El Adobe de Los Robles Rancho (California State Route 41)

In my travels on California State Route 41 in Kings County I often noticed a historical marker sign for El Adobe de Los Robles Rancho just north of the city of Lemoore near Lacey Boulevard. Turns out the Adobe in question is the second oldest standing in all of San Joaquin Valley having been constructed all the way back in 1856.

Considering I did a whole trip mapping out all of the historical alignments of CA 41 last year in Kings County I'm surprised that I never noticed that a 150 year old adobe was literally sitting feet from the expressway. Considering that 1856 was the first year Fresno County (Kings County split from Fresno County in 1893) split from Tulare County its surprising to see that there was a rancho so far out in the middle of nowhere. At the time Tulare Lake would have been less than a day away on foot to the south and I the closest town would have been Kingston.

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Paper Highways; California State Route 1 through the Lost Coast

For all the accolades and praise that California State Route 1 gets for being a top notch coastal highway one fact tends to get overlooked; the highway was never finished! In this edition of Paper Highways we look at the failed path of California State Route 1 through the Lost Coast.

Part 1; the history of Legislative Route 56 and California Route 1 through the Lost Coast

The Lost Coast region consists of the undeveloped coastal areas of Humboldt County, Mendocino County, and the King Range. The Lost Coast region roughly spans from near Rockport in Mendocino County north to Ferndale of Humboldt County. The Lost Coast region is known for having rugged terrain which rivals what is seen in Big Sur. The Lost Coast has several small communities such as; Shelter Cove, Whitehorn, and Petrolia.

In 1933 Legislative Route 56 was extended south to LRN 2 (US 101) near Las Cruces and north to Ferndale to LRN 1 (also US 101). Prior to 1933 the legislative description of LRN 56 had it's nort…

Where the hell is Hill Valley? (US Route 8 south/US Route 395 east)

Recently I made a visit to Universal Studios near Los Angeles. While on the back lot tour I came across a piece of infamous movie-borne fictional highway infamy; the location of town square of Hill Valley, California on US Route 8/US Route 395.

The above photo is part of the intro scene to the first Back-to-the-Future movie which was set in 1985. To anyone who follows roadways the signage error of US 8 meeting US 395 in California is an immediately notable error. For one; US 8 doesn't even exist anywhere near California with present alignment being signed as an east/west highway between Norway, Michigan and Forest Lake, Minnesota. To make matters worse US 8 is signed as a southbound route and US 395 (a north/south highway) is signed as an eastbound route. At minimum the cut-out US 8 and US 395 shields somewhat resemble what Caltrans used in the 1980s.

Assuming Hill Valley is located on what would have been US 395 by 1985 what locales would be a viable real world analog? US 39…

US Route 99 to Visalia?...

Something that I noticed awhile back while doing map research regarding US Route 99 in Fresno was that the highway intended to be originally routed through the City of Visalia.

The early originally planned alignment of US Route 99 in Visalia

To be clear US 99 was never actually routed through Visalia and ended up bypassing the City in favor of a direct route from Goshen southeast to Tulare. US 99 within San Joaquin Valley was aligned over Legislative Route 4 which in turn was added to the State Highway System as part of the 1909 First State Highway Bond Act. LRN 4 for a time was aligned through Visalia via; Mineral King Avenue, Main Street, and Mooney Boulevard. This early alignment of LRN 4 through Visalia can be seen on the 1924 Division of Highways State Map.

The initial draft of the US Route System was approved by the Secretary of Agriculture during November of 1925. The US Route System with in California was approved by California Highway Commission with no changes recommended…

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