Skip to main content

Great Lakes Road Trip Day 12; to Hell and back

I didn't have much to do on the 28th given that all had done well with the loop of the Great Lakes and knocking out two additional National Parks.  That being the case I decided to go to Hell which was pretty might right around the corner on County Route D32, you might say it is a "highway to Hell."






Of course the Hell I'm referring to is Hell, Michigan.  Hell is located in Livingston County a couple miles southwest of Pinckney to be exact.  The community traces it's origins back to a saw mill that operated on Hell Creek in 1841.  Supposedly the name "Hell" according to local lore was either what German immigrants referred to the location as or it was called as such due to the swath of mosquitos that early saw mill operators had to deal with.

Really Hell is nothing but a collection of themed buildings designed to capture the interest of bikers and passerby's like me who are bored.  The only other community called "Hell" that I'm aware of in the United States was in California along US 60/70 in the Sonoran Desert.  The Californian Hell was razed during the building of Interstate 10 and about as close as you can get to the site is Chuckwalla Valley Road.












Incidentally the movie Santa's Slay was set in what was called "Hell Township."  Really they don't depict the rural nature of the real Hell, Michigan accurately but it still is one of my favorite holiday themed slasher movies.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Crescent City Connection (New Orleans, LA)

The Crescent City Connection is a massive dual-span steel truss bridge that spans the lower Mississippi River at downtown New Orleans, about 95 river miles upstream from the mouth of the great river at the Head of Passes Light. If counted as a single bi-directional highway bridge, the parallel spans combine to form the single busiest bridge on the Mississippi River and its importance as a linchpin in the region’s transportation network cannot be overstated. While there have been various schemes over the years to construct bridges downriver from Algiers Point, this bridge has been the southernmost bridge on the Mississippi River since its initial construction in the 1950s. The years immediately following the end of World War II were a transformational period in the history of New Orleans. Already one of the great economic and cultural centers of the American Deep South, it was recognized at this time that major changes and improvements to the city’s transportation infrastructure would b...

Old US Route 99 through Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch

This summer I had a look into the alignment history of US Route 99 through the Tulare County communities of Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch.  While this slab below might seem like much it is one of the few remaining reminders of how US Route 99 was during the 1920s in Tulare County. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page Part 1; the history of US Route 99 in Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch Tipton and Tulare were both founded in 1872 as sidings of the Southern Pacific Railroad.  The Southern Pacific Railroad laid the groundwork for development of southern San Joaquin Valley.  Previous to the Southern Pacific Railroad travel via wagon or foot in Central California tended to avoid San Joaquin Valley in favor of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road.  The Stockton Los Ange...

Former US Route 101 and California State Route 41 through Paso Robles

Paso Robles is a city located on the Salinas River of San Luis Obispo County, California.  As originally configured the surface alignments of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 converged in downtown Paso Robles.  US Route 101 originally was aligned through Paso Robles via Spring Street.  California State Route 41 entered the City of Paso Robles via Union Road and 13th Street where it intersected US Route 101 at Spring Street.  US Route 101 and California State Route 41 departed Paso Robles southbound via a multiplex which split near Templeton.   Pictured above is the cover of the September/October 1957 California Highways & Public Works which features construction of the Paso Robles Bypass.  Pictured below is the 1935 Division of Highways Map of San Luis Obispo County which depicts US Route 101 and California State Route 41 intersecting in downtown Paso Robles.   Part 1; the history of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 i...