Skip to main content

Throwback Thursday; Chiricahua National Monument, Arizona State Route 186 and Arizona State Route 181

By
Back in 2012 I was trying to clinch as many of the Arizona State Routes as I could and visit all the National Monuments located in the State.  When I had some free time during the winter months I made my way towards Willcox to visit Chiricahua National Monument.  During my trip towards the National Monument I took AZ 186 from I-10/US 191 in Willcox and AZ 181 to US 191 as I was leaving.


AZ 186 is an approximately 33.4 mile state route.  AZ 186 begins at a junction with I-10/US 191 in Willcox on Rex Allen Drive and continues to Haskell Avenue.  AZ 186 uses a former alignment of AZ 86 on Haskell Avenue to reach Marley Street.  AZ 186 exits Willcox on Marley Street heading eastward towards Chiricahua National Monument.  East of Willcox the alignment of AZ 186 enters the Dos Cabezas Range and passes by a small community of the same name before meeting AZ 181 at an eastern terminus near Chiricahua National Monument.

AZ 186 was supposedly created in 1955.  The route is not present on the 1951 State Highway Map but is displayed on the 1956 edition.

1951 State Highway Map

1956 State Highway Map 

After completing my route clinch of AZ 186 I took AZ 181 eastward into the Chiricahua Mountains and Chiricahua National Monument.


The Chiricahua Mountains is a 35x21 mile range central to Cochise County.  The Chiricahua Range generally is above 6,000 feet but has a high point of Chiricahua Peak at 9,759 feet above sea level.  The Chiricahua Range and by extension National Monument features volcanic rock hoodoos which were formed from a volcanic eruption in the Turkey Creek Caldera approximately 27 million years ago.  

When I visited Chiricahua National Monument the weather was supposed to be good in Cochise County.  However, when I approached the Chiricahua Range I encountered heavy fog and light snow attempting to drive above the clouds to Massai Point.  I eventually settled for some lower elevation hiking to view the hoodoos.











Near the entrance to Chiricahua National Monument is the Faraway Ranch Historic District.  The Faraway Ranch District was apparently first settled Ja Hu Stafford in 1879.  The Faraway district is generally more well known for an 1885 Cavalry Camp which was part of the last military campaign to capture Apache leader Geronimo.  Erickson Ranch was plotted in 1887 and eventually became part of Chiricahua National Monument when it was created in 1924.








Leaving Chiricahua National Monument I took AZ 181 westward to US 191.   AZ 181 has a strange alignment with various 90 degree turns as it approaches US 191.  AZ 181 is approximately 26.8 miles long and has only one community known as Sunizona along it's alignment.  AZ 181 was created at some point between between 1935 and 1938 when it would have had a western terminus at AZ 81.  AZ 181 is not seen on the 1935 Arizona State Highway Map but appears on the 1938 Edition when AZ 81 had been renumbered to US 666.

1935 State Highway Map Sectional

1938 State Highway Map Sectional
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Abandoned US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon

By
Within the Truckee River Canyon in the Sierra Nevada range numerous abandoned portions of US Route 40 can be found alongside modern Interstate 80.   This segment of highway was opened during 1926 as a bypass of the Dog Valley Grade which carried the early North Lincoln Highway and Victory Highway. The corridor of the Truckee River Canyon State Highway would be assigned as US Route 40 when the US Route System was commissioned during November 1926. During 1958 the segment of Interstate 80 between Boca, California and the Nevada state line was complete. When Interstate 80 opened east of Boca numerous obsolete portions of US Route 40 were abandoned. Some of these abandoned segments have been incorporated into the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail.  Part 1; the history of US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon The Truckee River Canyon for centuries has been an established corridor of travel known to native tribes crossing the Sierra Nevada range.  The first documented wagon crossi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 50 and the Pioneer Route Lincoln Highway on Johnson's Pass Road

By
Johnson's Pass Road is one of the oldest highway corridors in California.  Johnson's Pass was part of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road as it was completed during 1856 over the Sierra Nevada.  The pass would later be incorporated into the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway in 1913 and US Route 50 in 1926.  Johnson's Pass Road would be bypassed by a new alignment of US Route 50 over Echo Summit in 1938.  A replacement of the Meyers Grade east of Johnson's Pass would be opened to traffic in 1947.   Johnson's Pass Road remains accessible to traffic and is still signed by the Lincoln Highway Association.  Pictured as the blog cover is the view from the top of Johnson's Pass Road overlooking modern US Route 50 and Lake Tahoe.   Part 1; the history of Johnson's Pass Much of the history of what become the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road is discussed in the  September 1950 California Highways & Public Works  during its Centennial Edition.  The or...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former California State Route 41 past Bates Station

By
When California State Route 41 was commissioned during August 1934 it was aligned along the then existing Fresno-Yosemite Road north of the San Joaquin River.  Within the Sierra Nevada foothills of Madera County, the original highway alignment ran past Bates Station via what is now Madera County Road 209, part of eastern Road 406 and Road 207.   Bates Station was a stage station plotted during the early 1880s at what was the intersection of the Coarsegold Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road.   The modern alignment bypassing Bates Station to the east would be reopened to traffic during late 1939.   Part 1; the history of California State Route 41 past Bates Station Bates Station was featured as one of the many 1875-1899 Madera County era towns in the May 21, 1968, Madera Tribune .  Post Office Service at Bates Station is noted to have been established on November 23, 1883 and ran continuously until October 31, 1903.  The postal name was sourced...
Post a Comment
Read more