Success Valley Drive is a 5.4-mile mountain highway located in the Sierra Nevada foothills east of Porterville. The roadway (assigned as Tulare County Mountain Road 160) follows the South Fork Tule River from County Route J42 northwest to California State Route 190 near Lake Success. Success Valley Drive has been present in Tulare County since the 1870s and was heavily used during the Tule River magnesite boom in the early twentieth century.
Part 1; the history of Success Valley Drive
Success Valley is where the South Fork and main course of the Tule River meet in the Sierra Nevada foothills east of Porterville. Success Valley would become part of the Tule River Farm in 1860 following the conclusion of the 1856 Tule River Indian War.
During 1864 Tule River Farm was reorganized as the Tule River Reservation by authorization of Congress. The original reservation is thought to have had about 450 members of the Yokut tribe and approximately 350 Paiute who relocated after the 1863 Owens Valley Indian War. The original reservation was not popular with locals in the community of Porterville which pushed for it be relocated.
During 1873 the Tule River Reservation was relocated by Presidential Executive Order to the South Fork Tule River east of Porterville. The current reservation along with Success Valley Drive can be seen in Townships 21S-22S, Ranges 28E-29E on the 1892 Thompson Atlas of Tulare County.
The Tule River watershed between Porterville and Springville would emerge as a source of magnesite ore near the turn of the 20th Century. The magnesite ore boom in Success Valley would lead to the development of a modern highway in the Porterville-Springville corridor (which would be assigned as California State Route 190 in 1934). The Southern Pacific Railroad would also develop the Success-Springville Branch along the Tule River in the Porterville-Springville corridor. The Southern Pacific Railroad would plot the sidings of Plano, Success and Clavicle along the Porterville-Springville corridor.
Success Valley Drive can be seen spanning from Indian Reservation Drive north to Success siding near California State Route 190 on the 1935 Division of Highways map of Tulare County. The map displays a spur railroad following the general course of Success Valley Drive and the South Fork Tule River to Howton siding.
The Southern Pacific Railroad would file abandonment paperwork for the 2.4 miles of the Success-Springville Branch between Clavicle and Springville during January of 1935. An additional 5.8 miles of the Success-Springville Branch between Success-Clavicle would be abandoned by the Southern Pacific Railroad during June of 1941. The remaining 6.66 miles of Success-Springville Branch would be abandoned by the Southern Pacific Railroad between Porterville and Success during August of 1957. The Porterville-Success segment of the Success/Springville Branch was abandoned to make way for the upcoming Success Reservoir which was to be constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers.
The September/October 1958 California Highways & Public Works notes in a District VI report that 7 miles of California State Route 190 was to be relocated east of Porterville to make way for the Success Reservoir. The relocation of California State Route 190 through the Success Reservoir site is stated to be funded by the Federal Government at a cost of $1,700,000 and was anticipated to be completed by Fall 1958. The original terminus of Success Valley Drive at California State Route 190 and the site of Success siding would both be flooded by the waters of the new reservoir. Success Valley Drive was truncated back to the new state highway alignment.
Part 2; a trip on Success Valley Drive
Northbound Success Valley Drive begins at Indian Reservation Road (Tulare County Route J42).
Success Valley Drive jogs northward and crosses over the South Fork Tule River.
Success Valley Drive continues through the terrain and numerous winding curves in a generally northwestern direction to a terminus at California State Route 190. Portions of the original terminus of Success Valley Drive can be seen west of California State Route 190 repurposed as part of the Tule Campground.
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