Skip to main content

Madera County Road 426

By


Road 426 is an approximately seven-mile-long rural highway corridor which begins at Road 222 on the shore of Bass Lake and terminates at California State Route 41 in Oakhurst. The corridor was developed during the 1850s during the emergence of Fresno Flats (now Oakhurst) and lumber milling at Crane Valley (now Bass Lake). The section west of Road 223 and Teaford Saddle was part of the Millerton-Fresno Flats Road whereas the segment east was part of the Crane Valley Road.




Part 1; the history of Madera County Road 426

Madera County Road 426 was a segment of what was the Millerton-Fresno Flats Road.  Fresno Flats (now Oakhurst) was settled in 1858 following the Mariposa War along the Fresno River.  The community was originally centered around ranching and servicing the nearby mill operations in Crane Valley.  The stage road eventually bypassed Millerton when the Fresno County seat was moved to Fresno in 1874.

The Fresno-Fresno Flats Road can be seen on the 1882 Bancroft's Map of California. The road can be seen crossing Teaford Saddle north of Fine Gold and entering Fresno Flat. An eastern fork in the road is shown serving travel to the mills of Crane Valley and the North Fork San Joaquin River (now North Fork Willow Creek).


As the automotive era in the twentieth century began the segments of the Fresno-Fresno Flats Road were assigned names.  The entire corridor was named as a component of "Crane Valley Road" which also included modern Road 222 and Road 221 from the Forks Resort south to Road 200. 

Crane Valley Road can be seen in detail on the 1912 United States Geological Survey Map of Mariposa.


During the mid-twentieth century the road names of Madera County were dropped in favor of a numbering system.  Crane Valley Road was subsequently reassigned as Roads 426, 222 and 221.  Road 426 appears on the 1953 United States Geological Survey Map of Bass Lake.




Part 2; a drive on Madera County Road 426

Northbound Madera County Road 223 ends at a fork in Madera County Road 426.  Signage indicates Bass Lake is one mile to the east whereas Oakhurst is six miles to the west. 


Eastbound Road 426 descends from Road 223 and Teaford Saddle to Road 222 on the shore of Bass Lake near the Forks Resort.  



Westbound Road 426 descends gradually from Road 223 and enters Oakhurst. 

































Road 426 passes through Oakhurst and crosses the Fresno River.  West of the river the highway terminates at California State Route 41.  




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The alignment history of US Route 50 in Dayton, Nevada

By
Dayton is located in Lyon County and is the second oldest community in Nevada having been founded near mining claims in Gold Canyon circa 1850.  The community of Dayton historically has been part of the California Trail, Pony Express and Pioneer Route of the Lincoln Highway.  Since November 1926 the community has been served by US Route 50.  Originally US Route 50 passed through Dayton along what is now Old US Route 50, Pike Street, Main Street, River Street and Daney Canyon.  Modernization of US Route 50 would begin during the early 1930s when Daney Canyon was bypassed and would continue into the 1940s Federal Aid Program era when the downtown bypass was developed.  This blog will serve as history of US Route 50 in Dayton and exploration of the original alignment in the community.   US Route 50 can be seen below bypassing downtown Dayton on the 1956 United States Geological Survey map. Part 1; the history of US Route 50 in Dayton Dayton is the second ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Indian Gulch Extension and the Indian Gulch ghost town site

By
Indian Gulch Extension is an approximately 6-mile-long rural highway corridor in the Sierra Nevada foothills of western Mariposa County.  Indian Gulch Extension begins at Indian Gulch Road near the namesake ghost town of Indian Gulch.  From the ghost town site Indian Gulch Extension extends southwesterly to the Merced County line where it becomes Waltz Road.   The former Gold Rush era community of Indian Gulch which was settled near Santa Cruz Mountain in 1849 and had standing structures until the early 1970s.  What is now Indian Gulch Extension was approved for construction by the Mariposa County Commissioners in 1862.  The purpose of the corridor was to provide Indian Gulch with a direct connection westward with the greater Stockton-Los Angeles Road.  The Stockton-Los Angeles Road would go onto define much of the Mariposa County and Merced County line.  Part 1; the history of Indian Gulch and Indian Gulch Extension Indian Gulch Road is named aft...
Post a Comment
Read more

West Canyon Road (Snow Canyon State Park)

By
West Canyon Road is an approximately four-mile dirt service road located in Snow Canyon State Park.  West Canyon Road follows Snow Canyon from the Whiptail Trail to the northern State Park boundary and intersects numerous trailheads.   West Canyon Road was the original main road through Snow Canyon after it was designated as a Utah State Park in 1957 and opened to the public in 1962. Part 1; the history of West Canyon Road Snow Canyon is located in the Red Mountains north of the city of Ivins in Washington County, Utah.  Snow Canyon is one of many sandstone canyons located in the Red Mountains.  Part of the extinct Santa Clara Volcano punctured the Red Mountains via lava tubes. From approximately the year 200 to 1,250 the area around Snow Canyon was inhabited by the Ancestral Puebloans.  Mormon pioneers established Santa Clara south of Snow Canyon in 1854.  Local legend has it that the settlers discovered Snow Canyon in the 1850s while searching for m...
Post a Comment
Read more