Skip to main content

Triangle Road (Mariposa County)

By

Triangle Road is an eleven-and-a-half-mile rural highway located in Sierra Nevada range of Mariposa County.  The corridor begins at California State Route 140 near the community of Midpines and serves as a cutoff of Mariposa which connects south to California State Route 49.  The corridor was north of Darrah was developed in 1912 in to serve as a fire road and was circa 1936-1937.  Pictured is the blog cover is the Snow Creek Bridge near the community of Darrah. 




Part 1; the history of Triangle Road

The development of early Triangle Road is tied to the history of rural community of Darrah near Snow Creek and Buckingham Mountain.  The community was based around the landholdings of Richard Darrah which began to see substantial growth in the 1870s.  The Snow Creek School (later Mount Buckingham School) would open in 1878, and the community would obtain Post Office Service in 1880. 

Triangle Road can be seen complete north from the Chowchilla School (where the road now meets California State Route 49) to Darrah on the 1897 United States Geological Survey of Yosemite.  Jerseydale Road can be seen branching north of Darrah towards said namesake community.  


The surveying and construction of Triangle Road north of Darrah was conducted during 1912 by a company out of Bootjack.  The purpose of the corridor was to serve as a fire road which would shield the densely developed areas of Mariposa County.  

The extension of Triangle Road northwest to California State Route 140 near Midpines was surveyed in January 1936.  Mariposa acquired the necessary right of way during February 1936 and construction would break ground during the following November.  The corridor was developed as a Civilian Conservation Corps project out of Camp Bootjack and included a new bridge over Snow Creek.  The extension was announced as having an anticipated completion by November 1937. 

Source livingnewdeal.org

The completed extension of Triangle Road north of Darrah appears on the 1947 United States Geological Survey map of El Portal.   The extension is shown to run south of Buckingham Mountain.




Part 2; a drive on Triangle Road

Southbound Triangle Road can be accessed from California State Route 140 near Midpines. 



Triangle Road ascends to a ridge which overlooks the Bootjack area.  







Triangle Road descends to the Snow Creek Bridge with Buckingham Mountain looming overhead.  The Arc Deco design of the Snow Creek Bridge easily places it to the era of Civilian Conservation Corps construction.  















Triangle Road passes through the community of Darrah and intersects the namesake Darrah Road.  


Triangle Road continues south from Darrah and terminates at California State Route 49.  















Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Former US Route 101 and California State Route 41 through Paso Robles

By
Paso Robles is a city located on the Salinas River of San Luis Obispo County, California.  As originally configured the surface alignments of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 converged in downtown Paso Robles.  US Route 101 originally was aligned through Paso Robles via Spring Street.  California State Route 41 entered the City of Paso Robles via Union Road and 13th Street where it intersected US Route 101 at Spring Street.  US Route 101 and California State Route 41 departed Paso Robles southbound via a multiplex which split near Templeton.   Pictured above is the cover of the September/October 1957 California Highways & Public Works which features construction of the Paso Robles Bypass.  Pictured below is the 1935 Division of Highways Map of San Luis Obispo County which depicts US Route 101 and California State Route 41 intersecting in downtown Paso Robles.   Part 1; the history of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 i...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Tale of Tollhouse Road, western California State Route 168 and failed Piute Pass Highway

By
Western California State Route 168 is entirely located in Fresno County and is linked historically to the Tollhouse Road corridor.   Tollhouse Road is one of the oldest highways in the Sierra Nevada range of Fresno County. The corridor presently begins in at Clovis Avenue in downtown Clovis and extends northeast to Huntington Lake. In 1866 the Woods Brothers established mining claims on Pine Ridge. In 1867 Fresno County would grant the brothers a toll franchise to construct a roadway to the desirable logging areas atop Pine Ridge and near Dinkey Creek. The Woods would establish a tollhouse at the start of their franchise road and lumber mill. The lumber mill attracted settlers which led to the establishment of the mountain town of Tollhouse. Fresno County would purchase the Tollhouse Road in 1878 and make it a public highway. The county would remove the tolls and incorporate the corridor into the existing county road network. Prior to the establishment of Clovis in 1...
Post a Comment
Read more

The James Dean Memorial Junction interchange (California State Routes 41 and 46)

By
The James Dean Memorial Junction interchange structure opened during June 2025 as a grade separation between California State Routes 41 and 46 in Cholame Valley.  This interchange structure is located a short distance eastward from the infamous 1955 crash site which took the life of actor and racecar driver James Dean.  The crash site was once a Y-junction between US Route 466 and California State Route 41 which was reconfigured in 1959.  This blog will examine the history of the highway junction in Cholame Valley from stage route times through the US Route 466-era and into construction period of the current interchange. Part 1; the history of James Dean Memorial Junction James Dean Memorial Junction is located in Cholame Valley of eastern San Luis Obispo County.  Long before the existence of the State Highway System this valley has served as the junction for the highways crossing Polonio Pass and Cottonwood Pass in the Temblor Range.  The so-called Lemoore Road...
Post a Comment
Read more