Skip to main content

California State Route 120; US Route 6 west to US Route 395

By
Back in 2016 I was returning home from Bishop via Tioga Pass.  Conventional wisdom would have dictated using US Route 395 all the way from Bishop to the Tioga Pass part of CA 120 but I wanted to try something different and took US 6 north to Benton in Mono County.  California State Route 120 has a eastern terminus in Benton which I took westward to US 395.

Interestingly Benton was originally located four miles to the west on CA 120 which is now the site of Benton Hot Springs.  Benton Hot Springs is sometimes referred to as "Old Benton" denoting that it was site of the community.  Apparently mining claims were found near Old Benton in 1862 but it seems the area was used earlier as a checking station for travelers heading to the Californian Gold Country.   One of the buildings in Old Benton shows an establishment date of 1852. 


The first map reference to Old Benton is listed as Bentonville on this 1873 Map of California.

1873 Map of California

By 1883 the Carson and Colorado Railroad would arrive in vicinity of Old Benton to the east where the modern community now lies on US 6.  I'm not sure when the name Benton was shifted to the modern site but it appears to have happened relatively quickly.  This 1883 Map of California shows the Carson and Colorado Railroad bypassing Old Benton to the east.

1883 Map of California 

Old Benton lies at approximately 5,600 feet above sea level in the Mojave Desert.  West of Old Benton CA 120 climbs to an elevation of approximately 8,200 feet above sea level and actually receives enough snow that it closes in the winter.  The only major road crossing before US 395 is at Benton Crossing Road.

Approximately 32 miles of Old Benton is the ghost town site of Mono Mills.


Mono Mills located at approximately 7,300 feet above sea level was founded by the Bodie Railway and Lumber Company in 1880 to service Bodie.  Bodie is located to the north on the opposite side of Mono Lake in the Bodie Hills.   The Bodie & Benton Railroad between Mono Mills and Bodie was completed by 1881, it can be seen on the above map of California from 1883.  As the fortunes of Bodie began to decline it had a direct effect on Mono Mills which was abandoned by 1917.  There is not much left in Mono Mills but a couple trace remains of a sawmill.



Of course the story of Bodie is one of the most well known ghost town tales in the United States.  More details on the subject can be found on my California State Route 270 to Bodie blog.

California State Route 270 to Bodie

The remaining approximately 9 miles of CA 120 west to US 395 are fairly conventional aside from the obvious traces of volcanic rock.  CA 120 has an approximately 5 mile multiplex of US 395 before splitting west towards Tioga Pass and Yosemite National Park.  More information on the Tioga Pass Road can be found on this previous blog entry.

California State Route 120 (Tioga Pass Road)

According to CAhighways.org CA 120 between modern US 395 and US 6 was part of Legislative Route 40 which was adopted in 1933.

CAhighways.org on CA 120

Interestingly it would seem CA 167 may have been planned as a realignment of CA 120 north of Mono Lake.  More information can be found here.

California State Route 167

CA 120 east of what was the first CA 7 (modern US 395) east to US 6 can be seen south of Mono Lake on this 1935 California Division of Highways Map of Mono County.

1935 Mono County Highway Map
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Abandoned US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon

By
Within the Truckee River Canyon in the Sierra Nevada range numerous abandoned portions of US Route 40 can be found alongside modern Interstate 80.   This segment of highway was opened during 1926 as a bypass of the Dog Valley Grade which carried the early North Lincoln Highway and Victory Highway. The corridor of the Truckee River Canyon State Highway would be assigned as US Route 40 when the US Route System was commissioned during November 1926. During 1958 the segment of Interstate 80 between Boca, California and the Nevada state line was complete. When Interstate 80 opened east of Boca numerous obsolete portions of US Route 40 were abandoned. Some of these abandoned segments have been incorporated into the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail.  Part 1; the history of US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon The Truckee River Canyon for centuries has been an established corridor of travel known to native tribes crossing the Sierra Nevada range.  The first documented wagon crossi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 50 and the Pioneer Route Lincoln Highway on Johnson's Pass Road

By
Johnson's Pass Road is one of the oldest highway corridors in California.  Johnson's Pass was part of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road as it was completed during 1856 over the Sierra Nevada.  The pass would later be incorporated into the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway in 1913 and US Route 50 in 1926.  Johnson's Pass Road would be bypassed by a new alignment of US Route 50 over Echo Summit in 1938.  A replacement of the Meyers Grade east of Johnson's Pass would be opened to traffic in 1947.   Johnson's Pass Road remains accessible to traffic and is still signed by the Lincoln Highway Association.  Pictured as the blog cover is the view from the top of Johnson's Pass Road overlooking modern US Route 50 and Lake Tahoe.   Part 1; the history of Johnson's Pass Much of the history of what become the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road is discussed in the  September 1950 California Highways & Public Works  during its Centennial Edition.  The or...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former California State Route 41 past Bates Station

By
When California State Route 41 was commissioned during August 1934 it was aligned along the then existing Fresno-Yosemite Road north of the San Joaquin River.  Within the Sierra Nevada foothills of Madera County, the original highway alignment ran past Bates Station via what is now Madera County Road 209, part of eastern Road 406 and Road 207.   Bates Station was a stage station plotted during the early 1880s at what was the intersection of the Coarsegold Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road.   The modern alignment bypassing Bates Station to the east would be reopened to traffic during late 1939.   Part 1; the history of California State Route 41 past Bates Station Bates Station was featured as one of the many 1875-1899 Madera County era towns in the May 21, 1968, Madera Tribune .  Post Office Service at Bates Station is noted to have been established on November 23, 1883 and ran continuously until October 31, 1903.  The postal name was sourced...
Post a Comment
Read more