Skip to main content

Sheep Ranch Road (Calaveras County)

By

Sheep Ranch Road is an approximately 13.4-mile rural highway located in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Calaveras County.  This roadway begins at Main Street in the town of Murphys and terminates at Railroad Flat Road after passing through the namesake community of Sheep Ranch.  Sheep Ranch is a town site which was plotted following the discovery of gold in 1860 at ranching lands owned by George Johnson.  The community is most famous for the Sheep Ranch Mine which was worked from 1867-1942.  




Part 1; the history of Sheep Ranch Road

Sheep Ranch Road is named after the Gold Rush community of Sheep Ranch.  Said community is located approximately nine miles north of the town of Murphys. 

During the early California Gold Rush George Johnson owned a sizeable sheep ranch north of Murphys.  Johnson's ranch was found to have gold ore deposits in 1860 which led to an influx of miners settling in the area.  The mining camp grew into a small town called "Sheepranch."  The early community was famous for being part of an open range which sheep freely roamed at. 

Early Sheepranch was bolstered by the opening of the Sheep Ranch Mine in 1867.  The community would receive Post Office service beginning in 1877 and a formal town site would be surveyed in 1878.  The Sheepranch town plot was formally patented by a Calaveras County judge J.H. Reed in 1880.  George Hurst (father of William Randolph Hearst) would purchase the Sheep Ranch Mine in 1897 but sold it off in 1898.  The Sheep Ranch Mine would remain worked as an actively until 1942.  In modern times the community's name appears in official records as "Sheep Ranch." 

Sheep Ranch Road appears in detail on the 1891 United States Geological Survey map of Big Trees.  The corridor of Sheep Ranch Road was part of a larger highway which connected Murphys northwest to Mokelumne Hill via Sheep Ranch, Mountain Ranch and Jesus Maria.  


Modern Sheep Ranch Road appears on the 1914 Punnett Brothers map of Calaveras County aligned from Main Street in Murphys to Railroad Flat Road (near Mountain Ranch) via Sheep Ranch.  


Sheep Ranch Road appears as a major local highway (dotted line) on the 1935 Division of Highways map of Calaveras County.  




Part 2; a drive on Sheep Ranch Road

Northbound Sheep Ranch Road begins at Main Street in Murphys.  The history of Vallecito and Murphys are strongly tied together.  Both were founded by John and Daniel Murphy during the California Gold Rush.  What became Vallecito was plotted first as Murphy's Diggings.  The brothers would found another gold mining camp a short time later to the northeast which was initially known as New Murphy's Diggings.  New Murphy's Diggings would receive Post Office Service in 1851 and would be renamed as Murphy's.  The community's name would be shortened to just "Murphy" in 1894.


Sheep Ranch Road from Main Street to Church Street only carries one-way northbound traffic.  Sheep Ranch Road quickly climbs out of Murphys to a bluff where it intersects Mercer Cave Road.  Mercer Caverns is a popular tourist attraction in the Murphys area.  The caverns were discovered in 1885 by Walter J. Mercer who filed a mining claim.  The caverns being part of the Calaveras Formation contained large amounts of marble and thus never had any sizeable precious metal deposits.  Mercer Caverns was fully mapped in 1986 and found to be 3,389 feet long.  













Sheep Ranch Road descends to San Domingo Creek and crosses it via a culvert style bridge.  









Northbound Sheep Ranch Road climbs to a junction with Avery-Sheep Ranch Road.  Traffic continuing straight transitions to eastbound Avery-Sheep Ranch Road whereas traffic wishing to continue on northbound Sheep Ranch Road must turn left.  Signage indicates Sheep Ranch is 2.2 miles from the junction.  































Sheep Ranch Road continues northward and crosses San Antonio Creek.  The roadway continues to ascend and enters the community of Sheep Ranch.  Sheep Ranch is located at 2,359 feet above sea level.  




















Sheep Ranch Road approaches Main Street and performs a hairpin.  Main Street in Sheep Ranch has several vintage structures and historic plaques.  The community was almost wiped by the 2015 Butte Fire which was stopped approximately a quarter mile from town.








Sheep Ranch Road departing Sheep Ranch passes through a small rancheria reserved for the California Valley Miwok Tribe.  This 0.92-acre reservation was purchased by the Federal Government in 1916 for Miwok tribal members local to the Sheep Ranch area and was originally known as "Sheep Ranch Rancheria."



Sheep Ranch Road widens to two lanes and ascends to a terminus at Railroad Flat Road.  















Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve - Thurmond

By
New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is best known for whitewater rafting and other forms of adventure tourism.  Yet, found in the hollows and isolated valleys are quiet farms and former coal mining towns.  Well off the beaten path and isolated from much of its surroundings, Thurmond provides a unique view into Central West Virginia's industrial past. Thurmond began as a railroad town in the late 1800s.  Sparked by the arrival of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad and the local coal industry, Thurmond quickly grew into a sizeable transportation and coal center.  When it incorporated as a town in 1903, Thurmond was a full-fledged community - home to two banks, two hotels, and many other services and stores. A CSX freight train passes the old coaling tower in Thurmond.  It was here that many steam locomotives would refill and refuel. Thurmond was home to a C&O railyard which serviced the numerous steam engines passing through the narrow valley.  Thu...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Tale of Tollhouse Road, western California State Route 168 and failed Piute Pass Highway

By
Western California State Route 168 is entirely located in Fresno County and is linked historically to the Tollhouse Road corridor.   Tollhouse Road is one of the oldest highways in the Sierra Nevada range of Fresno County. The corridor presently begins in at Clovis Avenue in downtown Clovis and extends northeast to Huntington Lake. In 1866 the Woods Brothers established mining claims on Pine Ridge. In 1867 Fresno County would grant the brothers a toll franchise to construct a roadway to the desirable logging areas atop Pine Ridge and near Dinkey Creek. The Woods would establish a tollhouse at the start of their franchise road and lumber mill. The lumber mill attracted settlers which led to the establishment of the mountain town of Tollhouse. Fresno County would purchase the Tollhouse Road in 1878 and make it a public highway. The county would remove the tolls and incorporate the corridor into the existing county road network. Prior to the establishment of Clovis in 1...
Post a Comment
Read more

California State Route 73

By
California State Route 73 is 21 mile limited access highway aligned over the Corona del Mar Freeway and San Joaquin Hills Toll Road.  California State Route 73 connects Interstate 5 near San Juan Capistrano westward to Interstate 405 in Costa Mesa.  Prior to the construction of the Corona del Mar Freeway and San Joaquin Hills Tollway California State Route 73 was a surface highway located on largely MacArthur Boulevard. Part 1; the history of California State Route 73 What became California State Route 73 ("CA 73") entered the State Highway System in 1933 as Legislative Route Number 184 ("LRN 184").  LRN 184 was given the following route definition: "LRN 60 near Corona Del Mar to Santa Ana via Main Street" LRN 184 was announced in the April 1933 California Highways & Public Works .   LRN 184 appears for the first time on the  1934 Division of Highways Map .   LRN 184 appears under State Maintenance from US Route 101/LRN 2 in Santa Ana south ...
Post a Comment
Read more