Indiana Once Posted These Odd ‘Welcome to Michigan’ Signs

When you're travelling across state lines, there is almost always a sign welcoming you into a new state. Many states make them eye-catching and they become favorite spot to stop for photos.

County lines, however, are rarely as interesting.  These secondary political divisions rarely cause a second glance. Most states will post a sign alerting drivers to crossing a county line. Indiana is a bit of a rarity in that the state will post, mainly along state highways, both the county one is leaving and the county one is entering.

Here's an example just south of the Michigan state line between South Bend and Elkhart from a roadway passing between counties:

Indiana once posted similar signs at state lines, like the one at the top of this article. It would list the Indiana county that's one is departing from and entering Michigan (or, say another state that borders Indiana like Illinois or Ohio).

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However these state line signs appear to be a thing of the past. They are now exceptionally rare to find a state lines.

The Enter Michigan/Leave St. Joseph County sign is near Edwardsburg where Indiana State Road 23 becomes M-62.

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Looking via Google Street View at every other instance of an Indiana state road crossing into Michigan (SR 49 near New Buffalo, SR 933 near Niles, SR 19 north of Elkhart, SR 9 at Sturgis, SR 327 north of Ormond and SR 120 east of Fremont) there is no other instance of Indiana making mention of entering Michigan.

The same is true on Indiana's western border where Enter Illinois/Leave Indiana County is a rarity. This example near Kentland, Indiana is along a former alignment of State Road 114. It appears the sign has seen more than a little target practice.

While these quirks of the highways system may be overlooked by nearly all drivers they are just the kind of roadside sighting that are equally mundane and fascinating.