The Arrowhead Trail and early US Route 91 in Goodsprings (Nevada State Route 161)

Nevada State Route 161 is rural highway located in southern Clark County.  This highway begins at Interstate 15 in Jean and follows Goodsprings Road and Spring Street westward 7.277 miles to Esmeralda Street in Goodsprings.  

Goodsprings Road was part of the Silver Lake Cutoff which was adopted as the then new alignment of the Arrowhead Trail in 1920.  When the Silver Lake Cutoff was commissioned, it saved approximately 90 miles of travel through the Mojave Desert between Las Vegas and Barstow.  Originally the Arrowhead Trail passed through Searchlight south of Las Vegas and entered California near Bannock.  The Silver Lake Cutoff followed Las Vegas Boulevard south to Jean and turned westward towards Goodsprings.  Within Goodsprings the Arrowhead Trail passed through the community via Spring Street, Esmerald Street, Reimann Road and Columbia Mill Road.  From Goodsprings the Silver Lake Cutoff crossed Columbia Pass via Sandy Valley Road and entered California along Kingston Road.  

When Nevada State Route 6 was commissioned by legislative action in 1919 it had a planned terminus at the California state line south of Jean in Ivanpah Valley.  For a time, the Silver Lake Cutoff would become the presumptive alignment of Nevada State Route 6 given there was no State Highway connection in Nevada or California in Ivanpah Valley.  US Route 91 was commissioned in November 1926 and initially followed the Arrowhead Trail along the Silver Lake Cutoff.  Nevada would complete Nevada State Route 6 to Ivanpah Valley in 1931 and was followed by California completing Legislative Route Number 31 in 1932.  Following the completion of the modernized highway corridor US Route 91 would be realigned and the Silver Lake Cutoff would be largely forgotten. 

Goodsprings Road and Kingston Road would be incorporated into Nevada State Route 53 by 1935.  The corridor of Nevada State Route 53 was part of Federal Aid Program 532.  The Federal Aid corridor was added to improve access to the mines of the Yellow Pine Mining District.  

Nevada State Route 53 west of Goodsprings was never fully paved over Wilson Pass.  When the 1976 Nevada State Highway renumbering occurred only Goodsprings Road was retained by the Nevada Department of Highways.  Since 1976 Goodsprings Road has been assigned as Nevada State Route 161.  

The blog photo cover is the 1924 Rand McNally Auto Trail map which displays the Arrowhead Trail passing through Goodsprings and climbing Columbia Pass to the California state line. 

Part 1; the evolution of Goodsprings Road from the Arrow Trail, US Route 91 to modern Nevada State Route 161

Modern Nevada State Route 161 connects the communities of Jean and Goodsprings via Goodsprings Road.  This seemingly minor highway corridor was once a component of one of the most important Auto Trails in the western United States. 

Goodsprings is located near a spring which was originally part of an Anasazi and Paiute pack route across the Mojave Desert.  The spring was documented in a voyage along the Old Spanish Trail between Santa Fe and Los Angeles in 1830.   Antonio Armijo, 60 men and 100 mules camped at the site on January 11, 1830.  Much of the Old Spanish Trail in the Mojave Desert would later become part of the Mormon Road. 

The Mormon Road was scouted by a party led by Jefferson Hunt which was searching for a supply route from Salt Lake City to Southern California through 1847-1848.  The Mormon Road ultimately utilized much of the established trade routes of the Old Spanish Trail through the Mojave Desert which took it past the future site of Goodsprings.  The Mormon Road was later reorganized and improved into the Los Angeles-Salt Lake Road by 1855 which was capable of facilitating wagon travel.

The spring along the Los Angeles-Salt Lake Road would be named as "Good's Spring" by the 1860s.  The name was reference to rancher Joseph Good who frequented the area with his cattle.  Numerous small mining claims around Good's Spring would begin to develop through the 1860s and 1870s. 

The Los Angeles-Sale Lake Road can be seen passing through Good's Spring (shown as Mountain Springs) on the 1873 Bancroft's Map of California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona.

The Yellow Pine Mountain District would be formally created in 1882 amid the mining boom around Good's Spring.  The first permanent structure in the area was built in 1886.  In 1893 the Keystone gold deposit was discovered and brought an influx of miners to the area which led to Good's Springs becoming a permanently inhabited place.  On April 6, 1899, the Post Office service was established, and the town was renamed as "Goodsprings." 

Jean is one of the original sidings of the Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad.  Said line was constructed across the Mojave Desert between 1903-1905.  The siding at the junction towards Goodsprings was originally known as "Goodsprings Junction."  The siding community was renamed as "Jean" on June 28, 1905, by then Postmaster George Arthur Fayle as a reference to his wife.  Jean and Goodsprings would be further connected in 1911 upon the completion of a narrow-gauge railroad line by the Yellow Pine Mining Company.  

The Arrowhead Trail was an Auto Trail which was plotted out in 1915 when promoter and race car driver Charles H. Bigelow drove the entire planned route from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles.  The Arrowhead Trail largely followed the path of the Los Angeles-Salt Lake Road which took it through the Beaver Dam Mountains, Mesquite, Bunkerville, St. Thomas, Valley of Fire and Las Vegas.  South of Las Vegas the Arrowhead Trail would initially diverge from the Los Angeles-Salt Lake Road towards Searchlight and Bannock, California.  From Bannock the Arrowhead Trail would turn westward and run concurrently with the National Old Trails Road to Cajon Pass via Barstow. 

The Arrowhead Trail would ultimately incorporate into the Arrowhead Trails Association during December of 1916 in Los Angeles.  The early Arrowhead Trail between Las Vegas and Barstow can be seen on the 1917 Arrowhead Trail Map.  

Charles H. Bigelow can be seen at what is likely the 1911 Indianapolis 500 behind the wheel of his Mercer race car with his on-board mechanic.  Charles H. Bigelow was born on August 26, 1872, in Kilbourne, Illinois and died on June 8, 1958, at Los Angeles, California.  

The western terminus Goodsprings Road and the town of Goodsprings can be seen below as they were in 1917 (westermininghistory.com photo). 

The Arrowhead Trail and Clark County were both excluded from the initial run of State Highways adopted by the Nevada State Legislature in 1917.  1919 Legislation would add the Arrowhead Trail to the State Highway System as parts of Nevada State Routes 6 and 5.  Nevada State Routes 6 and 5 can be seen described in detail in the 1919-1920 Nevada Department of Highways Biennial. 

Conceptually Nevada State Route 6 was planned to enter California south of Las Vegas by way of the sidings of Jean, Borax and Roach towards Ivanpah Valley.  This planned routing can be seen on the 1919 Nevada Department of Highways map. 

On December 26, 1920, the Los Angeles Times would report that the Arrowhead Trails Association proposed a major realignment south of Las Vegas known as the "Silver Lake Cutoff."  The Silver Lake Cutoff would initially follow Las Vegas Boulevard to Jean, Goodsprings Road to Goodsprings.  Within Goodsprings the Arrowhead Trail followed Spring Street, Esmerald Street, Reimann Road and Columbia Mill Road.  West of the Goodsprings the Silver Lake Cutoff followed what is now Sandy Valley Road over Columbia Pass and Kingston Road to the California state line near Ripley (now Sandy Valley).  The Silver Lake Cutoff within California would branch southward from the Nevada state line via Kingston Road, Winters Pass and Silver Lake towards Daggett.  The cutoff ultimately would save approximately 90 miles of travel through the Mojave Desert. 

Nevada State Route 6 is shown to be rerouted on a temporary alignment from Jean to the California state line via Goodsprings and Ripley via Columbia Pass on the 1922 Nevada Department of Highways map. 

The Arrowhead Trail (18) can be seen aligned along the Silver Lake Cutoff (Nevada State Route 6) south of Las Vegas via Jean, Goodsprings, Columbia Pass and Ripley on the 1924 Rand McNally Auto Trails map of California and Nevada.  The Evergreen National Highway (20) is shown using the original alignment of the Arrowhead Trail south of Las Vegas towards Searchlight on Nevada State Route 5.

1925 California Legislative Chapter 369 would add the Silver Lake Cutoff north of Barstow and Daggett and an extension of Legislative Route Number 31.  The June 1925 California Highways & Public Works reported that the Arrowhead Trail north of Daggett to the Nevada state line was formally under California Division of Highways maintenance.  

The then new alignment of the Arrowhead Trail and Nevada State Route 6 can be seen on the 1925 Rand McNally Junior Map of Nevada.  This map shows proposed US Route 91 following Nevada State Routes 6 and 5 through the state.  The US Route System wouldn't be finalized until November 11, 1926, when it was approved by the Secretary of Agriculture.  Ultimately US Route 91 follow the entirety of Nevada State Route 6 from the California state line near Jean northeast to the California state line near Mesquite.  US Route 91 would initially follow presumptive Nevada State Route 6 through Jean and Goodsprings to the Silver Lake Cutoff at the California state line.  

The July 1926 California Highways & Public Works noted the Silver Lake Cutoff portion of the Arrowhead Trail was assumed as part of Legislative Route Number 31 as an exception to standard Division of Highways practices.  The article noted the Division of Highways typically would only assume maintenance of a modernized roadway once constructed to state standards.  The Silver Lake Cutoff was an exception due to no other direct highway then existing from Barstow/Daggett towards Las Vegas.  Division of Highways maintenance operations began on the Silver Lake Cutoff during November 1925. 

The 1927 Nevada Department of Highways Biennial reported on the status of construction of US Route 91 south of Jean to the California state line at Ivanpah Valley.  The 12.09-mile segment south of Jean was not yet under construction and was pending completion of California's Legislative Route Number 31.

The 1929-1930 Nevada Department of Highways Biennial announced the new alignment of US Route 91/Nevada State Route 6 south of Jean to the California state line was under construction.  The segment was anticipated to be completed by Spring 1931. 

The 1932 Nevada Department of Highways map displays US Route 91/Nevada State Route 6 as being complete south of Jean to the California state line in Ivanpah Valley.  The map displays US Route 91 following an unclear routing over no known road back to the Silver Lake Cutoff.  It is likely at the time that continuation signage for US Route 91 still followed Goodsprings Road and Sandy Valley Road to the California state line.  

This National Map Company sectional appears to depict the state of US Route 91 as it was by early 1932 (David Rumsey indicates 1927 but the map shows no date).  The full Silver Lake Cutoff is shown carrying US Route 91 from Goodsprings south over the California state line towards Daggett.  The constructed portion of Legislative Route Number 31 is shown terminating a short distance from Baker in the vicinity of Halloran Summit.  Nevada State Route 6 is shown terminating at the California state line south of Jean and not yet connecting to another highway segment. 

The April 1932 California Highways & Public Works reported that US Route 91 was under construction between Halloran Summit and Mountain Pass.  The article stub notes after the active project were completed only 21.5 miles of Legislative Route Number 31 were left to modernize.  The Halloran Summit-Mountain Pass segment of US Route 91 was completed in 1932 and functionally were the last piece necessary to provide a link to the Nevada state line in Ivanpah Valley.  It is unclear why no Division of Highways document goes into greater detail regarding the completion of Legislative Route Number 31 to the Nevada state line.  The 1932-1934 Division of Highways Biennium did announce the completion of the segment via a list of contracts. 

The 1933 Nevada Department of Highways map is the first showing US Route 91 overtly following Nevada State Route 6 south of Jean to the California state line in Ivanpah Valley.  The same map displays Goodsprings Road as a major Clark County highway.  

Goodsprings Road was recommissioned as part of Nevada State Route 53 in 1934.  West of Goodsprings Nevada State Roue 53 is shown climbing Wilson Pass along Kingston Road past numerous mines to the California state line.  The designation first appears on the 1935 Nevada Department of Highways map. 

Nevada State Route 53 is displayed in greater detail on the 1937 Nevada Department of Highways map of Clark County.  Nevada State Route 53 is shown originating at US Routes 91 and 466 (466 was approved in 1933) in Jean.  From Jean the state highway is shown following Goodsprings Road and Kingston Road over Wilson Pass at the California state line.  Wilson Pass is shown to have an elevation of 5,023 feet above sea versus the lower Columbia Pass (4,273 feet above sea level) routing along Sandy Valley Road used by the Arrowhead Trail and early US Route 91.  The routing over Wilson Pass is shown as Federal Aid Program 532 which provided direct access to the Chiquita Mine.  

Nevada State Route 53 is displayed in clear detail on the 1956 Shell Highway map of Nevada.  The contrast in Wilson Pass (Kingston Road) versus Columbia Pass (Sandy Valley Road) is easily observed. 

Ultimately much of US Route 91 in Nevada would become multiplexed with Interstate 15.  On April 24, 1974, the Arizona Highway Department petitioned the AASHO in concurrence with California, Nevada and Utah to decommission US Route 91 between Beaver Dam, Arizona and St. George, Utah.  The decommissioning of US Route 91 between Beaver Dam, Arizona and St. George, Utah was considered at the June 1974 AASHO Executive Committee Meeting.   This would ultimately result in US Route 91 being truncated from Baker, California to Brigham City, Utah.  

During July 1976 the wider Nevada State Highway Renumbering took place.  Kingston Road west from Goodsprings to the California state line was dropped from the State Highway System.  Goodsprings Road was retained and renumbered as Nevada State Route 161.  Nevada State Route 161 was designated as originating at Interstate 15 in Jean and extending 7.277 miles on Goodsprings Road to Esmerald Street in Goodsprings. 

Modern Nevada State Route 161 can be seen for the first time on the 1977-1978 Nevada Department of Highways map.  The map suggests Kingston Road may still have been signed as Nevada State Route 53 for a time beyond 1976. 

Part 2; a drive on Nevada State Route 161

Westbound Nevada State Route 161 begins at the Interstate 15 interchange in Jean.  This "terrible" way to begin the highway faces towards the crumbling Terrible's Casino & Hotel grounds.   Said casino opened during December 1987 and was intended to capture gambling interests near the California state line. Terrible's made what was then a temporary closure during the COVID-19 pandemic during March 2020. The closure was made permanent during November 2021, and the property was sold to investors The current owners intend to redevelop the casino site as an industrial park.

Nevada State Route 161 westbound crosses under Interstate 15 and passes by Terrible's Road House.  The Road House is the largest Chevron largest gas station in Nevada with 96 gasoline pumps. 

Nevada State Route 161 west of Interstate 15 is signed as part of the Old Spanish Trail Historic Trail. 

Nevada State Route 161 follows Goodsprings Road west towards Goodsprings Valley.  At the outskirts of Goodsprings the State Highway corridor intersects Sandy Valley Road.  Modern Sandy Valley Road serves as a bypass of Goodsprings. 

Nevada State Route 161 enters Goodsprings, transitions onto Spring Street and passes the Pioneer Saloon.  Said saloon has been in business since 1913.

Nevada State Route 161 terminates at Esmeralda Street in Goodsprings.  Traffic wishing to access the former corridor of Nevada State Route 53 must make a right-hand turn on Esmeralda Street, left on Pacific Avenue, a right on Beacon Street and follow Wilson Pass Road to Kingston Road.  The Arrowhead Trail and early US Route 91 would have turned left and followed Esmerald Street towards Columbia Pass.