Skip to main content

Devils Den Road (Kings County)

By

Devils Den Road is an approximately 6.2-mile dirt highway corridor which exists in the Kettleman Hills of rural Kings County.  The Devils Den Road corridor begins as a continuation of Barker Road at the Kern County/Kings County line and extends northeast to 25th Avenue via Avenal Gap. 

The Devils Den Road corridor is named after the Devils Den Oil Field which was discovered in 1910.  Said oil field was once host to a company town known as "Devils Den" which stood near the junction of modern California State Route 33 and Barker Road.  Devils Den Road was once the favored highway over the Kettleman Hills until Legislative Route Number 125 (now California State Route 41) was adopted as State Highway in 1933.  




Part 1; the history of Devils Den Road

Devils Den is a formation which is located in northwest Kern County at the eastern flank of Avenal Ridge and the Pyramid Hills.  The land which comprises Devils Den can be seen under the ownership of the Aferitz Oil Company on the 1898 Official map of Kern County in Township 25 South, Range 18 East. 


During 1910 the Devils Den Oil Field was discovered amid the start of the Westside Oil Boom.  A small company town known as "Devils Den" was established along what is now Barker Road to accommodate workers at the oil field.  The site was connected to the Lemoore area via a then new roadway constructed through Avenal Gap in the Kettleman Hills to the southern shoreline of Tulare Lake in Kings County.  This roadway through Avenal Gap would become what is now known as Devils Den Road.  

The Devils Den townsite along Barker Road during the early 1910s after heavy rains (Michael J. Semas collection photo).  


Devils Den Road can be seen spanning the Kettleman Hills via Avenal Gap on the 1914 United States Geological Survey map of Lost Hills.  In this era there was no north/south roadway crossing the Kettleman Plains. 


Devils Den Road and Devils Den both can be seen in detail on the 1917 California State Automobile Association map.  


The town of Devils Den can be seen on the then new Coalinga-Bakersfield Road (now Barker Road) on the 1930 United States Geological Survey map of Avenal Gap.  The start of modern Devils Den Road at the Kern County/Kings County line can be seen marked via blue pin.  The Coalinga-Bakersfield Road crossed Kettleman Plain which by proxy permitted better access over the Kettleman Hills than the existing Course of Devils Den Road.  This map edition displays Devils Den Road as "Lemoore Road."


In 1933 the Coalinga-Bakersfield Road would be added to the State Highway System as part of Legislative Route Number 138 from Legislative Route Number 57 in Taft to Legislative Route Number 10 in Coalinga.  In the August 1934 California Highways & Public Works this corridor would be announced as part of California State Route 33. 



The town of Devils Den can be seen along California State Route 33 (solid red line which is now Barker Road) near the junction of Devils Den Road on the 1935 Division of Highways map of Kern County.  


Devils Den Road can be seen as a minor rural highway on the 1935 Division of Highways map of Kings County.  The Devils Den Road corridor can be seen contrasted to the winding initial alignment used by California State Route 41 (Legislative Route Number 125) through the Kettleman Hills south of Kettleman City.  


The 1943 United States Geological Survey of La Rambla is the first edition to display the modern name of Devils Den Road.  The corridor is shown to span from California State Route 33 near Devils Den across Avenal Gap to Lemoore Road.  Lemoore Road has been since renamed to 25th Avenue.  




During 1946 the Bureau of Land Management would assume control of the Devils Den Oil Field.  The agency has since offered access to the oil field for lease via public auctions.  

California State Route 33 was rerouted in 1960 onto a bypass of the Devils Den town site.  The former alignment through the community would become Barker Road.  The then new alignment of California State Route 33 bypassing Devils Den can be seen on the 1961 Division of Highways map.  The town would continue to appear on United States Geological survey maps until the 1990s.  


The Devils Den Oil Field presently comprises 400 acres.  The land was last put up for lease auction by the Bureau of Land Management during May 2015.  Currently the oil field has no lease holder. 



Part 2; a drive on Devils Den Road

The Kings County variant of Devils Den Road can be reached by following Barker Road north of California State Route 33.  The asphalt on Barker Road gives way to dirt as Devils Den Road begins at the Kings County line.  A discontinuous segment of Devils Den Road is also signed within Kern County westward from Barker Road south of modern California State Route 33.  







Northbound Devils Den Road crosses the Kettleman Hills via Avenal Gap and terminates at 25th Avenue.  The entire corridor is a high-quality dirt grade which is regularly used by agricultural trucks transporting product from nearby farmlands.  




















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