Sutter Creek-Volcano Road is an approximately 12-mile rural highway corridor located in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Amador County. As the name suggests, this corridor connects the city of Sutter Creek east via creek of the same name eastward to the town of Volcano. This roadway is known for being very winding and prone to flooding during winter months.
Sutter Creek-Volcano Road was surveyed in 1863 as a franchise toll corridor. This roadway corridor was constructed by the Sutter Creek-Volcano Turnpike Company who extended Eureka Street in Sutter Creek to Volcano. Sutter Creek-Volcano Road would later become an Amador County public highway and would be realigned to Church Street in Sutter Creek.
Part 1; the history of Sutter Creek Road
The city of Sutter Creek along with the nearby body of water takes their names from renown Gold Rush figure John Sutter. John Sutter was born during 1803 in Switzerland and would eventually arrive in the Mexican state of Alta California during the summer of 1839. Sutter would become a Mexican citizen and would receive a grant to land to construct a fortification (Sutter's Fort) at what is now the city of Sacramento.
Sutter would later fund construction of a mill at the South Fork American River during the waning days of the Mexican-American War. On January 24, 1848, a worker at Sutter's Mill by the name of James Marshall would discover gold flakes in the South Fork American River. The Mexican-American War would end on February 2, 1848, via the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo before news of the discovery at Sutter's Mill was announced.
Wider news of the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill became public knowledge later in 1848 which spurred the 1849 California Gold Rush. The influx of settlers seeking opportunity in California led to it becoming an American state on September 9, 1850.
Following the discovery of gold at his mill John Sutter would move to Mormon Island near what is now Folsom. Sutter's operations at Mormon Island were short lived as the mines would flood after two weeks. Sutter would relocate southward to what is now Sutter Creek and would open another placer mining operation there. The mining operations at Sutter Creek were successful and a small community would soon develop. The Sutter Creek Post Office would open in 1852 and the townsite was formally plotted in 1854.
The town of town of Sutter Creek was downstream on Sutter Creek (the body of water) from the town of Volcano. Mining operations at Soldiers Gulch began in 1849 which were overseen by Colonel Stevenson. The early miners thought the valley floor at Soldiers Gulch had a volcanic origin and named their town "Volcano."
The Volcano Post Office would open in 1851 and by 1852 the town had over 300 homes. Volcano was the site of one of the first hydraulic mines in California which began to be worked in 1855. At the height of mining in Volcano the community had several thousand residents and seventeen hotels.
During the 1850s several water powered sawmills were constructed east of the Sutter Creek. The early mills were connected by Eureka Street which is located on the northern creek bed and extended eastward approximately to what is now Blackwell Road. In 1863 twelve business partners would incorporate Sutter Creek-Volcano Turnpike Company and surveyed a roadway to connect Sutter Creek with Volcano.
Shortly after being surveyed the Sutter Creek-Volcano Road was constructed. The original eastbound beginning followed Eureka Street from Sutter Creek to avoid a crossing of the creek bed. Sutter Creek-Volcano Road was initially a franchise toll road and can be seen below on an 1860s map of Amador County. Sutter Creek-Volcano Road was the quickest corridor heading east from Sutter Creek to the wider Carson Pass Highway.
Typically, franchise toll road rights in California were granted by the legislature for a period of twenty-five years. More often than not the franchise toll road rights were abandoned in California due to poor profitability. It isn't clear when Sutter Creek-Volcano Road became a public highway, but it does appear on the 1889 United States Geological Survey map of Jackson. The western end of the roadway corridor is shown to have been realigned via a bridge towards Church Street in Sutter Creek.
Sutter Creek would incorporate as a city on February 11, 1913. The current bridge carrying Sutter Creek-Volcano Road over Sutter Creek was constructed in 1925. The structure was rebuilt to modern standards in 1955.
Sutter Creek-Volcano Road appears as a minor local highway on the 1935 Division of Highways map of Amador County.
Part 2; a drive on Sutter Creek-Volcano Road
Westbound Sutter Creek-Volcano Road begins at a fork at the end of Main Street in Volcano. The right fork transitions traffic onto Sutter Creek-Volcano Road whereas the left fork transitions traffic onto Pine Grove-Volcano Road.
Westbound Sutter Creek-Volcano Road initially follows the northern bank of Sutter Creek. The roadway is narrow and winding as it is located close to the creek bed. There are no significant intersections on the roadway corridor, and it only begins to widen approaching Sutter Creek Lions Park.
Sutter Creek-Volcano Road crosses the 1925-era steel stringer bridge over Sutter Creek.
Sutter Creek-Volcano Road terminates at the Sutter Creek city limit and becomes Church Street.
Church Street terminates at Main Street in downtown Sutter Creek. Main Street is the original alignment of California State Route 49 in the Sutter Creek area.
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