Skip to main content

Drum Valley Road (Tulare County Diagonal Route 152)

By


Drum Valley Road (Tulare County Diagonal Route 152) is an approximately fifteen-mile one lane highway located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Drum Valley Road begins at California State Route 245 and ends at Road 152 near the Friant-Kern Canal. Drum Valley Road was originally constructed during the nineteenth century and can be found on numerous Tulare County Atlases in Township 15 Ranges 25-26. Drum Valley Road while sparse on traffic is very narrow and largely has a severely deteriorating asphalt surface.




Part 1; the history of Drum Valley Road

What is now Drum Valley Road appears on the 1876 Baker Map of Tulare County in Township 15, Range 25-26.  The exact year for the construction of Drum Valley Road is unclear but it appears to have been built to accommodate Gold Rush era property owners in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and to facilitate travel to the logging grounds of Camp Badger (now Badger).  


Drum Valley Road appears on the 1892 Tulare County Atlas by T.H. Thompson in Township 15, Range 25-26.  






Drum Valley Road appears on the 1917 California State Automobile Association Map.  


Drum Valley Road once was known as "Negro Creek Road" which refers to the namesake creek.  It is unclear when the road name switched to the modern nomenclature.  The road naming change likely came due to the original name of Negro Creek which can be seen west of the Drum Valley School on the 1922 United States Geological Survey Map of Trimmer, California. 


Drum Valley Road can be seen on the 1935 Division of Highways Map.  The eastern terminus of Drum Valley Road can be seen crossing Murray Creek at Slickrock Canyon to reach California State Route 65 (later California State Route 69 and now California State Route 245).  During 1938 the eastern terminus of Drum Valley Road was relocated to a new bridge over Cottonwood Creek.  




Part 2; a drive on Drum Valley Road

Westbound Drum Valley Road begins from California State Route 245 near Auckland and Badger.  


Drum Valley Road westbound descends to Cottonwood Creek and enters Slickrock Canyon.  Drum Valley Road is signed with Tulare County Diagonal Route 152 postmile paddles which descend westbound.  







Westbound Drum Valley Road through Slickrock Canyon and enters the namesake Drum Valley.  Goldstein Peak can be seen overhead from much of Drum Valley Road in Slickrock Canyon.   
























Drum Valley Road westbound passes through Drum Valley and enters Long Valley approaching Tucker Mountain.  




















From Long Valley the westbound course of Drum Valley Road begins to descend out of the Sierra Nevada Mountains via the course of Negro Creek.  As Drum Valley Road nears the floor of San Joaquin Valley it intersects Johnson Drive.  
















































Drum Valley Road and Tulare County Diagonal Route 152 end approaching the Friant-Kern Canal.  The road ahead continues south as Road 152 to Avenue 416 (former California State Route 63).  








Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

North Carolina Continues to Move Forward with Rail

By
2023 and the first half of 2024 have seen continued growth in North Carolina's passenger rail system.  From increased daily trains from Raleigh to Charlotte, federal funds for studying additional corridors, and receiving a historic grant to begin the construction of high-speed rail between Raleigh and Richmond, the last 18 months have been a flurry of activity at NCDOT's Rail Division.  And that's just the tip of the iceberg. As ridership and routes increase - the engine of North Carolina passenger rail trains will become a more common sight. (Adam Prince) Increased Passenger Train Service: On July 10, 2023, a fourth Piedmont round-trip rail service between Raleigh and Charlotte commenced.  The four Piedmont trains plus the daily Carolinian (to Washington, DC, and New York) bring the total of trains serving the two cities daily to five. The current daily Piedmont and Carolinian schedule between Charlotte and Raleigh (NCDOT) The result was over 641,000 passengers utilized pa
Post a Comment
Read more

US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway

By
The communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway can all be found along US Route 101 within southern Humboldt County.  The former surface alignment of US Route 101 in Garberville and Redway once crossed the Garberville Bluffs along what is now Redwood Drive via a corridor constructed as part of the Redwood Highway during the 1910s.  US Route 101 through Benbow, Garberville and Redway was modernized by 1935.  US Route 101 would eventually be upgraded to freeway standards in Benbow, Garberville and Redway by extension of the Redwood Freeway during 1966-68.  As the cover photo the original grade of US Route 101 and the Redwood Highway can be seen at the Garberville Bluffs during 1934.  US Route 101 can be seen in the communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Humboldt County .   The history of US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway Benbow, Garberville and Redway lie on the banks of the South Fork Eel River of southern Humboldt County.  D
Post a Comment
Read more

The Midway Palm and Pine of US Route 99

By
Along modern day California State Route 99 south of Avenue 11 just outside the City limits of Madera one can find the Midway Palm and Pine in the center median of the freeway.  The Midway Palm and Pine denotes the halfway point between the Mexican Border and Oregon State Line on what was US Route 99.  The Midway Palm is intended to represent Southern California whereas the Midway Pine is intended to represent Northern California.  Pictured above the Midway Palm and Pine can be seen from the northbound lanes of the California State Route 99 Freeway.   This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page The history of the Midway Palm and Pine The true timeframe for when the Midway Palm and Pine (originally a Deadora Cedar Tree) were planted is unknown.  In fact, the origin of the Midway Palm and Pine w
Post a Comment
Read more