Signed County Route E18

This past weekend I took a detour off of California State Route 49 in Tuolumne County onto Signed County Route E18 north to CA 4 in Calaveras County.

CR E18 is a 12.8 mile Signed County Route that was defined in 1974 according to CAhighways.org.

CAhighways.org on Signed County Route E18

CR E18 is signed completely on Parrotts Ferry Road. While CR E18 wasn't added to the Signed County Route program until the 1970s Parrotts Ferry Road was noted as a significant County Maintained Roadway in Calaveras County and Tuolumne County on the 1935 California Division of Highways Maps.

1935 Calaveras County Highway Map

1935 Tuolumne County Highway Map

I approached CR E18 from CA 49 northbound. Along CA 49 northbound there are several signs directing traffic to Columbia State Historic Park.

CR E18 northbound is well signed as has numerous reassurance shields.

CR E18 quickly junctions Columbia State Historic Park only a couple miles north of CA 49.

Columbia State Historic Park preserves the historic downtown section of Columbia. Columbia dates back to 1850 and was once incorporated. The population of Columbia at the height of the Gold Rush apparently ranged from 2,000-5,000 people depending on the productivity of mining in the area. Main Street was declared a State Historic Park in 1946 and presently over 30 structures preserved from the height of the Gold Rush

CR E18 bypasses Main Street in Columbia to the west on Parrotts Ferry Road.

Vallecito is signed as 8 miles to the north of Columbia along CR E18.

North of Columbia CR E18 begins to descend towards the Stanislaus River and New Melones Lake. The descent on CR E18 is rather steep compared to CA 49 to the west.

CR E18 crosses the Stanislaus River/New Melones Lake on a modern bridge into Calaveras County. Parrotts Ferry used to be located near modern highway bridge. Parrotts Ferry was in operation from 1860 until a bridge replaced it in 1903.

New Melones Lake is a reservoir along the Stanislaus River which was originally created when the first Melones Dam was completed in 1926. The modern New Melones Dam was completed in 1980 which raised the level of the reservoir and flooded out the community of Melones.

The ascent along CR E18 from the Stanislaus River/New Melones Lake is fairly steep. The alignment of CR E18 meets the Natural Bridges Trail Head and entrance to Moaning Caverns Park before terminating at CA 4 in Vallecito.

Comments

Morgan Territory Road

Morgan Territory Road is an approximately 14.7-mile-long roadway mostly located in the Diablo Range of Contra Costa County, California. The roadway is named after settler Jerimah Morgan who established a ranch in the Diablo Range in 1857. Morgan Territory Road was one of several facilities constructed during the Gold Rush era to serve the ranch holdings. The East Bay Regional Park District would acquire 930 acres of Morgan Territory in 1975 in an effort to establish a preserve east of Mount Diablo. The preserve has since been expanded to 5,324 acres. The preserve functionally stunts the development along roadway allowing it to remain surprisingly primitive in a major urban area. Part 1; the history of Morgan Territory Road During the period of early period of American Statehood much of the Diablo Range of Contra Costa County was sparsely developed. Jerimah Morgan acquired 2,000 acres of land east of Mount Diablo in 1856 and established a ranch in 1857. Morgan Territory Road is

The 1915 Fine Gold Creek Bridge (Madera County)

The 1915 Fine Gold Creek Bridge is an early era arch concrete structure found alongside modern Madera County Road 200. The structure was modeled as a smaller scale of the 1905 Pollasky Bridge (still in ruins at the San Joaquin River) and was one of many early twentieth century improvements to what was then known as the Fresno-Fresno Flats Road. The 1915-era bridge was replaced with a modernized concrete span during 1947 but was never demolished. The original concrete structure can be still found sitting in the brush north of the 2023 Fine Gold Creek Bridge. Part 1; the history of the 1915 Fine Gold Creek Bridge The 1915 Fine Gold Creek Bridge lies near the site of the former mining community of Fine Gold. Mining claims were staked at Fine Gold during the Mariposa War during 1850. The community was never very large but became a stopping point on the stage road between the original Fresno County seat at Millerton and Fresno Flats (now Oakhurst). The stage road eventually bypas

Old Sonoma Road

Old Sonoma Road is an approximately five-mile highway located in the Mayacamas Mountains of western Napa County. The roadway is part of the original stage road which connected Napa Valley west to Mission San Francisco Solano as part of El Camino Real. Much of Old Sonoma Road was bypassed by the start of the twentieth century by way of Sonoma Highway. A portion of Old Sonoma Road over the 1896 Carneros Creek Bridge (pictured as the blog cover) was adopted as part of Legislative Route Number 8 upon voter approval of the 1909 First State Highway Bond Act. The 1896 Carneros Creek Bridge served as a segment of California State Route 37 and California State Route 12 from 1934 through 1954. Part 1; the history of Old Sonoma Road Old Sonoma Road has origins tied to the formation of Mission San Francisco Solano and the Spanish iteration of El Camino Real. Mission San Francisco Solano was founded as the last and most northern Spanish Mission of Alta California on July 4, 1823. The new M

Gribblenation

Search This Blog