Laton is a small unincorporated community in southern Fresno County which was founded by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway in 1890. Laton functionally serves as a continuation of the ghost town of Kingston which was located on the south bank of the Kings River in what is now Kings County.
Historically Laton was served by the 1873-Kingston Bridge which collapsed in 1908. Since the destruction of the Kingston Bridge the corridor of Fowler Avenue has become increasingly the predominant north/south highway in Laton which has been continuously modernized. The cover photo of this blog is a view at an abandoned portion of early Fowler Avenue north of downtown Laton and Murphy Slough.
The street grid of Laton can be seen below on the 1927 United States Geological Survey map. Northern Fowler Avenue can be seen entering downtown along the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway and terminating at Latonia Street. Latonia Street is shown crossing the railroad tracks at-grade to a disconnected segment of Fowler Avenue which crossed the Kings River into Kings County.
Part 1; the history of Fowler Avenue in Laton
Laton is located on the northern bank of the Kings River in Fresno County. The community was proceeded by Kingston which was located across the river in what is now Kings County.
Kingston was the location of Whitmore's Ferry which was established as the first tolled crossing of the Kings River. Kingston developed around the ferry by 1856 which just so happened to be the first year that Fresno County was split from Tulare County. Kingston and Whitmore's Ferry were located on the eastern route the El Camino Viejo which was also known as the Old Los Angeles Trail.
El Camino Viejo had been in common use since 1780 during the period of Spanish governance in Las Californias. Kingston was one of the few early American settlements in what was at the time a very marshy San Joaquin Valley.
Although the California Gold Rush was mainly centered around the northern extent of the Sierra Nevada range it was wasn't long before additional claims were made further south. By 1853 gold claims were struck along the Kern River which led to the Kern River Gold Rush. The Kern River Gold Rush would spur numerous claims in the southern Sierra Nevada.
Given the routing of El Camino Viejo was largely aligned west of Tulare Lake it was found to be wanting as a major stage road which would link Stockton, the southern Sierra Nevada mining claims and Los Angeles. A new route from Stockton to Los Angeles following the Sierra Nevada along the eastern edge of San Joaquin Valley was plotted. This state route came to be known as the Stockton-Los Angeles Road.
Following the establishment of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road the main path of the highway north of Visalia continued northwest towards the Kings River to Poole's Ferry near what is now Reedley. A western spur incorporated the crossing at Whitmore's Ferry in Kingston. Oliver Bliss would obtain ownership at the ferry in 1859 during heyday of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road. Bliss reportedly charged 25 cents per person to cross the Kings River by ferry and 75 cents for a horse drawn wagon.
The Kings River Ferry at Kingston can be seen below (Michael J. Semus collection).
Kingston was picked as a location along the Butterfield Overland Mail Route in 1858. Despite Whitmore's Ferry operating under a Tulare County license, it was discovered in a survey in late 1859 that was located in Fresno County.
This street scene in Kingston is from 1870 (Kings County Museum).
In 1873 Oliver Bliss sold his ferry to Johnathan Sutherland. Sutherland would replace the ferry with a permanent truss bridge over the Kings River in 1873 along what is now Old Kingston Grade Road. A temporary pontoon bridge may have been in use at the Kings River as early as
1869.
Fresno County would obtain ownership of the Kingston Bridge around 1889 when the structure was undergoing repairs. Under Fresno County ownership the bridge would become a public highway, and tolls would be removed. The span can be seen below as it was in 1890
(Kings County Museum).
The beginning of the end for Kingston would come in 1891 when the Southern Pacific Railroad bypassed the community along their Kerman Branch line. The Kerman Branch originated in Kerman and traveled southeast towards the Kings River. The line diverged directly southward at Lillis siding and crossed the Kings River towards Armona. Post Office service in Kingston had relocated to Lillis siding in 1890 in advance of the completion of the Kerman Branch.
By 1900 the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway line through San Joaquin Valley would reach the Kings River. The siding of Laton would be established northern bank of the Kings River opposite of Kingston. Laton was named after Charles A. Laton who was the owner of part of nearby Rancho Laguna de Tache.
Post Office service was relocated out of Lillis to Laton also in 1900. The Laton community was initially served by road the at the established crossing via the Kingston Bridge. The Kingston Bridge would collapse during March 1908 when a herd of cattle overloaded the span. During 1909 Fresno County would transfer the parcels it governed south of the Kings River at the Kingston town site to Kings County. At the same Kingston was already a ghost town and the remaining structures would disappear by the 1930s.
Following the collapse of the Kingston Bridge a temporary ferry crossing of the Kings River at Laton was established. A new bridge over the Kings River was constructed as an extension of Fowler Avenue south of downtown Laton. The Laton town site street grid was centered around Fowler Avenue being the major north/south roadway whereas Latonia Street was the major east/west roadway.
The street grid of Laton can be seen below on the 1927 United States Geological Survey map. Northern Fowler Avenue can be seen entering downtown along the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway and terminating at Latonia Street. Latonia Street is shown crossing the railroad tracks at-grade to a disconnected segment of Fowler Avenue which crossed the Kings River into Kings County.
In
1935 the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway would construct a subway in Laton. Initially the structure functioned as an underpass carrying Latonia Street under the railroad tracks. The bridge along southern Fowler Avenue at the Kings River would be replaced with the current concrete slab span in
1954. Around the same time Fowler Avenue north of downtown Laton and Murphy Slough was realigned east from the hazardous grade closely fronting the railroad tracks.
At some point between the late 1960s and early 1980s the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway subway was reconfigured to carry a continuous Fowler Avenue. This reconfiguration is not seen on the 1967 aerial of the community but is shown to be present by 1984.
Part 2; scenes along Fowler Avenue in Laton
This view is on Fowler Avenue north of downtown Laton looking at the Liberty Ditch Bridge. This concrete slab structure was constructed in
1925 and is similar to other irrigation canal spans constructed in Fresno County through the 1940s. This span was widened in December 1949 as indicated by the date stamp on the structure.
This view is of the abandoned original alignment of Fowler Avenue north of Murphy Slough. Despite having been repurposed as a chicken coup a white center strip is still identifiable.
This view faces north on Fowler Avenue at the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway subway in downtown Laton. Despite having merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad in late 1996 the structure still carries a "Santa Fe" shield on it.
This view faces north from 12 3/4 Avenue in Kings County towards the 1954-era Kings River Bridge. Fowler Avenue in Laton begins on the Fresno County side of this structure.
Part 3; Old Kingston Grade Road and other sites of interest in Laton
Old Kingston Grade Road can be found west of Laton along Mount Whitney Avenue. During periods when the Kings River is dry the footings for the 1873-era Kingston Bridge can be found on riverbed.
The Kingston town site and historic plaque can be located on the Kings County side of the Kings River on Douglas Avenue. Laton-Kingston Park on both sides of the river has consistently had trouble in recent decades finding funding to stay open.
Many of the older structures in Laton are found just east of Fowler Avenue on De Woody Street.
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