Skip to main content

Mountain Charlie Road

By

The southern portion of Mountain Charlie Road is an approximately 5.1-mile single lane rural highway located in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Santa Cruz County.  This segment of Mountain Charlie Road begins at California State Route 35 (Summit Road) and terminates to the south at Glenwood Drive near South Pacific Coast Railroad Tunnel #4.  A second northern segment of Mountain Charlie Road begins at Summit Road and extends approximately 1 mile northward to Old Santa Cruz Highway. 

Mountain Charlie Road along with a small portion of Glenwood Drive and Bean Creek Road were all part of the McKiernan Toll Road.  The McKiernan Toll Road was commissioned by the Santa Cruz Turnpike Company in 1858.  This toll road would be constructed by Charles Henry "Mountain Charlie" McKiernan and Hiram Scott at a cost $6,000.  The McKiernan Toll Road originated at what is now the city of Scotts Valley and ascended to the Summit Road.  The toll facility was ultimately purchased by Santa Cruz County in 1878 for $600 and made a public highway.




Part 1; the history of Mountain Charlie Road

Both Mountain Charlie Road and nearby Bean Creek Road share a common origin as a singular stage route.  In 1858 the Santa Cruz Turnpike Company awarded a $6,000 contract to Charles Henry "Mountain Charlie" McKiernan and Hiram Scott to build a toll road to the summit of the Santa Cruz Mountains.  The roadway originated at Hiram Scott's home (4603 Scotts Valley Drive) in what is now the city of Scott Valley (named after Hiram Scott).  From Scott Valley the roadway rose northward to the Summit Road following the courses of Bean Creek and what is now Mountain Charlie Gulch. 

After the Scott Valley-Summit Road was constructed, it came to be known as the McKiernan Toll Road.  The toll road can be seen as a segment of a series of interconnected roadways which linked Santa Cruz to San Jose on the 1873 Bancroft's map of California.  


Santa Cruz County would purchase the McKiernan Toll Road from Mountain Charlie in 1878 for $600.  The purchase carried the stipulation that Mountain Charlie would abandon his remaining franchise toll road claim.  Typically franchise toll road rights were granted for a period twenty-five years.  The toll road corridor would become Mountain Charlie Road, part of Glenwood Drive and Bean Creek Road. 

The northbound beginning of the former McKiernan Toll Road corridor can be seen (marked by blue pin) branching north from Scott Valley on the 1902 United States Geological Survey Map.  This lower portion of the former toll corridor is now Bean Creek Road.  


The former segment of the McKiernan Toll Road on Glenwood Drive between Bean Creek Road and Mountain Charlie Road became part of Legislative Route Number 5 following passage of the 1909 State Highway Bond Act.  As originally defined Legislative Route Number 5 originated in Stockton and was defined as being 116.9 miles.  The northern branch of the State Highway terminated in Oakland whereas the southern branch terminated in Santa Cruz. 

The northbound beginning of Mountain Charlie Road can be seen branching from Glenwood Drive (marked with blue pin) at Clems siding on the 1919 United States Geological Survey map of New Almaden.  Mountain Charlie Road can be seen crossing over Tunnel #4 of the Southern Pacific Railroad line to Santa Cruz near Clems siding.  The Southern Pacific had acquired the South Pacific Coast Railroad through the Santa Cruz Mountains in 1887. 


The same United States Geological Survey map displays Mountain Charlie Road following Mountain Charlie Gulch northward to the Summit Road (marked by blue pin). 



The entirety of the former McKiernan Toll Road corridor can be seen in detail on the 1935 Division of Highways map of Santa Cruz County.  Bean Creek Road can be seen originating at Mount Hermon Road near in Scotts Valley and tracking northeast to Glenwood Drive.  Early California State Route 17 which had been assigned to the Santa Cruz branch of Legislative Route Number 5 during August 1934 can be seen as State Highway (solid red) between Bean Creek Road and Mountain Charlie Road.  Mountain Charlie Road is displayed as branching north of Glenwood Drive to California State Route 5 (now California State Route 35) at Summit Road.  Early California State Route 17 is displayed as following the entirety of Glenwood Drive from Scotts Valley Road northward to Inspiration Point.



The July 1939 California Highways & Public Works featured the opening of the Los Gatos-Santa Cruz Highway.  The then new expressway corridor realigned California State Route 17 off of Scotts Valley Drive and Glenwood Drive to the east.  This realignment removed the only segment of the McKiernan Toll Road corridor from the State Highway System.  






South Pacific Coast Railroad Tunnel #4 can be seen passing underneath Mountain Charlie Road in a photo dated to around 1940 (courtesy Santa Cruz Trains and the Margaret Koch Collection).  The line had been shuttered north of Olympia Station through the Santa Cruz Mountains during March 1940.  




Part 2; a drive on Mountain Charlie Road

The southern section of Mountain Charlie Road begins at California State Route 35 (Summit Road) just west of modern California State Route 17.  



Near the southbound beginning of Mountain Charlie Road, a historical plaque can be found.  This plaque details the history of the McKiernan Toll Road corridor. 



Mountain Charlie Road passes through a small grove of Coastal Redwoods.  Approaching Riva Ridge Road traffic is advised of a 25-foot prohibition on southbound Mountain Charlie Road.










Mountain Charlie Road rapidly descends southward through a series of residential properties. 
















Mountain Charlie Road passes through another Coastal Redwood Grove and Tunnel #4 before terminating at Glenwood Drive.  












Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The case to move Interstate 73 in Southern Ohio onto US 33

By
Every decade or so, Ohio pushes to revisit the proposed Interstate 73 that would connect Michigan to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  It's been happening since Congress legislated the route in 1991.  Within Ohio, Interstate 73 generally follows the US 23 corridor from Portsmouth through Columbus to Toledo, and into Michigan. Since High Priority Corridor Five was created , Ohio has really done nothing to move forward with Interstate 73.  Sure, there have been feasibility studies here and there.  But actual dollars and construction just haven't occurred. The US 33 Nelsonville Bypass appears to have been built to Interstate standards. However, Ohio has been slowly upgrading US 33 to a full freeway through Southeastern Ohio.  Bypasses of Lancaster and Nelsonville opened in 2004 and 2013, respectively.  Other sections of two-lane road are being twinned, some to freeway or, at a minimum, to expressway standards.  Currently, a $274 million widening project in...
Post a Comment
Read more

Local Sign Find - The last remnant of Business Interstate 95 between Kenly and Rocky Mount , NC

By
As you head north on Interstate 95 at Exit 107 for Kenly and US 301, you'll notice something odd about the overhead sign for the exit.  Peeling off the sign for all that can see is the word 'NORTH' off-center from the US 301.  This old sign (probably close to original from when this section of I-95 opened - more on that in a little bit) gives a hint to a short-lived Business Interstate Route that ran from here to Rocky Mount. The last hint of the Kenly-Wilson-Rocky Mount Business I-95 (Shaun White - August 2020) Interstate 95 in North Carolina has a unique history.  But one of the overlooked and forgotten pieces of Interstate 95 in North Carolina is the 38 mile section between Kenly and Rocky Mount.  When opened to traffic in late 1978, it was the next to last piece of Interstate 95 in North Carolina to open replacing a four lane US 301 from Battleboro through Rocky Mount and Wilson to eventually tying back into the Interstate in Kenly. Though it was not delayed in l...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nostalgia fast food with style - Returning to Rax

By
Nostalgia. It sells. It evokes, and more accurately, warps memories of days gone by.  Things were better, simpler, and we eat it up. Nostalgia can make you drive three hours and over a hundred miles out of your way just to reconnect with a dying fast-food restaurant you last enjoyed in the early to mid-90s.  That person was me - that restaurant was Rax. I could go on about Rax's history, but in short, Rax was briefly a very popular roast beef fast-food chain.  Growing up in the 80s and early 90s in Western PA, Rax was the good fast-food spot.  The milkshakes.  (Personally, the chocolate chip milkshake was heaven.)  Uncle Alligator Kids Meal with the chocolate chip cookie. Take that McDonald's Happy Meal!  The fancy salad and hot foods bar.  Going to Rax was special.  Like so many similar restaurants, various investments, management decisions, etc., led Rax to almost disappear overnight.  By the time I graduated college in late 1999, abou...
Post a Comment
Read more