Skip to main content

Randsburg-Redrock Road

By


Randsburg-Redrock Road is located in the Mojave Desert of eastern Kern County in Fremont Valley.  The corridor mostly originated in 1873 as part of the Searles Brothers stage road between Mojave and their Borax plant in Searles Valley.  The remaining balance of the road east of Garlock was plotted after the opening of the Yellow Aster Mine and creation of Randsburg in 1896.  Randsburg-Redrock Road begins at US Route 395 near the community of Randsburg and terminates 20.5 miles to the west at California State Route 14.  




Part 1; the history of Randsburg-Redrock Road

What is now modern day Randsburg-Redrock Road was partially a segment of the western Searles Brothers stage road.  Said roadway connected from the Searles Borax Plant at Searles Valley west to Mojave beginning in 1873.  The road utilized a passage through Fremont Valley wedged between the Rand Mountains and El Paso Mountains.  The western Searles Brothers stage road can be seen on the 1882 Bancroft's map of California. 


In April 1895 Gold was discovered at the Yellow Aster Mine near Rand Mountain south of the Searles Brothers stage road.  In December 1895 the Rand Mining District was established which led to the formation of Rand Camp.  Rand Camp was located north of the Yellow Aster Mine and was quickly renamed as "Randsburg."  

A spur east of the Searles Brothers stage road would be constructed soon after the establishment of Randsburg.  Garlock was plotted near the junction of the Searles Brothers stage road and the Randsburg Road.  Eugene Garlock had set up a small community centered around a stamp mill built in 1896 to service ore from the Yellow Aster Mine.  

For a brief time Garlock would compete with Randsburg in terms of being an important hub servicing the Rand Mining District.  Garlock would lose much of the importance it had when the Kramer-Randsburg Railroad was completed by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway circa 1898.  The Randsburg Railroad was constructed from Kramer Junction north to the community of Johannesburg which was located a short distance east of Randsburg.  

Modern Randsburg-Redrock Road can be seen on the 1915 United States Geological Survey map of Searles Lake.  The roadway can be seen originating at future US Route 395 just east of Randsburg.  The blue pin indicates where the roadway picked up Garlock Road and continued west on the former Searles Brothers stage road towards what is now California State Route 14 (former US Route 6) near Redrock State Park. 




Part 2; a drive on Randsburg-Redrock Road 

Pictured below is the western terminus of Garlock Road at Randsburg-Redrock Road.  Traffic can turn sharply left to go eastward towards Randsburg and US Route 395.  Westbound traffic makes a soft transition from Garlock Road onto Randsburg-Redrock Road towards California State Route 14. 


From Garlock Road the course of westbound Randsburg-Redrock Road takes 12.1 miles to reach California State Route 14.  The corridor often has dramatic views of storms in the southern Sierra Nevada range.  The corridor intersects Neuralia Road just prior to terminating at California State Route 14.  













Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grand Loop Road of Yellowstone National Park

By
  Grand Loop Road is a 140 mile loop highway which traverses the interior of Yellowstone National Park.  Grand Loop Road connects all of the major attractions and geological features of Yellowstone National Park along with the entrance roads.  Grand Loop Road is a seasonal highway and despite some conjecture never has been part of the US Route System.   Part 1; the history of Grand Loop Road The majority of history pertaining to Grand Loop Road was taken from the below National Park Service article: Historic Roads - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) Yellowstone was declared the first National Park of the United States on March 1st, 1872.  The first real highway to access Yellowstone National Park came in 1873 when a tolled facility was constructed from Bozeman, Montana via Yankee Jim Canyon to Mammoth Hot Springs.  Numerous attempts were made to fund construction of roadway infrastructure during the early years of Yellows...
Post a Comment
Read more

The last 1956-63 era California Sign State Route Spade?

By
Along southbound California State Route 170 (the Hollywood Freeway Extension) approaching the Hollywood Freeway/Ventura Freeway interchange a white California State Route 134 Sign State Route Spade can be observed on guide sign.  These white spades were specifically used during the 1956-63 era and have become increasingly rare.  This blog is intended to serve as a brief history of the Sign State Route Spade.  We also ask you as the reader, is this last 1956-63 era Sign State Route Spade or do you know of others?  Part 1; the history of the California Sign State Route Spade Prior to the Sign State Route System, the US Route System and the Auto Trails were the only highways in California signed with reassurance markers.  The creation of the US Route System by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926 brought a system of standardized reassurance shields to major highways in California.  Early efforts to create a Sign State Route ...
Post a Comment
Read more

California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway

By
From 2017 through to early 2019 I drove the majority of the California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway from CA 89 southwest to CA 99. CA 70 is an approximately 178.5 mile state highway which starts at US 395 near the Nevada State Line and travels west through the Feather River Canyon to CA 99.  CA 70 is often referred to as the Feather River Highway" given it's close association with the river.  Historically CA 70 was previously signed as US 40A and CA 24.  The Legislative Routes prior to the 1964 California Highway Renumbering that made up the current route of CA 70 are as follows: -  Legislative Route Number 21 from US 395 westward to Oroville. -  LRN 87 from Oroville south to Marysville. -  LRN 232 from Marysville to the current junction with CA 99.  CA 70 was even dual signed with CA 99 into Sacramento on what was LRN 232 for a time. The change from US 40A/LRN 21/LRN 87/LRN 232 can be seen by comparing the 1963 State Highway Ma...
Post a Comment
Read more