Bass Lake lies within Crane Valley which is primarily fed by Slide Creek and North Fork Willow Creek. During 1854 a lumber mill was set up at Crane Valley which firmly entrenched it as a hotbed of the logging industry. Crane Valley was accessible via a spur of the Millerton-Fresno Flats Stage Road known as the Crane Valley Road. The Crane Valley Road was firmly developed and in frequent use by the 1860s.
The Crane Valley Reservoir (now Bass Lake) was constructed in 1901 as a San Joaquin Electric Company. The initial Bass Lake Reservoir was not deep enough to inundate the roadway through Crane Valley. Bass Lake Dam would be expanded during 1905 and 1910. These expansions forced to the roadway in Crane Valley uphill to the location presently occupied by modern Madera County Road 222. This blog will explore the history of the highway corridor through Crane Valley.
The Crane Valley Road can be seen as it was prior to the creation of Bass Lake below on the 1882 Bancroft's Map of California.
Part 1; the history of the Crane Valley Road
Madera County Road 222 at Bass Lake is an evolution of the Crane Valley Road which was a spur of the larger 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 mills in Crane Valley were supplied by the waters of what was then called the North Fork San Joaquin River. The lower 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 Crane Valley Road is shown serving travel to the mills of Crane Valley and the North Fork San Joaquin River.
As the automotive era in the twentieth century began the segments of the Fresno-Fresno Flats Road were assigned formal names. The Crane Valley Road was comprised of modern Road 426 east of Road 223, Road 222 and 221 to the North Fork Road (now Road 200).
The San Joaquin Electric Company would construct Crane Valley Dam in 1901 which partially flooded Crane Valley. The reservoir was initially named after Crane Valley itself but would be later come be to be known as Bass Lake. The dam was raised in 1905 and 1910 to a height of 145 feet. The heightening expanded the catchment range of Bass Lake which required the relocation of the Crane Valley Road uphill west of the reservoir.
Crane Valley Road can be seen in detail on the 1912 United States Geological Survey Map of Mariposa.
During 1921 the Sugar Pine Lumber Company would incorporate. The company could not secure water rights for a viable logging flume (see Part 2) which led to the incorporation of the Minarets & Western Railway. The standard gauge line originated at the company town of Pinedale near Fresno and extended 53 miles into the Sierra Nevada range to the top of Crane Valley Dam. Another company town called Wishon was established west of the dam structure for workers. A line operated a spur to Clovis which was known as the "Clovis Branch."
The Minarets & Western Railway would begin operations in 1922. The line atop Crane Valley Dam connected to another line which ran to Central Camp near the vicinity of Shuteye Peak. Sugar Pine Lumber Company locomotive #5 can be seen atop Crane Valley Dam in a 1926 era public domain photo.
By 1933 the Sugar Pine Lumber Company went bankrupt which saw the shuttering of the Minarets & Western Railway. Scrapping operations began in 1936 and the rails were removed back to Friant by 1939. Bass Lake, Crane Valley Road and the Minarets & Western Railway can all be seen on the 1935 Division of Highways map of Madera County. Crane Valley Road is shown realigned from Teaford Saddle Road (now Road 223) to a north terminus at North Shore Road (now Road 432). Crane Valley Road south of North Shore Road to North Fork Road is shown as a major county highway.
During the middle of the twentieth century the road names in Madera County were removed in favor of a numbering system. Crane Valley Road from Madera County Road 432 (formerly North Shore Road) south to Road 200 (formerly North Fork Road) was assigned as Roads 222 and Road 221. Road 222 as a designation continued south through the community of North Fork to the Fresno County line at Kerckhoff Lake.
Bass Lake after the logging era would become a popular recreation locale within Sierra National Forest. Portions of the western shore of the reservoir have been designated as part of the Forest Service Bass Lake Recreational Area. Madera County Road 222 would be extended slightly north of Slide Creek when Road 274 was constructed during the 1980s as a bypass of the Bass Lake census designated community.
Part 2; a drive along Madera County Road 222 on the western shore of Bass Lake
Southbound Madera County Road 222 begins at Road 274 near Slide Creek.
Southbound Road 222 makes a right-hand turn approaching Road 432.
Southbound Road 222 follows the shoreline of Bass Lake and intersects the original Crane Valley Road alignment at Road 426 near The Forks Resort. Said resort was established in 1926 as a private business. The current building was constructed in 1950 following a fire the previous year.
Traffic following southbound Road 222 is advised can be used to access Wishon and North Fork.
Road 222 continues south along Bass Lake and approaches Crane Valley Dam. Road 229A can be used to access a parking lot at the top of Crane Valley Dam. The site of Wishon is located west of Road 222 and now is mostly devoid of structures.
Road 222 continues south of Bass Lake and crosses under the Bass Lake Flume. Said flume was constructed in 1910 and was initially known as "Brown's Creek Ditch Flume." The flume was rebuilt by 1921 and still carries water from the reservoir.
South of the flume Road 222 makes a left hand turn towards North Fork via what was once known as Manzanita Lake Road. The Crane Valley Road would have continued south on what is now Road 221 towards North Fork Road. Fresno and Madera are used as control points accessible by following Road 221.
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