Skip to main content

Peterson Road (Fresno County)

By

Peterson Road is an approximately six-mile rural highway in the Pineridge area of Fresno County.  The highway is one of the oldest in the Pineridge area having been constructed in the late 1860s to service the site of Peterson Mill.  This corridor was heavily impacted by the 2020 Creek Fire which caused massive amounts of property damage in the Pineridge area.  As presently configured Peterson Road begins at Tollhouse Road (former California State Route 168) and extends east to Big Creek Road (Sierra National Forest Route 9).




Part 1; the history of Peterson Road

Peterson Road is named after the Peterson Mill which located at eastern end of the roadway in the Pineridge area.  The road to Peterson Mill began at the Tollhouse Road and extended approximately six miles east to the mill site near Rush Creek.  The mill can be seen below in operation during the late 1880s (courtesy Eastern Fresno County Historical Society). 


Peterson Road can be seen branching east of Tollhouse Road on the 1892 Thompson Atlas of Fresno County in Range 24 East, Township 10 South.  The Peterson Mill site is shown to be then on the property of Smith & McCardle. 


According to 1941 era book titled A Sawmill History of Sierra National Forest (Page 34) what became Peterson Mill was erected in 1867 by Humphrey & Mock who hauled construction materials up the partially completed Tollhouse Road.  The Tollhouse Road corridor itself would not be fully extended to Pineridge until 1868.  The initial mill operated until 1872 and appears to have been sold off several times.  


Peterson Mill can be seen at the eastern terminus of Peterson Road on the 1904 United States Geological Survey map of Kaiser Pass.  The mill is shown to be located at a flat approximately 4,500 feet above sea level.  The mill is shown to be also connected to the Cressman's General Store (which opened in 1904) at Pineridge via what is now Cressman Road.  


The logging road east of Peterson Mill connected to the site of Bretz Mill.  This corridor was extended down Big Creek to Trimmer Springs Road in 1936 following completion of a highway bridge.  This corridor is now known as Big Creek Road and Sierra National Forest Route 9.  Peterson Road remains completely maintained by Fresno County in modern times despite largely being located in National Forest lands.

The Peterson Road corridor was heavily impacted by the 2020 Creek Fire.  Said fire began on September 4th and would burn approximately 589 square miles before being declared fully contained by December 24th.  A large percentage of homes along Peterson Road burned are in the process of being rebuilt. 



Part 2; a drive on Peterson Road

Westbound Peterson Road begins at the terminus of Big Creek Road.  The Big Creek Road terminus is located at Y-junction which begins both Peterson Road and Cressman Road.  


The entirety of Peterson Road is a single lane of asphalt.  The roadway emerges from the thick forest and overlooks Burrough Valley. 











After about two miles Peterson Road begins to enter residential areas.  Traffic is advised the road ahead consists of four miles of curves.  












Peterson Road passes through residential properties impacted by the Creek Fire and terminates at Tollhouse Road.  Tollhouse Road would serve as California State Route 168 from August 1934 until the mid-1970s.  





















Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crescent City Connection (New Orleans, LA)

By
The Crescent City Connection is a massive dual-span steel truss bridge that spans the lower Mississippi River at downtown New Orleans, about 95 river miles upstream from the mouth of the great river at the Head of Passes Light. If counted as a single bi-directional highway bridge, the parallel spans combine to form the single busiest bridge on the Mississippi River and its importance as a linchpin in the region’s transportation network cannot be overstated. While there have been various schemes over the years to construct bridges downriver from Algiers Point, this bridge has been the southernmost bridge on the Mississippi River since its initial construction in the 1950s. The years immediately following the end of World War II were a transformational period in the history of New Orleans. Already one of the great economic and cultural centers of the American Deep South, it was recognized at this time that major changes and improvements to the city’s transportation infrastructure would b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old US Route 99 through Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch

By
This summer I had a look into the alignment history of US Route 99 through the Tulare County communities of Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch.  While this slab below might seem like much it is one of the few remaining reminders of how US Route 99 was during the 1920s in Tulare County. 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 Part 1; the history of US Route 99 in Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch Tipton and Tulare were both founded in 1872 as sidings of the Southern Pacific Railroad.  The Southern Pacific Railroad laid the groundwork for development of southern San Joaquin Valley.  Previous to the Southern Pacific Railroad travel via wagon or foot in Central California tended to avoid San Joaquin Valley in favor of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road.  The Stockton Los Ange...
Post a Comment
Read more

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