Skip to main content

Madera County Road 606 to Knowles

By


Madera County Road 606 is an approximately 4.5-mile rural highway located in the Sierra Nevada foothills near Raymond.  The roadway accesses the mining town site of Knowles which was located along Whiskey Creek near the Raymond Granite Quarry.  Much of modern Road 606 south of the Knowles town site was constructed over the grade of the Knowles Spur Railroad.  Said rail spur operated in the area from 1899 to 1946.  




Part 1; the history of Road 606 and Knowles

During 1886 the Raymond town site was plotted along the then new alignment of the Washburn Brothers Yosemite Stage Road.  The Yosemite Stage Road became popular enough that it drew attention of the Southern Pacific Railroad for the development of a spur line out of Berenda.  Raymond was founded as Wild Cat Station and was the north terminus of the San Joaquin Valley & Yosemite Railroad which was opened by the Southern Pacific Railroad in February 1886.  

The San Joaquin Valley & Yosemite Railroad received its first passengers by March of 1886 and the community of Wild Cat Station became a popular trailhead for stages heading to the Wawona Hotel and Yosemite National Park.  Post Office was established in July of 1886 and the community's name was changed to Raymond.  The name Raymond was chosen due to the community frequently being the used to ship materials from the nearby Raymond Granite Quarry.  The quarry site was previously known as Ducy's Rock Pile and had come under the ownership of Fredrick Erwin Knowles during the mid-1880s.

The Knowles property soon began to develop into a standalone mining community.  A schoolhouse was constructed near the Raymond Granite Quarry during 1891.  The Knowles school would begin to be operated by Fresno County in 1892 and the district would be transferred when Madera County was split in 1893.  During 1899 the Raymond Granite Company constructed the "Knowles Spur" from the San Joaquin Valley & Yosemite Railroad.  By 1902 the community of Knowles obtained Post Office service.  

Knowles, the Knowles Spur Railroad and what is mostly now Road 606 can be seen on the 1912 United States Geological Survey map of Mariposa.  The road to Knowles is shown to serve as a loop of Raymond Road (now Road 600 and 415) and bypass of Raymond.  


The San Joaquin Valley & Yosemite Railroad and Knowles Spur were shuttered in 1946.  Shortly after the railroad closure much of the grade was repurposed into the new road alignment from Knowles Junction to Knowles itself.  Knowles would lose Post Office service during 1955 despite the Raymond Granite Quarry remaining open.

Modern Madera County Road 606 can be seen on the 1962 United States Geological Survey map of Raymond.  Knowles would be described as a "ghost town" in an April 11, 1963, Fresno Bee article. 




Part 2; a drive on Road 606

Northbound Road 606 begins at Road 600 just south of Raymond at Knowles Junction.  Traffic is advised that Knowles is located 3 miles from the intersection.  



Much of northbound Road 606 to St. Anne's Catholic Church occupies the grade of the Raymond Spur.  A historic plaque detailing the history of the Knowles can be found at the Hiles Pride Inn.







Road 606 crosses Whiskey Creek and passes through what is left of the Knowles town site.  The Raymond Granite Quarry is easily observed east of the roadway.







Road 606 continues north of the Raymond Granite Quarry and follows the course of Whiskey Creek to a terminus at Road 415.  










Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The case to move Interstate 73 in Southern Ohio onto US 33

By
Every decade or so, Ohio pushes to revisit the proposed Interstate 73 that would connect Michigan to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  It's been happening since Congress legislated the route in 1991.  Within Ohio, Interstate 73 generally follows the US 23 corridor from Portsmouth through Columbus to Toledo, and into Michigan. Since High Priority Corridor Five was created , Ohio has really done nothing to move forward with Interstate 73.  Sure, there have been feasibility studies here and there.  But actual dollars and construction just haven't occurred. The US 33 Nelsonville Bypass appears to have been built to Interstate standards. However, Ohio has been slowly upgrading US 33 to a full freeway through Southeastern Ohio.  Bypasses of Lancaster and Nelsonville opened in 2004 and 2013, respectively.  Other sections of two-lane road are being twinned, some to freeway or, at a minimum, to expressway standards.  Currently, a $274 million widening project in...
Post a Comment
Read more

Local Sign Find - The last remnant of Business Interstate 95 between Kenly and Rocky Mount , NC

By
As you head north on Interstate 95 at Exit 107 for Kenly and US 301, you'll notice something odd about the overhead sign for the exit.  Peeling off the sign for all that can see is the word 'NORTH' off-center from the US 301.  This old sign (probably close to original from when this section of I-95 opened - more on that in a little bit) gives a hint to a short-lived Business Interstate Route that ran from here to Rocky Mount. The last hint of the Kenly-Wilson-Rocky Mount Business I-95 (Shaun White - August 2020) Interstate 95 in North Carolina has a unique history.  But one of the overlooked and forgotten pieces of Interstate 95 in North Carolina is the 38 mile section between Kenly and Rocky Mount.  When opened to traffic in late 1978, it was the next to last piece of Interstate 95 in North Carolina to open replacing a four lane US 301 from Battleboro through Rocky Mount and Wilson to eventually tying back into the Interstate in Kenly. Though it was not delayed in l...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nostalgia fast food with style - Returning to Rax

By
Nostalgia. It sells. It evokes, and more accurately, warps memories of days gone by.  Things were better, simpler, and we eat it up. Nostalgia can make you drive three hours and over a hundred miles out of your way just to reconnect with a dying fast-food restaurant you last enjoyed in the early to mid-90s.  That person was me - that restaurant was Rax. I could go on about Rax's history, but in short, Rax was briefly a very popular roast beef fast-food chain.  Growing up in the 80s and early 90s in Western PA, Rax was the good fast-food spot.  The milkshakes.  (Personally, the chocolate chip milkshake was heaven.)  Uncle Alligator Kids Meal with the chocolate chip cookie. Take that McDonald's Happy Meal!  The fancy salad and hot foods bar.  Going to Rax was special.  Like so many similar restaurants, various investments, management decisions, etc., led Rax to almost disappear overnight.  By the time I graduated college in late 1999, abou...
Post a Comment
Read more