Brown Material Road

Crappy times got you down? Feel like the news is full of nothing but brown material? Tired of having a giant turd bomb of bad news dropping onto your social media feed? If so, why take a detour onto San Joaquin Valley's infamous Brown Material Road.

Brown Material Road is a small 5 mile rural road that connects California State Route 46 southwest to California State Route 33. If you're worried about a constant stream of fecal oriented puns through this blog fear not, they stop here. In fact I would imagine that D.B. Kitchen, W. Dick, and Sam Woodcock of Clallam County, Washington would be proud that crude jokes go no further.

So how did Brown Material Road get it's unfortunate name? The answer is surprisingly mundane and was elaborated up by Bakersfield.com (the city that brought us the intersection of Inyo/Butte ironically) back in 2015. The name "Brown Material" was taken from oilfield supply business known as Brown Material Supply Company which used to be located at the intersection of Brown Material Road and US Route 466 (currently CA 46). Brown Material Road has been around for a long time as it can be seen on the 1935 California Division of Highways Map of Kern County.

Brown Material Road is surprisingly well signed as it's full name can be observed from CA 46 eastbound.

Brown Material Road even has a guide sign on CA 33 northbound.

Interestingly Brown Material Road does have street blades but they tend to be abbreviated to "Brown Mat." Brown Mat sounds something like something you'd see in an early 1980s residential bathroom.

Comments

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

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

Old Stage Road in Tulare County and Kern County

Old Stage Road is an approximately 30-mile rural highway comprised of Tulare County Mountain Road 1, Kern County Mountain Road 447 and Tulare County Mountain Road 109. Old Stage originates at Jack Ranch Road near Posey and ends at the outskirts of Porterville at Deer Creek. Old Stage Road notably is comprised of two 19th Century stage routes. From White Mountain Road northwest to Fountain Springs, Old Stage Road overlays Thomas Baker's 1860s era stage road to Linn Valley (now Glennville) and the Kern River Gold Rush Claims. From Fountain Springs to Deer Creek, Old Stage Road is comprised of the 1853 Stockton-Los Angeles Road. Featured as the blog cover is the northward descent on Old Stage Road along Arrastre Creek to the town site of White River. What became White River was settled along a spur of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road as "Dog Town" when gold was discovered nearby. By 1856 the community had been renamed Tailholt. A stage road from Tailholt to Linn Valley w