Gribblenation

Vallecito is one of the oldest communities in Calaveras County having been founded by the Murphy's brothers in 1849.  When California State Route 4 was commissioned in 1934 it followed the existing highway corridor through Vallecito (then Vallecita) via Angels Road and Main Street.  The original corridor would persist until 1961 when Vallecito was bypassed to the north.  The 1961-era bypass of Vallecito was part of larger project which saw California State Route 4 also bypass Douglas Flat and Murphys.  The original alignment of California State Route 4 in Vallecito can be seen in detail on the 1948 United States Geological Survey map of Columbia.   Part 1; the history of California State Route 4 in Vallecito What was to become Vallecito was founded in 1849 near gold claims of the Murphy's brothers.  Said mining camp was originally called "Murphys Diggings" but came to be called "Old Murphys Diggings" when more profitable claims were found to the northe...

County Route J17 is a 39.20 mile long Letter County Route serving Stanislaus County and Merced County.  The highway as presently configured begins at Interstate 5 along Sperry Avenue in Patterson.  East of Patterson the highway passes through Turlock and enters Merced County where it terminates via Turlock Road at California State Route 59 near Snelling.  County Route J17 was commissioned in 1960 following the completion of the Las Palmas Avenue Bridge over the San Joaquin River.  The below maps of County Route J17 were prepared by the cahighways.org website .   Part 1; the history of County Route J17 The impedes for the designation of County Route J17 was construction of the San Joaquin River Bridge east of Patterson on Las Palmas Avenue.  Said structure was built in 1959 as a replacement for an earlier span.  The 1959-era structure more directly linked Las Palmas Avenue to Main Avenue.   The original San Joaquin River Bridge (blue pin...

Camp 9 Road is an approximately 9.4-mile roadway owned and maintained by the Pacific Gas & Electricity Company in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Calaveras County.  This single lane highway begins at Parrots Ferry Road near Vallecito and terminates at Clarks Flat near the former company town site of Camp 9.  Camp 9 Road was completed in 1907 by Stanislaus Electric Power Company to facilitate access to the original Stanislaus Powerhouse.  Within the vicinity of the modern Stanislaus Powerhouse the ruins of the Camp 9 Footbridge and original Stanislaus River Bridge can be found.   Part 1; the history of Camp 9 Road Camp 9 Road was a project of the Stanislaus Electric Power Company .  This power company would begin as an offshoot project of the San Domingo Gold Mining Company in 1897.  The mining operators gradually bought up water rights within northern Tuolumne County from the late 1890s through the early 1900s.  As proposed the Stanislaus Power...