Skip to main content

Dogtown Road

By

 


Dogtown Road is an approximately ten-mile highway located in the Sierra Nevada range of Calaveras County, California.  The highway begins at Calaveritas Road and winds through the mountainous terrain to California State Route 49 in the Altaville District of Angels Camp.  The highway is named after a small mining community which was once located at French Gluch.  Pictured as the blog cover is the wooden deck San Domingo Creek Bridge which was constructed during 1940. 




Part 1; the history of Dogtown Road

Dogtown Road is named after a small mining community which was located south of San Domingo Creek at French Gulch.  Dogtown and the namesake Dogtown Road can be seen on the 1889 United States Geological Survey map of Jackson.  The map displays Dogtown Road connecting from the outskirts of Calaveritas to Altaville (now part of Angels Camp).   Dogtown Road is shown to traverse San Antonio Creek, Indian Creek, San Domingo Creek and French Gulch.


Dogtown Road has persisted with minimal changes since the nineteenth century.  The steel girder/wooden deck bridges at San Domingo Creek and French Gulch were installed by Calaveras County during 1940.  


Part 2; a drive on Dogtown Road

Southbound Dogtown Road begins at the mutual terminus of Calaveritas Road and Fricot City Road.  



Dogtown Road intersects Fourth Crossing and drops to a single paved lane.  Traffic is advised of the weight limit capacities five miles to the south.  


Southbound Dogtown Road crosses the San Antonio Creek Bridge.













Dogtown Road makes the first of two crossings of Indian Creek near the San Antonio Creek Bridge.  





Southbound Dogtown Road makes a right hand turn at the intersection with Esmeralda Road. 









Dogtown Road crosses Indian Creek a second time.  Traffic is warned of the weight limits two miles ahead at the San Domingo Creek Bridge.



Southbound Dogtown Road follows the courses of San Domingo Creek and crosses it via the 1940-era wooden deck bridge.  



















Dogtown Road next passes through the site of the namesake community and crosses the wooden deck French Gulch Bridge.  







Dogtown Road climbs south from French Gulch and becomes a two-lane road at Lakeside Drive. 












Dogtown Road terminates at California State Route 49 at the Altaville district of Angels Camp.  





Altaville was founded in 1852 and has been since annexed by Angels Camp.  The Altaville Grammar School still stands on the west side of California State Route 49 near the terminus of Dogtown Road.  The school was built in 1858 and was in use until the 1950s.  






Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Petroleum Club Road (former California State Route 33 and US Route 399 past the Lakeview Gusher)

By
Petroleum Club Road is an approximately 5.3-mile rural highway located in the Sunset Oil Field of western Kern County.  This corridor was constructed as a frontage road of the Sunset Railroad and would be the site of the Lakeview Gusher in 1910.  Petroleum Club Road was the original alignment of California State Route 33 and US Route 399 between 1934-1938.  In 1938 the West Side Highway was constructed west of Lakeview Gusher and still serves as the current alignment of California State Route 33.   Part 1; the history of Petroleum Club Road Petroleum Club Road is the original highway which linked the oil communities of Maricopa and Taft.  Both cities were developed around the early boom of the Sunset Oil Field.  The early Sunset Oil Field can be seen centered along Cienega Canyon Road southwest of Buena Vista Lake in Township 11 North, Range 23 West on the 1898 Kern County Surveyors map .  In 1901 Post Office Service would be established at the Su...
Post a Comment
Read more

Did Caltrans just kill the G26 cutout US Route shields?

By
The US Route System was formally created by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926.  Through the history of the system the only state to which has elected to maintain cutout US Route shields has been California.  The G26 series cutout US Route shields have become a favorite in the road enthusiast hobby and are generally considered to be much more visually pleasing than the standard Federal Highway Administration variant.  However, the G26 shield series appears to have been killed off on January 18, 2026, when Caltrans updated their Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.  This blog will examine the history of the US Route shield specifications in California and what is happening with the 2026 changes.  The blog cover photo is facing towards the terminus of California State Route 136 and at a G26-2 specification US Route 395 shield.  In the background Mount Whitney can be seen in the Sierra Nevada range.   ...
3 comments
Read more

Kuakini Highway (former Hawaii Route 11 in Kailua-Kona)

By
Kuakini Highway east of Palani Road in Kailua-Kona is the original alignment of Hawaii Route 11.  The highway upon being commissioned in 1955 began at the Palani Road (then Hawaii Route 19) and followed Kuakini Highway southeast towards Holualoa.  Hawaii Route 11 was shifted to an extension of Queen Kaahumanu Highway during the late 1970s which bypassed downtown Kailua-Kona.   This page is part of the Gribblenation Hawaii Roads series.  A compellation of all Hawaii-related media from both Gribblenation and RoadwayWiz can be found by clicking  here .  Part 1; the history of Hawaii Route 11 and Kuakini Highway in Kailua-Kona Hawaii Route 11 is part of Mamalahoa Highway (the Hawaii Belt Road) and is the longest Hawaiian State Route at 121.97 miles.  The highway begins at the mutual junction of Hawaii Route 19 and Hawaii Route 190 in Kailua-Kona.  From Kailua-Kona the routing of Hawaii Route 11 crosses the volcanic landscapes of southern side of ...
Post a Comment
Read more