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Drum Valley Road (Tulare County Diagonal Route 152)

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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).  








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