Skip to main content

California State Route 26

On the way back from taking photos on California State Route 49 I wanted to try something a little different and took CA 26 from CA 88 westward to CA 99.






A large chunk of CA 26 was originally signed as CA 8.  CA 26 is a east/west route that begins in Amador County near Pine Grove at CA 88.  CA 26 is signed as not recommended for 30 foot vehicles as it traverses mountain grades for 25 miles westward to Mokelumne Hill at CA 49.  


The east terminus of CA 26 is weird in that it travels directly east of CA 88 down a canyon towards the North Fork Mokelumne River.  The North Fork Mokelumne River is also the Calaveras County line.







CA 26 climbs westward away from the North Fork Mokelumne River before turning east again towards West Point.







West Point is a Gold Rush era town site which dates back to 1852 when it was called Indian Gulch.  In 1854 the community name was changed to West Point which was the name of a camp at the location of the community Kit Carson established which looking for a pass over the Sierras.  West Point has a couple vintage buildings along Main Street but nothing that really compares to nearby Jackson or Mokelumne Hill.





CA 26 angles around West Point to the northeast where it begins a southward trek towards a crossing at the Middle Fork Mokelumne River.





South of the Middle Fork Mokelumne River CA 26 crosses through another Gold Rush community of Sandy Gulch.  Essentially there is nothing much left in Sandy Gulch aside from a couple stray homes, Mokelumne Hill is signed as 16 miles away.




CA 26 travels generally west from Sandy Gulch but does have another large 180 degree eastward dog at the South Fork Mokelumne River.









CA 26 next crosses through Glencoe which was a mining community in the 1850s.  There isn't really anything left of Glencoe which kind of makes me question why it is still signed as a community.




Mokelumne Hill is 9 miles west of Glencoe on CA 26




Approaching Mokelumne Hill CA 26 emerges from the forest into Foothill ranch lands.







CA 26 meets CA 49 on the outskirts of Mokelumne Hill.  CA 8 originally would have turned northward on a multiplex with CA 49 to Jackson but when CA 88 was created it was cut back to an eastern terminus at Main Street just ahead of the CA 49 BGS in the second photo below.



Both CA 49 and CA 8 would have used Main Street and Center Street in Mokelumne Hill.  The modern CA 49 bypass is somewhat recent and I'm uncertain as to when it was constructed.  Mokelumne Hill is a classic California Gold Rush town which I covered far more extensively in my CA 49 series.  







Valley Springs is signed 12 miles to the west and Stockton is shown 49 miles away on CA 26.




CA 26 emerges out of the Sierra Foothills and meets a junction with CA 12.







CA 26/CA 12 multiplex westward into Valley Springs.  CA 12 cuts directly west towards Lodi whereas CA 26 is routed southwest towards Stockton.  Valley Springs dates back to the California Gold Rush and was a stop on the San Joaquin and Sierra Nevada Railroad.  The San Joaquin and Sierra Nevada was a narrow gauge line that was in operation from 1882 to 1888 which primarily worked mining traffic.  Parts of the San Joaquin and Sierra Nevada were eventually converted into a standard gauge line that operated under the Southern Pacific.









CA 26 emerges into the Central Valley and enters San Joaquin County.





The last traces of the Sierra Foothills quickly disappear approaching Linden. 




CA 26 continues west through Linden and meets Signed County Route J5 at Jack Tone Road.







CA 26 enters the City of Stock as Fremont Street and terminates at the CA 99 freeway. 





As stated above CA 26 was originally signed as CA 8.  The original scope of CA 8 was from US 99 at Wilson Way in Stockton east over Carson Pass to the Nevada State Line. The original scope of CA 8 can be seen on the 1938 State Highway Map.


By 1940 CA 88 replaced CA 8 over Carson Pass.  CA 8 was cut back to an eastern terminus at CA 49 in Mokelumne Hill.


By 1964 CA 8 was renumbered to CA 26.  CA 26 was extended east of CA 49 to West Point.


Sometime between 1970 and 1975 CA 26 was finally extended to CA 88.



CA 8 originally consisted of several Legislative Routes:

-  LRN 5 from Stockton to Mokelumne Hill.  LRN 5 was originally adopted in 1909 but the Stockton to Mokelumne Hill extension was adopted in 1933.


-  LRN 65 from Mokelumne Hill to Jackson.  LRN 65 was defined in 1921 according to CAhighways.org.


- LRN 34 from Jackson to the Nevada State Line.  LRN 34 was originally adopted in 1909 and extended over Carson Pass in 1911 according to CAhighways.org.




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Dillon Road

Dillon Road is a 34.2-mile highway located in northern Coachella Valley of Riverside County, California.  Dillon Road begins at Avenue 48 on the outskirts of Indio and ends to the west at California State Route 62 near San Gorgonio Pass.  Dillon Road was developed the 1930s as a construction road for the Colorado River Aqueduct.  Dillon Road serves as a northern bypass to much of the development of Coachella Valley.  Dillon Road is known for it's frequent dips and spectacular views of San Gorgonio Pass.   Part 1; the history of Dillon Road Dillon Road was constructed as a haul road for the Colorado River Aqueduct through Coachella Valley.  The Colorado River Aqueduct spans 242 miles from Parker Dam on the Colorado River west to Lake Mathews near Corona.  Construction of the Colorado River Aqueduct began during January 1933 near Thousand Palms and was made functional on January 7, 1939.  West of Berdoo Canyon Road the alignment of Dillon Road is largely concurrent with the Colorado

Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road

Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road is an approximately 21-mile highway located in southeast Kern County.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road begins at Tehachapi Boulevard (former US Route 466) in Tehachapi and crosses the Tehachapi Mountains via the 4,820-foot-high Oak Creek Pass.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road enters Antelope Valley of the wider Mojave Desert and passes by the historic stage station of Willow Springs to a southern terminus at Rosamond Boulevard.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road has historic ties to the Havilah-Los Angeles Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road due to the once reliable presence of water at Willow Springs. Part 1; the history of Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road Oak Creek Pass and Willow Springs were known to the local tribes of the Tehachapi Mountains for generations.  The first documented European crossing of Oak Creek Pass was during 1776 as part of an expedition by Francisco Garces.  Oak Creek Pass is as used again by John C. Fremont during an 1844-1845 expedition to e

The 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge

The 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge is a derelict structure located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Placer County, California.  The 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge can be found between the communities of Colfax and Iowa Hill.  The 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge is a wire suspension structure which spans the North Fork American River.  The 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge was replaced by a modern span and converted to pedestrian use following floods during 1963.   Part 1; the history of the 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge During 1853 gold was discovered at what to become Iowa Hill.  The gold mining claims soon led to a small community known as Iowa City being established.   By 1854, Post Office Service began at the mines of Iowa City.  By 1856 gold production at Iowa City was estimated to be around $100,000.  Iowa City was burned in fires during 1857 and 1862 but the community was rebuilt with more modernized structures.   The location of Iowa City can be seen as "Iowa Hill" on the 1873 Bancroft