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

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 180 in 1952.  The Old Dunlap Road corridor still mostly intact as George Smith Road, Bear Mountain Road, Hall Lane, Elwood Road and Fulgham Lane. 

The post-1941 realignment of California State Route 180 north of Ruth Hill Road onto what was Dunlap Road can be seen on the 1948 United States Geological Survey map of Fresno.  

Part 1; the history of California State Route 180 in Yokuts Valley

During 1905 Legislative Chapter 598 would authorize a survey to locate a route for a highway to be constructed from Grant Grove of General Grant National Park into the Kings River Canyon.  This corridor would be formally added as a planned state highway by way of 1909 Legislative Chapter 223 as Legislative Route Number 41.  

Planned Legislative Route Number 41 appears on the 1918 California Highway Commission map as a special appropriations road.  

The 1919 Third State Highway Bond Act would provide funding for construction of the Kings River Canyon Road.  In 1933 Legislative Route Number 41 would be extended to Tracy via Fresno.  The state highway west of Grant Grove followed Dark Canyon Road (now partially Forest Road 14S45), Pinehurst Road (now California State Route 245) Dunlap Road, and Old Dunlap Road (now Ruth Hill Road) through to Centerville.  The initial Grant Grove-Centerville alignment of Legislative Route Number 41 passes through the communities of Pinehurst, Miramonte, Dunlap and Squaw Valley (now Yokuts Valley).  

New Dunlap Road (shown as just Dunlap Road) and Old Dunlap Road can be seen as the named road corridors between Dunlap and Centerville on the 1924 United States Geological Map of Dinuba.  Old Dunlap Road is displayed as following what is now Ruth Hill Road.  Modern California State Route 180 now follows much of the alignment of New Dunlap Road in Yokuts Valley, but the corridor was significantly straightened (see the following paragraphs below).

Legislative Route Number 41 east of Fresno would be assigned as California State Route 180 when the initial Sign State Routes were announced in the August 1934 California Highways & Public Works.

The initial alignment of California State Route 180 east of Fresno can be seen on the 1935 Division of Highways map of Fresno County (unbroken red line).  The state highway corridor is shown following what is now Ruth Hill Road through Squaw Valley into Dunlap.  

A planned new alignment of California State Route 180 from Boulder Creek east to the Sequoia National Forest boundary near Dunlap appears budgeted for the 89th-90th Fiscal Years in the January 1937 California Highways & Public Works.  The project corridor is shown to be broken up into zones spanning a total of 11 miles.  

California State Route 180 along the slopes of Ruth Hill appears on the cover of the November 1938 California Highways & Public Works.  The cover caption notes construction of the planned new alignment was shelved due to funding falling short.  The existing corridor is called the "Squaw Valley Grade" in the caption.  

The realignment of California State Route 180 from the outskirts of Squaw Valley to Grant Grove appears as budgeted 30-mile project zone for the 91st-92nd Fiscal Years in the February 1939 California Highways & Public Works.  

The Squaw Valley-Grant Grove realignment of California State Route 180 was featured in the June 1940 California Highways & Public Works as being a cooperative project between the Federal Government and State of California.  The chosen alignment is noted to first have been first surveyed by the Federal Government in 1931 to provide better access to General Grant National Park.  The existing highway is noted to be extremely winding and have grades in excess of 10%.  General Grant National Park was reorganized and in expanded during 1940 into Kings Canyon National Park.  

The November 1941 California Highways & Public Works details the opening of the new alignment of California State Route 180 bypassing Squaw Valley and Dunlap.  The then new highway is referenced in the article as "Kings Canyon Road" and is noted to have been completed on August 28, 1941.  This is the first known instance of Kings Canyon Road nomenclature being used.  The name is still used for much of California State Route 180 east of downtown Fresno in modern times. 

In the Squaw Valley area, the Kings Canyon Road and California State Route 180 were realigned onto the existing Dunlap Road corridor north of Ruth Hill Road.  On the 1950 United States Geological Survey map of Orange Cove North the Kings Canyon Road can be seen entering Squaw Valley eastbound via what is now Ruth Hill and turning northward into what is now George Smith Road.  Kings Canyon Road can be seen using what is now Bear Mountain Road towards Hall Lane.  

In northern Squaw Valley the Kings Canyon Road and California State Route 180 are showing overlapping what are now modern Elwood Road and Fulgham Lane on the 1944 United States Geological Survey map.  

Kings Canyon Road and California State Route 180 east of Fulgham Lane shown to have followed a winding alignment along Mill Creek towards the 1941-era Kings Canyon Grade near Dunlap on the 1952 United States Geological Survey map of Patterson Mountain.  Much of this winding alignment has been since buried by modern California State Route 180 aside from what is now Hopewell Road. 

The September/October 1948 California Highways & Public Works announced a realignment project for California State Route 180 between Citrus Cove Road (now Cove Road) and White Deer Road (now Hopewell Road) upcoming for the 1949-1950 Fiscal Year.  This project corridor was intended to replace the winding grade which existed within Citrus Cove eastward through Squaw Valley towards Mill Creek.

The November/December 1951 California Highways & Public Works announced the realignment of California State Route 180 between Citrus Cove and Squaw Valley was underway.  It is unclear why this project corridor was delayed but it appears to have been completed during 1952 without further incident.  This realignment would shifted California State Route 180 and Kings Canyon Road to the grade it now occupies from Citrus Cove east to Dunlap. 

What is now Yokuts Valley was originally the home to a Yokut tribal village called Múshtihnau.  At one point the valley where  Múshtihnau was located in was called "Woman's Land."  Around 1873 American settlers co-opted the name as "Squaw Valley" which was made official following the establishment of Postal Service in 1879.  The term "squaw" in modern times is considered by many to be an ethnic slur towards Native Americans. 

During January 2023 the Board of Geographic Names elected to rename the Squaw Valley as "Yokuts Valley."  The renaming has been locally unpopular, and most businesses still carry the Squaw Valley name. 

Part 2; a drive on the Old Dunlap Road corridor alignment of California State Route 180

Much of the Old Dunlap Road is divided up and largely is not continuous.  The Old Dunlap Road corridor made a soft right-hand transition from what is now Elwood Road onto Fulgham Lane.  Fulgham Lane is not signed and appears to no longer be maintained by Fresno County despite private residences being located on it. 

These photos show the transition the Old Dunlap Road took from Hall Lane to Fulgham Lane via what is now Elwood Road.  

Eastbound Fulgham Lane crosses a bridge at Mill Creek which is being consumed by overgrowth.  This vintage of this span is unclear, but it is similar to bridges constructed by Fresno County from the 1920s through the 1940s. 

Fulgham Lane continues east atop weathered asphalt and Portland Cement to modern California State Route 180 a short distance east of Yokuts Valley.