Madera County Road 607 is an approximately seven-mile rural unsurfaced highway which spans from Road 600 near Raymond west to Road 29. Road 607 west from Raymond Road Cemetery (established in 1905) is part of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road corridor surveyed in 1853. The corridor lies in the gap between Fresno Crossing at the Fresno River west to Newton's Crossing at the Chowchilla River.
The Buchanan Copper Mine would be along what is now Road 607 in the namesake Buchanan Hollow during July 1863. The Buchanan Mine is thought to have once had a population of between 1,000-1,500 residents by the early 1870s. Copper prices would decline in the decade after the Civil War and much of the activity at Buchanan shifted towards cattle ranching. The last businesses in the community would shutter during World War II and it is now a true ghost town.
Part 1; the history of Madera County Road 607 and the Stockton-Los Angeles Road
What is now Road 607 was a component of the larger Stockton-Los Angeles Road. The Stockton-Los Angeles Road came into use after the 1853 Kern River Gold Rush began. The Stockton-Los Angeles Road was a replacement of the earlier El Camino Viejo. Unlike El Camino Viejo the Stockton-Los Angeles Road avoided the dense Tule Marches in San Joaquin Valley. The Stockton-Los Angles Road stayed close to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to avoid flood prone terrain.
At the Fresno River the Stockton-Los Angeles Road utilized Fresno Crossing to pass the watershed. Fresno Crossing had once been part of Jim Savage's Fresno River Trading Post during the era of the Mariposa War. The corridor continued west from the Fresno River to Newton's Crossing at the Chowchilla River. Newton's Crossing was owned by William F. Newton who owned a home on the north side of the Chowchilla River in what is now Mariposa County.
The Stockton-Los Angeles Road between the original Fresno County seat of Millerton and Newton's Crossing can be seen on the 1857 Britton & Reys Map of California.
The Buchanan Copper Mine would be located along the Stockton-Los Angeles Road near Newton's Crossing in Buchanan Hollow during July 1863. The Buchanan Mine is thought to have once had a population of between 1,000-1,500 residents by the early 1870s. Copper prices would decline in the decade after the Civil War and much of the activity at Buchanan shifted towards cattle ranching. The Buchanan Post Office would be established during September 1873 and remained operational until June 1904. The last remaining businesses in the community were a bar and store which closed during World War II.
The popularity of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road began to decline rapidly as the Central Pacific Railroad was constructed through San Joaquin Valley during the 1870s. Farm diversions for irrigation in San Joaquin Valley and the presence of various rail sidings along the Central Pacific Railroad spurred infrastructure development which made development through previous wetlands easier. Eventually this development led to Legislative Route Number 4 being routed next to the rails in 1909 which became part of US Route 99.
The Stockton-Los Angeles Road through Buchanan to Newton's Crossing can be seen in Township 8S, Range 18E on the 1891 Thompson Atlas of Fresno County. Madera County would be split from what was Fresno County north of the San Joaquin River in 1893.
During 1905 the Raymond Road Cemetary would be established along what is now Road 607. This seems to suggest the corridor for a time was known as Raymond Road, but the chronology isn't fully clear. What is known is that the corridor was signed as Buchanan Road during the early automotive era.
The Buchanan Mine can be seen along Buchanan Road west of Iron Mountain on the 1912 USGS Map of Mariposa.
Buchanan Road can be seen on the 1914 Madera County Surveyor's Map in Township 8S, Range 18E. A road can be seen crossing the Chowchilla River into Mariposa County near Raynor Creek where Newton's Crossing was once located.
Buchanan Road can be seen on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Madera County in Township 8S, Range 18E. The crossing of the Chowchilla River near Raynor Creek is no longer seen as being present. A new crossing is shown slightly to the west of the terminus Buchanan Road. The corridor would be assigned as Road 607 when Madera County dropped road names in favor of a numbering convention during the middle twentieth century.
Part 2; a drive on Madera County Road 607
Westbound Madera County Road 607 begins at Knowles Junction located south of Raymond at Road 600 and Road 606.
The westbound beginning of Road 607 is well graded and passes numerous rural ranching properties. The Raymond Road Cemetary can located by finding a sizable left-hand fork but is otherwise unmarked.
Road 607 continues west on a well-maintained grade which flanks the approximately 984-foot-high Iron Mountain.
Road 607 narrows considerably approaching Buchanan Hollow. A flood prone segment is surfaced in a brief strip of degrading asphalt.
The grade of westbound Road 607 worsens approaching the final descent into the heart of Buchanan Hollow. During dry conditions the roadway is passable in low clearance vehicles.
A second strip of asphalt is encountered amid the final drop of Road 607 through Buchanan Hollow. The steepest segment is where the community of Buchanan was once located. There are no remaining structures from the community to find.
Road 607 emerges through Buchanan Hollow and ends at Road 29. The approximation location of Newton's Crossing can be found approximately a quarter mile to the north on Road 29.
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