Willms Road is an approximately 7.3-mile rural highway located in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Stanislaus County. The highway is named for Willms Ranch which was plotted along the stage road to Knights Ferry in 1852. The corridor originally had a northern terminus which lined up with the 1864-era Knights Ferry Covered Bridge at the Stanislaus River. Since 1981 the structure has been closed to automotive traffic and new alignment became part of Sonora Road. Part 1; the history of Willms Road What is now Willms Road was part of a larger stage road which once connected La Grange directly to the Knights Ferry Covered Bridge at the Stanislaus River. The La Grange-Knights Ferry Road is shown heading directly northwest of La Grange directly to Knights Ferry on the 1882 Bancroft's Map of California . West of Knights Ferry the road is shown continuing to a terminus at Farmington. This corridor has taken the modern names of Cooperstown Road, Willms Road...
Cooperstown Road is a nine-mile rural and mostly unsurfaced highway located in eastern Stanislaus County. Originally a component of the La Grange-Knights Ferry Stage Road the highway is named after the ghost town of Cooperstown. Cooperstown was one of the original sidings of the Sierra Railway constructed in 1897. Cooperstown Road despite being mostly unsurfaced is well maintained and easy to access for low clearance vehicles. The corridor features numerous bridges of varying vintages and numerous artifacts of the Sierra Railway (now Sierra Railroad). Part 1; the history of Cooperstown Road What is now Cooperstown Road was part of a larger stage road which once connected La Grange directly to the Knights Ferry Covered Bridge at the Stanislaus River. The La Grange-Knights Ferry Road is shown heading directly northwest of La Grange directly to Knights Ferry on the 1882 Bancroft's Map of California . West of Knights Ferry the road is shown continui...