Skip to main content

Stony Creek Road (Amador County)

By

Stony Creek Road is an approximately 9.6-mile rural highway located in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Amador County, California.  Presently the highway begins at Buena Vista Road near the Pardee Reservoir and terminates in Jackson at Argonaut Lane.  During the Gold Rush era Stony Creek Road connected Jackson to Westmoreland's Suspension Bridge at the Mokelumne River in the community of Lancha Plana.  




Part 1; the history of Stony Creek Road

Stony Creek Road was originally developed as a stage road between Jackson and Lancha Plana at the Mokelumne River.  Lancha Plana had been settled by Mexican Miners during 1848 and had continuous Post Office service from 1859-1919.

Lancha Plana was located at the crossroads of stage routes to Jenny Lind and Jackson. In 1856 Westmoreland's Suspension Bridge was constructed at the Mokelumne River to facilitate easier crossings between Amador County and Calaveras County.

Westmoreland's Suspension Bridge is referenced in the September 1950 California Highways & Public Works as being 300 feet long and being built to a standard which withstood the infamous floods of 1862. The article stub notes the structure was then in a state of abandonment with the cables rusted and timber deck lost to age.



What is now Stony Creek Road can be seen connecting Lancha Plana to Jackson on the 1882 Bancroft's map of California.  


Lancha Plana and the site of Westmoreland's Suspension Bridge can be seen on the 1889 United States Geological Map of Jackson.  Westmoreland's Suspension Bridge was located immediately west of modern Buena Vista Road.  


Stony Creek Road at Carson Creek would be modified due to construction of the Pardee Reservoir.  The East Bay Municipal Utility District began construction of Pardee Dam during July 1927.  Pardee Dam as noted above is a 358-foot-high concrete structure which impounds the Mokelumne River to form the Pardee Reservoir.  Pardee Dam was named in honor of George Pardee who was once governor of California, mayor of Oakland and president of the East Bay Municipal Utility District.  Pardee Dam was completed by 1929 and to hydroelectric power operations on June 23.  Pardee Dam included a new roadway which crossed the top of the dam structure.  The completed Pardee Dam can be seen below in the Calaveras County Historical Society photo. 


The 1935 Division of Highways Map of Amador County is one of the last to display Lancha Plana and the site of Westmoreland's Suspension Bridge in substantial detail.  Westmoreland's Bridge can be seen spanning the Mokelumne River and connecting Buena Vista Road with Calaveras County.  Stony Creek Road is shown as a major county highway shown branching west directly through Lancha Plana into Calaveras County towards Camanche.  It isn't clear when Westmoreland's Suspension Bridge was abandoned.  


The remaining balance of Stony Creek Road is shown on the same map as a minor county highway from Township 5 North, Range 10 East near the Pardee Reservoir northeast to Jackson.  


The site of Lancha Plana and Westmoreland's Suspension Bridge were flooded when the Camanche Reservoir began to form in 1963.  Camanche Dam would be completed during 1964 by the East Bay Municipal Utilities District.  It isn't fully clear if any remains of the structure remain underneath the waters of the Camanche Reservoir.  Stony Creek Road was cut back to modern Buena Vista Road following the completion of the Camanche Reservoir.



Part 2; a drive on Stony Creek Road

Pardee Dam Road has a northern terminus at Stony Creek Road.  The beginning of modern Stony Creek Road itself is located about a half mile to the west at Buena Vista Road.  


From Pardee Dam Road the corridor of Stony Creek Road begins a northeasterly trek towards Jackson.  The highway crosses over small one-lane dam enclosing the Pardee Reservoir at Carson Creek.



Stony Creek Road at Carson Creek as taken by Josh Schmid. 


Stony Creek Road continues northeast from the Pardee Reservoir and terminates in Jackson at Argonaut Lane.  The corridor crosses over Jackson Creek and rolls through the terrain of the Sierra Nevada foothills.  The below photos were taken by Josh Schmid during the Spring of 2025. 





Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

By
After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...
4 comments
Read more

Finding the Pre-Emption Road of New York State

By
  The Pre-Emption Road (or rather a series of roads named Pre-Emption Road) follows a survey line called the Pre-Emption Line, drawn in the early days of the United States. The story begins with Massachusetts and New York having competing land claims to modern day Western New York State that have their roots in colonial charters granted by the British. After the Revolutionary War ended, this land became the frontier of the nation and its settlement became a priority for the new American government. During this era, there were a lot of competing land claims that needed to be settled. It was no different with the land claims between New York State and Massachusetts. On November 30, 1786, Massachusetts and New York sent representatives to Hartford, Connecticut to resolve their competing land claims. In less than three weeks, the representatives had reached a compromise. Massachusetts would receive pre-emption rights, meaning the right to sell the land after the Indian title ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more