Skip to main content

Yosemite Springs Parkway

By

Yosemite Springs Parkway is an approximately five-mile roadway located in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Madera County and serves as the main throughfare of Yosemite Lakes Park.  The corridor originates as the primary through road of Gold Rush era Long Hollow Ranch which connected the Fresno-Yosemite Road at Kelshaw Corners to River Road.  Upon Long Hollow Ranch being sold for subdivided development in 1970 the roadway was rebuilt to modern standards and rebranded by the name it currently carries.  




Part 1; the history of Yosemite Springs Parkway

The lands where Yosemite Springs Parkway now lie were once part of Long Hollow Ranch.  Said ranch came under the ownership of the Rivas family after the forced relocation of the local Chukchansi Yokuts onto what is now Picayune Rancheria during the late nineteenth century.  

Long Hollow Ranch was located near the community of Coarsegold largely in Township 8S, Range 20E.  The ranch property can be seen southwest of Coarsegold between the Fresno-Yosemite Road (pre-1939 California State Route 41 and now Road 207) and River Road (now Road 400) on the 1891 Thompson Atlas of Fresno County.  The Fresno River can be seen running west of the property whereas Coarsegold Creek can be seen running on the eastern boundary.  


Madera County would be formed in 1893 from what was Fresno County north of the San Joaquin River.  Long Hollow Ranch patriarch Jose Rivas would die in 1906 but the property would remain under the ownership his family.   What is now Yosemite Springs Parkway can be seen crossing Long Hollow Ranch as minor roadway on the 1912 United States Geological Survey map of Mariposa.  The exact date when the road was built is unclear, but it is shown to originate at the Fresno-Yosemite Road at Kelshaw Corners and connect to River Road.  Revis Mountain is shown on the Long Hollow Ranch property and is a misspelling of the Rivas family name.  


The Long Hollow Ranch Road can be seen connecting from California State Route 41 at Kelshaw Corners north to River Road on the 1935 Division of Highways map of Madera County.  It is unclear if the road through Long Hollow Ranch was ever named by the county.  


The Rivas family sold Long Hollow Ranch to James G. Jefferies during 1940.  The property was later sold to Eban Coe and later was purchased by attorneys from Beverly Hills who would unsuccessfully attempt to develop the property.  The attorneys were later bought out by Titan Group and Yosemite Lakes Incorporated.  During June 30, 1970, Madera County would approve the subdivision of Yosemite Lakes Park.  The Long Hollow Ranch Road would be repurposed as the main through route in the new community and rebranded as Yosemite Springs Parkway (source Yosemite Lakes Park history page).  Much of the homes comprising Yosemite Lakes Park were built during the 1970s and 1980s.



Part 2; a drive on Yosemite Springs Parkway

Southbound Yosemite Springs Parkway begins at Road 400.  Much of the road signs through what is now Yosemite Lakes Park are colored blue and contrast to the standard green stock seen elsewhere in Madera County.  


Southbound Yosemite Springs Parkway intersects Revis Road shortly upon entering Yosemite Lakes Park.  



Southbound Yosemite Springs Parkway passes by the community golf course, Blue Heron Lake and a gas station plaza before intersecting the opposite terminus of Revis Road.  















Southbound Yosemite Springs Parkway crosses Coarsegold Creek and terminates at California State Route 41.  







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