Because every road has a story.
Former Pennsylvania Route 908 is located in Northeast Allegheny County. First signed in 1928, Route 908, along with many other 800- and 900-series routes, was decommissioned in 1946. Yet, there are still mentions of PA 908 in the wild along the back roads of the area. AAA Wall Map showing PA 908 and PA 908 'Ext' still in service. PA 908 would continue south through Russellton and Rural Ridge to…
George Smith Road is an approximately 5.5-mile rural highway located in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Fresno County. As presently configured George Smith Road begins at California State Route 180 (Kings Canyon Road) in Yokuts Valley (previously Squaw Valley) and winds above a ridge overlooking Shannon Valley to Ennis Road. George Smith Road was developed as the Sand Creek Cutoff Road and…
Italian Bar Road is an approximately six-mile switchback highway located in the San Joaquin River Canyon of Fresno County. Italian Bar Road begins at the southern rim of the San Joaquin River Canyon at Jose Basin Road and terminates to the northwest at the Italian Bar Bridge over Redinger Lake. Italian Bar Road is named after a former mining claim which was staked on the San Joaquin River where…
The Jesse Morrow Mountain derelict is a ruined chimney located on California State Route 180 (Kings Canyon Road) at Postmile 80.90. This chimney was part of a home constructed by the Granite Water Company in 1918. The home would be later purchased by a family out of Sanger in 1928 and moved (sans chimney) to I Street in downtown. This derelict chimney is often adorned with Christmas and seasonal…
If you've followed this website long enough, you know that we're not that impressed with Buc-ee's. I shrugged when I visited the St. Augustine, Florida location in April 2022 . It may have rustled a feather or two, but I did say I wasn't opposed to going to one again. In fact, a few months later I did in Denton, Texas. An old high school friend mentioned that they liked Buc-ee's for filling up…
Frankwood Avenue is an approximately 11-mile roadway in eastern Fresno County. Frankwood Avenue originates at 10th Street in the city of Reedley and terminates at Piedra Road a short distance after crossing the Alta Main Canal. Frankwood Avenue has numerous historical structures of interest which can be found along the corridor. The brick Frankwood Schoolhouse located at Frankwood Avenue and Old…
A drive along Jose Basin Road above the San Joaquin River Canyon of Fresno County is what one might call a "slow, jerky and expensive" affair. Jose Basin Road is approximately 9.6 miles in length and is overlaid atop the grade of the San Joaquin & Eastern Railroad. This San Joaquin & Eastern Railroad was in use between 1912-1933 during the early construction of the Big Creek Hydroelectric project.…
Minkler is a small former railroad siding community founded in 1911 on Kings Canyon Road (formerly Dunlap Road) just east of Byrd Slough. The community of Minkler between 1934 and 2020 was part of the alignment of California State Route 180 which passed by on Kings Canyon Road. In 2020 California State Route 180 was shifted north of Minkler onto a four-lane expressway bypass. This blog serves as a…
Centerville is one of the oldest communities in what is now Fresno County having been founded as Scottsburg in 1854. The Centerville community has historically been tied to the history of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road and the Squaw Valley Road. The Squaw Valley Road would later be known as Dunlap Road and became a component of California State Route 180 in August 1934. By the 1940s the corridor…
Union Road is an approximately five-mile-long commuter highway which connects California State Routes 156 and 25 near the city of Hollister. Union Road was first developed as part of an access road which connected San Juan Bautista with Bird Creek Road (now Cienega Road) near the San Benito River. In the early 2000s the corridor of Union Road was extended east over the 1959-era San Benito River…
Bean Creek Road is an approximately 3.6-mile single lane rural highway located in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Santa Cruz County. Bean Creek Road begins at Glenwood Drive and terminates to the south at Scotts Valley Drive (former California State Route 17) Bean Creek Road along with a small portion of Glenwood Drive and Mountain Charlie Road were all part of the McKiernan Toll Road. The McKiernan…
New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is best known for whitewater rafting and other forms of adventure tourism. Yet, found in the hollows and isolated valleys are quiet farms and former coal mining towns. Well off the beaten path and isolated from much of its surroundings, Thurmond provides a unique view into Central West Virginia's industrial past. Thurmond began as a railroad town in the…
The southern portion of Mountain Charlie Road is an approximately 5.1-mile single lane rural highway located in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Santa Cruz County. This segment of Mountain Charlie Road begins at California State Route 35 (Summit Road) and terminates to the south at Glenwood Drive near South Pacific Coast Railroad Tunnel #4. A second northern segment of Mountain Charlie Road begins at…
Chowchilla Canal Road is an approximately six-mile-long component of what is now signed as Madera County Road 13. This roadway was built as a frontage of the modern Chowchilla Bypass Canal in the 1960s south of Ripperdan Avenue (now Avenue 7) to the San Joaquin River. During rare periods where water has been low in the San Joaquin River an earthen ford has connected Chowchilla Canal Road to San…
Fairview Road of San Benito County is an approximately 10-mile roadway located in Santa Clara Valley near Hollister. Fairview Road begins at California State Route 25 (Airline Highway) near the Hollister city limit and extends north/northwest to San Felipe Road near Dunneville. Fairview Road is named after the Fairview School which was once located along the corridor. Historically Fairview Road…
Highland Way is an approximately 7.6-mile-long continuation of Eureka Canyon Road northwest to the Summit Road in Santa Cruz County. Highland Way follows the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains and generally is aligned along the San Andreas Fault Rift Zone. Much of what is now Eureka Canyon Road was developed in the early 1830s to access a sawmill located on upper Corralitos Creek in what was then…
Eureka Canyon Road is an approximately nine-mile-long rural highway corridor located in the southern extent of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Santa Cruz County. Eureka Canyon Road begins at Browns Valley Road in the community of Corralitos and climbs to a ridge atop the Santa Cruz Mountains where it continues as Highland Way. The Coastal Redwood lined Eureka Canyon follows the course of Corralitos…
Laton is a small unincorporated community in southern Fresno County which was founded by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway in 1890. Laton functionally serves as a continuation of the ghost town of Kingston which was located on the south bank of the Kings River in what is now Kings County. Historically Laton was served by the 1873-Kingston Bridge which collapsed in 1908. Since the destruction…
The Klamath Tour Thru Tree is a Coastal Redwood tunnel tree located off California State Route 169 in Klamath Glen. This particular tree is 167.54 feet high which makes it far smaller than the more famous Chandlier Tree in Leggett. The Klamath Tour Thru Tree was carved during May 1976 which allows it to facilitate passage by larger vehicles than the Chandlier Tree. The Klamath Tour Thru Tree is…
Browns Valley Road is an approximately 3.5-mile rural highway corridor located in the Corralitos area of the Santa Cruz Mountains. This short corridor begins at Eureka Canyon Road in Corralitos and extends northeast to Hazel Dell Road. Browns Valley Road is historically significant as it was the site of construction of a major highway truss bridge over Corralitos Creek in 1893 (seen as the cover…
The Chandelier Tree and Drive-Thru Tree Park are notable attractions which were located on early US Route 101 (Redwood Highway) in Leggett. The Chandelier Tree is a 276 foot high Coastal Redwood which had a tunnel carved into the trunk circa 1936-1937 by the Underwood family. Despite Leggett being bypassed by modern US Route 101 in early the 1970s and replaced with California State Route 271…
Cienega Road is an approximately 18-mile rural highway located in the Gabilan Range and San Andreas Fault Rift Zone south of Hollister. Cienega Road begins at Union Road near Hollister and terminates at California State Route 25 near Paicines via Cienega Valley. Cienega Road is named after Cienega Valley and Rancho Cienega del Gabilán. This highway began to develop following the establishment of…
The California State Route 12 freeway through Santa Rosa is a limited access corridor which opened during December 1964. The fully limited access corridor spans from Fulton Road/Wright Road eastward through downtown to Farmers Lane. This freeway corridor was developed with the expectation that it would continue east of Santa Rosa towards the community of Kenwood. The undeveloped portion of freeway…
Hazel Dell Road is an approximately 4-mile rural highway located on the San Andreas Rift Zone in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Hazel Dell Road begins at the terminus of Browns Valley Road and extends southeast through a Coastal Redwood Grove to Mount Madonna Road. The corridor of Hazel Dell Road traditionally has been the most direct link between Corralitos and Gilroy via Mount Madonna. This roadway…
Laytonville is an unincorporated community located in Mendocino County along US Route 101 (Redwood Highway). This small community has been US Route 101 since 1926 and part of the Redwood Highway since the 1909 First State Highway Bond Act. While improvements to the highway in Laytonville have been minimal it has seen substantial modernization in the general area. This blog will serve as an…