Skip to main content

Former California State Route 176

After taking Cat Canyon Road to Palmer Road I took it north to Sisquoc on Foxen Canyon Road which was once the eastern terminus for California State Route 176.






CA 176 was a renumbering of a segment of Legislative Route 148 during the 1964 State Highway Renumbering.  The change from LRN 148 to CA 176 can seen by comparing the 1963 and 1964 State Highway Maps.

1963 State Highway Map

1964 State Highway Map

LRN 148 actually continued west of US 101 and Santa Maria to Guadalupe at CA 1.  During the 1964 State Highway renumbering the segment of LRN 148 west of US 101 was added as an extension to CA 166.  LRN 148 was adopted in 1933 like much of the current state highway system as cited by CAhighways.org.

CAhighways.org on LRN 148

Originally when CA 176 was signed ran from US 101 in Santa Maria east on Stowell Road, south on Philbric Road, and southeast on Foxen Canyon Road to the community of Sisquoc.  Betteravia Road and Main Street have often been cited as former routings of LRN 148 and CA 176, however I've found that not to be the true alignment.  On the 1935 California Division of Highways Map of Santa Barbra County LRN 148 can be seen exiting east out of Santa Maria on Stowell Road from Broadway which was US 101 at the time.  Stowell Road, Philbric Road, and Foxen Canyon Road can be identified by the five directional turns it takes to reach the community of Garey which line up with the current roadway alignments.

1935 Santa Barbra County Highway Map 

Update 4/8/18:  I noticed that the old Santa Maria Airport was located on Stowell which is my speculative guess as to why LRN 148 was plotted on it.  More information on the original city airport as well as various vintage city maps of Santa Maria can be found here:

Abandoned Airfields of Santa Barbara County

CA 176 is often cited as being deleted in 1984 but it last appears on state highway maps in 1986.  The same five curves that LRN 148 took from Santa Maria to Garey are still present on CA 176 east of US 101.  Interestingly CA 176 is still shown as an active route on modern iPhone devices checking the map data. 

1986 State Highway Map

On the 1988 State Highway Map CA 176 is no longer present.

1988 State Highway Map

In downtown Sisquoc US 101 is still signed at the corner of Foxen Canyon Road and Palmer Road which was eastern terminus of CA 176.  The north route to US 101 is signed at 10 miles which was the approximate length of CA 176.





Sisquoc was located on the Pacific Coast Railroad which is a now defunct narrow-gauge railroad that operated between San Luis Obispo southeast to Los Olivos from 1882 to 1941.  The Pacific Coast line from Santa Maria to Sisquoc was built by 1910 to service an oil refinery in Sisquoc at the recently discovered Cat Canyon Oilfield.  I'm uncertain of when Sisquoc was founded but I did find it on a 1906 map of California before the discovery of oil in Cat Canyon.  Sisquoc still resembles an actual early 20th century town and even has a general store.









CA 176 between Sisquoc and Garey followed the course of the Sisquoc River to the confluence with the Cuyama River.  The Sisquoc River Basin and confluence with the Cuyama River can be seen from Foxen Canyon Road directly north of Sisquoc.  The Sisquoc and Cuyama Rivers converge into the Santa Maria River which flows into the Pacific Ocean.


There is still what appears to be a Caltrans sourced "end 40 MPH" sign exiting Sisquoc westward towards Garey.  Foxen Canyon Road between Sisquoc and Garey is scenic with farm land being broken up by the surrounding hills.  Garey apparently dates back to the late 1880s and was apparently always a center for agriculture.





North of Garey at Santa Maria Mesa Road there is another US 101 sign indicating it is 7 miles away.  There appears to be an older alignment of Foxen Canyon Road and CA 176 that is now barricaded off.






Foxen Canyon Road continues northwest curving through the farm lands and crosses a bridge over a canal.  I didn't get the construction date on the bridge nor could I find it on upon inspecting the Google Car image.








Foxen Canyon Road ends at Philbric Road which is on the right in the photo below.  I wasn't certain about the alignment of CA 176 when I took my pictures so I ended by my album here.  Foxen Canyon Road becomes Betteravia Road ahead in the photo.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Tulare Lake returns

During the winter of 2023 California experienced one of the wettest seasons in recent decades.  Enough snow and water were deposited into the Sierra Nevada Mountains that the runoff was enough to partially reform Tulare Lake within San Joaquin Valley.  Tulare Lake was once the largest lake west of the Mississippi River by surface area.  Tulare Lake has been largely dried for the past century due to irrigation divisions and upstream impoundments.  This blog will examine the history of Tulare Lake and its recent return.  Pictured as the blog cover is Tulare Lake from 19th Avenue in Kings County during early May 2023.  Tulare Lake can be seen near its maximum extent below on the 1876 P.Y. Baker Map of Tulare County .   Part 1; the history of Tulare Lake Tulare Lake is the largest remnant of Lake Corcoran.  Lake Corcoran once covered much of the entire Central Valley due to being it being located at a in natural low point from where mountain run-off would accumulate.  Lake Corcoran is thou

Former US Route 101 through Sargent

  Sargent is a ghost town and siding of the Southern Pacific Railroad located in southern Santa Clara County.  The original alignment of US Route 101 was aligned through Sargent via what is now known as Old Monterey Road.  Sargent was bypassed gradually due to shifts of the alignment of US Route 101 which occurred during 1941 and 1950.  Pictured as the blog cover is a view on Old Monterey Road which is now no longer accessible to the general public.  Below is a scan of the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Santa Clara County which depicts the original alignment US Route 101 through Sargent.   Part 1; the history of US Route 101 in Sargent Sargent lies on land which was once part of Rancho Juristac.  During 1856 James P. Sargent purchased Rancho Juristac and plotted what was known as Sargent Ranch.  By 1869 the Southern Pacific Railroad coast line reached the relocated town site of Gilroy.  The Southern Pacific Railroad coast line would be constructed through Chittenden Pass by 1871 whic

California State Route 60/Former US Route 60/70 through the Moreno Valley Badlands west to Riverside

This past month I drove California State Route 60 through the Moreno Valley Badlands westward towards the City of Riverside.  CA 60 through the Moreno Valley Badlands was once part of the corridors of US Route 60 and US Route 70. The present route of CA 60 is a 70 mile (76 counting multiplex) slice of former US 60 between downtown Los Angeles east to I-10 near Beaumont.  The vast majority of CA 60 aside from a small section in the Moreno Valley Badlands is presently a freeway grade. For me CA 60 holds some personal history as it was the route I used most frequently accessing work sites in the Inland Empire circa 2011-2013.  Despite what many others probably would say I always really enjoyed the Moreno Valley Badlands portion of CA 60.  Considering I frequently worked on US 60 through Arizona and New Mexico the route holds even more appeal.  I even have a CA 60 shield hanging up in my garage. Part 1; History of Roadways in the Moreno Valley Badlands CA 60 between B