Street) angles toward the south as it goes through the main commercial corridor for both the communities of Syracuse and nearby North Webster.

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Now at the intersection with SR 13 (Huntington Street) and Pickwick Drive. Traffic bound for the northern shore of Lake Wawasee is advised to use Pickwick Drive to the east while those heading toward the southern shore of the large lake are guided further south along SR 13.

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South of Pickwick Drive, SR 13 (Huntington Street) passes by more commercial businesses as a series of frontage roads line the two lane highway.

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South of the commercial part of Syracuse, SR 13 is now eight miles from North Webster and 18 miles from Pierceton. SR 13 will wind its way through the northeastern part of Kosciusko County which is bountiful in the number of natural lakes, including Syracuse and Wawasee.

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SR 13 follows the southwestern side of Lake Wawasee as it turns toward the southeast in the direction of North Webster. The lake is never visible from the highway, but it is very close to it nevertheless. Various lakeside homes can be reached either from SR 13 or from the different roads that branch off from the highway.

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Lake Wawasee is the largest natural lake in Indiana, at a size of 3,410 acres. It was created with the retreat of the Wisconsin glaciers along with the other lakes in the region and has become a popular vacation spot for those in Indiana. This is a view of the lake from the southeast looking toward the northwest and the town of Syracuse.

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A historic marker designates the spot where SR 13 crosses the Continental Divide between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins. This sign is located near the intersection of SR 13 and County Road 900 North in between Syracuse and North Webster.

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South of the intersection of SR 13 and County Road 900 North, North Webster is now two miles away with Pierceton at 13 miles. In the distance, the radar for the National Weather Service's North Webster Forecast Office can be seen. The forecast office covers most of Northern Indiana (outside of the Chicago area) and parts of southern Michigan and northwestern Ohio.

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SR 13 enters the town of North Webster (population 1,146). Like Syracuse, North Webster swells with tourists during the summer to the shores of Webster Lake, located a few blocks to the east of SR 13, which is called Main Street in town.

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A view of SR 13 (Main Street) through the heart of North Webster.

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SR 13 (Main Street) turns toward the southeast as it passes by Himes Street, which heads off toward the North Webster City Park along Webster Lake.

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Now going through the small commercial strip that lines SR 13 (Main Street) through the south side of North Webster.

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Leaving North Webster, Pierceton and U.S. 30 are nine miles away. The town of Sidney is 16 miles away.

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Approaching the intersection between SR 13 and Backwater Road, which provides access to Lake Webster, Backwater Lake and Camp Adventure.

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SR 13 approaches the intersection with County Road 500 North, which leads to Lake Tippecanoe and Shoe Lake. Lake Tippecanoe is the deepest lake in Indiana.

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Further south, SR 13 nears the intersection with County Road 400 North, which leads to Barbee Lake and the Barbee Christian Camp.

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South of the Lake Country of northeastern Kosciusko County, SR 13 angles toward the south as it approaches U.S. 30.

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SR 13 comes up to the stoplight intersection with the U.S. 30 expressway. U.S. 30 goes for nearly 159 miles in Indiana from Dyer on the Illinois state line to the Ohio state line east of New Haven. The U.S. highway is a four lane facility for its trip across the state, passing through Merrillville, Valparaiso, Plymouth, Warsaw, Columbia City and Fort Wayne. Nationally, U.S. 30 travels for 3,073 miles from Astoria, Oregon to Atlantic City, New Jersey.

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South of the intersection of U.S. 30, SR 13 enters the town of Pierceton (population 1,095). In town, the highway is known as 1st Street.

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A view of SR 13 (1st Street) as it goes through Downtown Pierceton.

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South of Pierceton, the next community is Sidney at seven miles. North Manchester, in northern Wabash County is 17 miles away.

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Views of SR 13 as it traverses the rural stretches of eastern Kosciusko County. SR 13 doesn't receive as much traffic as SR 15 to the west and SR 9 to the east largely for the fact that it doesn't go through any large towns other than Syracuse, North Manchester, and Wabash.

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SR 13 enters the small town of Sidney in southeastern Kosciusko County.

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Going through the small downtown for Sidney along Main Street. The Norfolk Southern railroad crosses SR 13 in town.

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A view of SR 13 to the south of Sidney.

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South of Sidney, SR 13 enters the intersection with SR 14. SR 14 goes for 123 miles from U.S. 41 in Newton County and then eastward to Winamac, Rochester, Akron and Silver Lake. East of there, it heads for South Whitley before ending at Interstate 69 in Fort Wayne.

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South of SR 14, SR 13 is eight miles from North Manchester and 22 miles from Wabash.

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SR 13 enters Wabash County (population 32,888).

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SR 13 starts to turn toward the southwest as it approaches the town of North Manchester.

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SR 13 enters the town of North Manchester (population 6,260), home of Manchester College. North Manchester is the largest community in northern Wabash County.

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Now at the intersection of SR 13 and Wayne Street, which carries the local designation of Business SR 13. Both Downtown North Manchester and Manchester College can be reached via Wayne Street. SR 13 will continue toward the west as it bypasses the town of North Manchester to SR 114.

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South of SR 114 and the town of North Manchester, SR 13 is now 14 miles from the Wabash County seat of Wabash and 33 miles from the next town of Swayzee.

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Views of SR 13 to the south of North Manchester as it crosses the agricultural fields of northern Wabash County.

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Southbound SR 13 at SR 16. SR 16 goes for 105 miles from U.S. 41 in Newton County, eastward through Brook, Monon, Royal Center, Roann, and Huntington, where it ends at SR 5 to the north of town. It doesn't go through any big communities other than Huntington.

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South of the junction with SR 16, SR 13 goes through the small town of Urbana.

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A views of SR 13 near County Road 100 North on the drive south from Urbana toward the U.S. 24 expressway north of Wabash.

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Entering the signalized intersection with U.S. 24 along SR 13 south. U.S. 24 goes for 164 miles across the highway from west of Kentland through Monticello, Logansport, Peru, Wabash, Huntington, and Fort Wayne. It exists as a four lane expressway from Logansport to Fort Wayne. Nationally, U.S. 24 goes for 1,540 miles from Interstate 70 in central Colorado to Pontiac, Michigan.

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