Skip to main content

Signed County Route E15 to Copperopolis

Back in 2016 I frequently used Signed County Route E15 as a short cut from California State Route 108/120 in Tuolumne County to CA 4 in Calaveras County.


E15 is a 12.91 mile long Signed County Route which was defined in 1974 according to CAhighways.org.

CAhighways.org on Signed County Route E15

On the Tuolumne County side E15 begins from CA 108/120 at O'Byrne's Ferry Road.  Traffic is warned along CA 108/120 not to pick up hitch hikers due to the a corrections center which is oddly placed next to the Sierra Conservation Center on the Tuolumne County side of E15.


E15 is one of the better Signed County Routes in terms of signage.  While some of the shields are old they are generally well placed in a logical enough way to convey to the traveler they are on E15 which can be a rarity at times among the Signed County Routes.


E15 on O'Brynes Ferry Road descends to the Tulloch Reservoir which serves as the Calaveras County Line.  The Tulloch Reservoir impounded a small section of the Stanislaus River which once crossed by O'Bryne's Ferry in 1958 when Tulloch Dam was completed.  The O'Byrne's Ferry first opened as a cable ferry crossing of the Stanislaus River in 1852.  The first O'Byrne's Ferry Bridge opened in 1852 and was replaced numerous times in the ensuing decades due to flooding on the Stanislaus River.  The article below contains a picture of the 1862 Union Covered Bridge which used to occupy the site.

calaverashistory.org on O'Bryne's Ferry and the Central Ferry

E15 in Calaveras County ascends a small bluff from the Tulloch Reservoir on O'Brynes Ferry Road.  Interestingly the Postmile paddles in Calveras County resemble those from Caltrans which makes E15 on O'Byrnes Ferry Road appear as it on "CA 48" at casual glance.


Near the north terminus E15 enters Copperopolis on Main Street.  Copperopolis was founded in 1860 and was the second major copper strike in Calaveras County after Telegraph City to the west.  During the Civil War the copper mines in Copperopolis closed but they reopened in the 1880s ensuring the community survived.  Copperopolis largely has been replaced by a modern and in my opinion garish looking facade of a Gold Rush era town to the west along CA 4 but there are a couple authentic buildings located on E15.  The Copperopolis Armory dates back to 1864 and saw use in during the Civil War.  Reed's Store dates back to 1861 and was once the headquarters of the Union Mining Company in 1906.





E15 ends at CA 4 in Main Street in Copperopolis.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway

The communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway can all be found along US Route 101 within southern Humboldt County.  The former surface alignment of US Route 101 in Garberville and Redway once crossed the Garberville Bluffs along what is now Redwood Drive via a corridor constructed as part of the Redwood Highway during the 1910s.  US Route 101 through Benbow, Garberville and Redway was modernized by 1935.  US Route 101 would eventually be upgraded to freeway standards in Benbow, Garberville and Redway by extension of the Redwood Freeway during 1966-68.  As the cover photo the original grade of US Route 101 and the Redwood Highway can be seen at the Garberville Bluffs during 1934.  US Route 101 can be seen in the communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Humboldt County .   The history of US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway Benbow, Garberville and Redway lie on the banks of the South Fork Eel River of southern Humboldt County.  D

Patterson Pass Road

Recently on a day trip to the San Francisco Bay Area I traversed the Diablo Range eastbound via Patterson Pass Road. Patterson Pass Road is an approximately 13 mile roadway which starts at Mines Road in Livermore of Alameda County.  Patterson Pass Road eastward ascends over the approximately 1,600 foot namesake Patterson Pass into San Joaquin County where it ends at Interstate 580 near Tracy.  Patterson Pass Road has an infamous reputation as being a dangerous roadway due to the lengthy one-lane section and heavy rush-hour commute traffic. Patterson Pass is one of the earliest documented European paths of travel over the Diablo Range as it was explored during the 1775-1776 Spanish Expedition led by Juan Bautista de Anza.  The 1775-1776 Spanish expedition charted out much of San Francisco Bay which led to the founding of the Presidio of San Francisco and Mission San Francisco de Asis.  Patterson Pass Road between Cross Road east to Midway Road is part of the Juan Bautista de Anza

Highways in and around Old Sacramento; US 40, US 99W, CA 16, CA 24, CA 70, CA 99, CA 275, and more

This past weekend I was visiting the City of Sacramento for a wedding.  That being the case I decided to head out on a morning run through Old Sacramento, Jibboom Street Bridge, I Street Bridge, Tower Bridge, and path of US Route 40/US Route 99W towards the California State Capitol.  My goal was to retrace the paths of the various highways that once traversed the Old Sacramento area. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page The old highway alignments of Sacramento The City of Sacramento lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and American River in Sacramento Valley.  Sacramento Valley was discovered by Spanish Explorer Gabriel Moraga in 1808.  Moraga referred to the fertile Sacramento Valley akin to a "Blessed Sacrament."  By 1839 John Sutter Sr. settled in Mexican held