Kitchen Dick Road

Between Sequim and Port Angeles US Route 101 intersects one of the most weirdly named roads in the country; Kitchen Dick Road.

The origins of the "Kitchen Dick" part of Kitchen Dick Road are unknown. However, give that Kitchen Dick Road happens to intersect Woodcock Road north of US 101 it would seem likely the naming is intentional. Kitchen Dick Road is a north/south road approximately 3 miles in length which ends at the Dungeness County Park. A Google Street View image of Kitchen Dick Road and Woodcock Road can be found here:

Kitchen Dick and Woodcock

I first spotted Kitchen Dick Road while visiting Olympic National Park in 2015. I vaguely recalled it being present in 2018 when I noticed it on my GPS. Apparently the junction of Kitchen Dick Road and Woodcock Road is popular not only for photos but for theft as well. A Kitchen Dick Road sign appeared on eBay earlier this year but had a high sale price nearing $200 dollars.

Update 5/27/18: I was provided some links to the Sequim area from; 1940, 1970 and 1995 by NE2 of AAroads which provide insight about where naming of Kitchen Dick Road likely came from.

On this 1940 map there is a plot of land owned by a "W. Dick" on what is now Kitchen Dick Road. Incidentally there is also a land owner by the name of "Sam Woodcock" along what is now Woodcock Road.

1940 Sequim Historical Map

In 1970 Kitchen Dick Road is shown as "Dick Lane." There is also a small plot of land at Dick Lane and US 101 owned by "D.B. Kitchen."

1970 Sequim Historical Map

In 1995 Kitchen Dick road was known as "Bill Dick Road."

1995 Sequim Historical Map

Comments

Unknown said…

Hi! The road was actually named for the two families that lived on opposite ends of the road. Hello from the dick half of the name :)

6:33 PM

AHURA-MAZDA said…

That fits with what I heard from the Kitchen family. When I was in FFA I use to buy my Steers from them. Though she did say it was originally Kitchen but to honor both families Dick was added.

5:26 AM

Route 75 Tunnel - Ironton, Ohio

In the Ohio River community of Ironton, Ohio, there is a former road tunnel that has a haunted legend to it. This tunnel was formerly numbered OH 75 (hence the name Route 75 Tunnel), which was renumbered as OH 93 due to I-75 being built in the state. Built in 1866, it is 165 feet long and once served as the northern entrance into Ironton, originally for horses and buggies and later for cars. As the tunnel predated the motor vehicle era, it was too narrow for cars to be traveling in both directions. But once US 52 was built in the area, OH 93 was realigned to go around the tunnel instead of through the tunnel, so the tunnel was closed to traffic in 1960. The legend of the haunted tunnel states that since there were so many accidents that took place inside the tunnel's narrow walls, the tunnel was cursed. The haunted legend states that there was an accident between a tanker truck and a school bus coming home after a high school football game on a cold, foggy Halloween night in 1

Porter-Parsonsfield Covered Bridge - Maine

Spanning over the Ossipee River on the border between Porter in Oxford County, Maine and Parsonsfield in York County, Maine is the 152 foot long Porter-Parsonsfield Covered Bridge. The Porter-Parsonsfield Bridge is built in a Paddleford truss design, which is commonly found among covered bridges in the New England states. The covered bridge is the third bridge located at this site, with the first two bridges built in 1800 and 1808. However, there seems to be some dispute for when the covered bridge was built. There is a plaque on the bridge that states that the bridge may have been built in 1876, but in my research, I have found that this bridge may have been built in 1859 instead. That may check out since a number of covered bridges in northern New England were built or replaced around 1859 after a really icy winter. The year that the Porter-Parsonsfield Covered Bridge was built was not the only controversy surrounding its construction. There was a dispute over building and maintain

US Route 299 and modern California State Route 299

US Route 299 connected US Route 101 near Arcata of Humboldt County east across the northern mountain ranges of California to US Route 395 in Alturas of Modoc County. US Route 299 was the longest child route of US Route 99 and is the only major east/west highway across the northern counties of California. US Route 299 was conceptualized as the earliest iteration of what is known as the Winnemucca-to-the-Sea Highway. The legacy of US Route 299 lives on today in the form of the 307 mile long California State Route 299. Featured as the cover of this blog is the interchange of US Route 101 and US Route 299 north of Arcata which was completed as a segment of the Burns Freeway during 1956. Part 1; the history of US Route 299 and California State Route 299 The development of the State Highways which comprised US Route 299 ("US 299") and later California State Route 299 ("CA 299") began with 1903 Legislative Chapter 366 which defined the general corridor of the Trinit

Gribblenation

Search This Blog