Skip to main content

Lonoak Road

By
This past January I was traveling home from the King City area of Monterey County.  Looking for something a little different I took Lonoak Road across the Gabilan Range to Lonoak of Peach Tree Valley.


Lonoak Road is an approximately 14 mile roadway which connects County Route G15 on 1st Street (former US Route 101) of King City to the ghost town of Lonoak at CA 25.  Lonoak Road begins in Monterey County and dips into San Benito County before terminating in Monterey County near Lonoak.  Much of Lonoak follows the course of San Lorenzo Creek.  San Lorenzo Creek for reference is the Monterey/San Benito County Line until the confluence with Lewis Creek.



Part 1; the backstory of Lonoak Road

Peach Tree Valley lies on atop the San Andreas Fault at the confluence of San Lorenzo Creek and Lewis Creek.  The fortunate confluence of San Lorenzo Creek and Lewis Creek made it an ideal locale for ranching.  The prospects of profitable ranch lands led to the settlement of the small community known as Lonoak.  Lonoak was important enough that it warranted Post Office Service by 1885.  It was likely sometime around when Lonoak was settled that the namesake road to King City was constructed.  King City had been settled in 1884 as a large ranching community and by 1886 it had a stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad.  The outgrowth of the ranching of the King City Area no doubt played a contributing factor in the development of Lonoak and Lonoak Road.  Lonoak and Lonoak Road both appear on the 1917 California State Automobile Association Map.



Part 2; a drive on Lonoak Road

My approach to Lonoak Road was from northbound 1st Street/G15 in King City.  Lonoak Road begins with a right hand turn over the Union Pacific rails.




Lonoak Road begins as a conventional two-lane road within Monterey County.  Lonoak Road eastbound from 1st Street begins to rapidly approach the foothills of the Gabilan Range.  While mountain roads in Monterey County don't carry Post Miles like San Benito County they often have mileage markers (mile marker 3.0) like the one that can be seen in the last photo below.






Lonoak Road winds through the Gablian Range for several miles before crossing San Lorenzo Creek into San Benito County.

























Upon entering San Benito County Lonoak Road begins a single-lane roadway.  Lonoak Road is maintained as San Benito County Road 152.  Lonoak Road begins to traverse somewhat steep canyons alongside San Lorenzo Creek.



Lonoak Road eastbound follows San Lorenzo Creek for several miles before branching off towards Lewis Creek.















Lonoak Road eastbound approaches Lewis Creek, expands to two-lanes again, and reenters Monterey County.  Upon reentering Monterey County the route of Lonoak Road ends in what is left of Lonoak at CA 25/Peach Tree Road.  Of note; there is a pile of crashed antique cars in Lewis Creek which can be partially seen in the second photo below.  Also of interest; CA 25 was moved to Peach Tree Road in 1955 and previously followed Lewis Creek Road.  Interestingly Post Office Service in Lonoak ended in 1954 right before the community would end up on a State Highway. 





Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The 1915-era Teilman Bridge (the only known Concrete Pony Truss Bridge in California)

By
The Teilman Bridge is a semi-abandoned structure over Fresno Slough west of Burrell siding near the intersection of Elkhorn Avenue and Elkhorn Grade.  This structure is the only known Concrete Pony Truss Bridge constructed in California and was designed by Ingvart Teilman.  Teilman's Bridge would open in late 1915 when the Elkhorn Grade was the primary road between Fresno and Coalinga.  The structure would be replaced in 1991 but was left standing as it carries pipelines over Fresno Slough.  Part 1; the history of the Teilman Bridge In the early Twentieth Century the most direct highway between Fresno and Coalinga followed the Elkhorn Grade.  The Elkhorn Grade began at Fresno Slough a short distance west of Burrell siding.  From Fresno Slough the Elkhorn Grade followed a generally southwestern course through San Joaquin Valley into the Kettleman Hills towards Coalinga.   The Elkhorn Grade can be seen on the  1914 C.F. Weber map of Fresno Coun...
1 comment
Read more

The Dummy Lights of New York

By
  A relic of the early days of motoring, dummy lights were traffic lights  that  were  placed  in the middle of a street intersection. In those early days, traffic shuffled through busy intersections with the help of a police officer who stood on top of a pedestal. As technology improved and electric traffic signals became commonplace, they were also  originally  positioned on a platform at the center of the intersection. Those traffic signals became known as  " dummy lights "  and were common until  traffic lights were moved  onto wires and poles that crossed above the intersection.  In New York State, only a handful of these dummy lights exist. The dummy lights  are found  in the Hudson Valley towns of Beacon and Croton-on-Hudson, plus there is an ongoing tug of war in Canajoharie in the Mohawk Valley, where their dummy light has been knocked down and replaced a few times. The dummy light in Canajoharie is currently...
Post a Comment
Read more

Prunedale Road (Monterey County)

By
Prunedale Road is a short 2.6-mile-long frontage corridor of US Route 101 in the namesake Monterey County community of Prunedale.  Prior to 1932 US Route 101 bypassed Prunedale in favor of the San Juan Grade to the east.  Prunedale Road along with nearby Moro Road served as an alternative connecting highway between Salinas and San Juan Bautista.  Following the realignment of US Route 101 onto the Prunedale Cutoff the former through route along Prunedale Road would be rendered as a western frontage.   Part 1; the history of Prunedale Road Prunedale Road is located in and is named after the Monterey County community of Prunedale.  Said community was founded near the junction of San Migeul Canyon, Langley Canyon and Echo Valley.  Watsonville settler Charles Langley (namesake of Langley Canyon) was one of the prominent early community settlers.  The Prunedale Post Office would open for the first time in 1894 but would close by 1908.  Early agricu...
Post a Comment
Read more