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Mount Gaines Road

Mount Gaines Road is located in the Sierra Nevada foothills near Hornitos in Mariposa County.  The origin of Mount Gaines Road is at Bear Valley Road (County Route J16) and the corridor extends southward 4.3 miles to Hornitos Road.  The entirety of Mount Gaines Road is comprised of a dirt surface and crosses El Dorado Creek via a normally dry ford.   Mount Gaines Road is named after the Mount Gaines Mine which was struck in 1868.  The Mount Gaines Mine is one of the last remaining claims which was tied to the ghost town of Quartzburg.  Quartzburg was founded around quartz-based mining claims in 1847 was an active community until the 1860s.  The nearby city of Hornitos would attract most of the residents from Quartzburg along with much of the mining business.  The Mount Gaines Mine for a time was defunct and reopened as a wholesale quarry in 2003.   Part 1; the history of Mount Gaines Road Mount Gaines Road is named after the Mount Gaines...
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Nevada State Route 715

Nevada State Route 715 rural highway located west of Fallon in Churchill County.  Nevada State Route 715 is 2.135 miles and follows McLean Road from US Route 50 southeast to Nevada State Route 117.  Functionally Nevada State Route 715 serves as a bypass of downtown Fallon between US Routes 50 and 95.  Historically McLane Road served the California Trail stage community of Ragtown and was the location of an early bridge over the Carson River (now the Old Carson River).  The current bridge carrying McLean Road over the Old Carson River was constructed in 1957.  McLean Road was commissioned as Nevada State Route 715 in 1976 amid the larger state highway system renumbering.   Part 1; the history of Nevada State Route 715 Nevada State Route 715 follows McLean Road from US Route 50 southeast 2.135 miles over the Carson River to Nevada State Route 117 (Sheckler Road).  Functionally the roadway acts as a bypass of downtown Fallon as it can be used as a cu...

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...