Skip to main content

Huer Huero Road

By

Huer Huero Road is a 6-mile rural highway corridor located southeast of Creston in the La Panza Range.  This corridor begins at Parkhill Road and follows Middle Fork Huer Huero Creek to California State Route 58.

Huer Huero Road is named after Huer Huero Creek and Rancho Huerhuero.  Rancho Huerhuero was granted during the period of Alta California in segments circa 1842 and 1846.  The Rancho would form the basis for much of the ranching properties in the La Panza Range in the 1870s and the community of Creston in 1884.  




Part 1; the history Huer Huero Road

Huer Huero Road runs along the course of Middle Fork Huer Huero Creek.  Both the road and creek are named after Mexican era Rancho Huerhuero.  The three branches of Huer Huero Creek converge near Creston and flow to the Salinas River north of Paso Robles.   

Rancho Huerhuero was a 15,685-acre Mexican-era land grant given by Alta California Governor Juan Alvarado to Jose Mariano Bonilla in 1842.  Bonilla's grant was extended in 1846 by Governor Pio Pico.  Rancho Huerhuero extended from Paso Robles along Huer Huero Creek through much of the Creston area.  The Rancho was patented during the American period of California during 1852 and gradually was subdivided.  The community of Creston would be founded on the former Rancho in 1884. 

Modern Huer Huero Road appears on the 1917 California State Automobile Association map.  The corridor was likely present much earlier as ranching subdivision of Rancho Huerhuero was taking place in the area through the 1870s and 1880s.   


Huer Huero Road appears as major local highway on the 1922 United States Geological Survey map of Pozo.  The highway corridor is shown to largely follow Middle Fork Huer Huero Creek from what is now California State Route 58 southeast to Las Pilitas Road (formerly Rinconada-Pilitas Road). 




Huer Huero Road appears truncated to then new Parkhill Road (marked via blue pin) on the 1947 United States Geological Survey map of San Luis Obispo.




Part 2; a drive on Huer Huero Road

Northbound Huer Huero Road branches from Parkhill Road in the La Panza Range.  



Traffic on Huer Huero Road is advised of 4 miles of curves ahead. 


Huer Huero Road heads generally northwest following Middle Fork Huer Huero Road through a series of ranching properties to a terminus at California State Route 58.



















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

Old Dunlap Road (former California State Route 180 in Yokuts Valley)

By
When California State Route 180 was commissioned in August 1934 the alignment in took in Sierra Nevada range was very different than from today.  The original highway alignment from Squaw Valley (now Yokuts Valley) to east Grant Grove (then part of General Grant National Park) originally followed what is now Ruth Hill Road, Dunlap Road, Pinehurst Road (modern California State Route 245), Dark Canyon Road (partially now Forest Road 14S45).  After funding fell through for the planned Kings Canyon Road the was corridor eventually picked up as a 30-mile-long cooperative project between the Division of Highways and Federal Government.  Much of current alignment of California State Route 180 bypassing Squaw Valley (now Yokuts Valley) and Dunlap was complete by 1941.  The post-1941 alignment of California State Route 180 in Squaw Valley was shifted onto what was once Dunlap Road in Squaw Valley.  This alignment itself was later bypassed by modern California State Route...
Post a Comment
Read more