Established
in 1937
|
Early day 'Road to the Sea' marked initial efforts to open valley-coastal commerce
By ROGER BRANDT
Special to IVNDuring the first six years after Illinois Valley’s gold rush, the only way to get supplies from Crescent City to Illinois Valley was by pack mule.
Business owners in Crescent City and Illinois Valley understood that more supplies could be shipped at less expense if a road between the two communities could be established.
The following story is a compilation of the establishment of Illinois Valley’s first road to the sea.
Most of the first attempts to make a road from the sea to inland communities were initiated by Crescent City businesses. Proposals were made as early as 1854, but construction never started because the cost was too high or the groups involved lost interest.
In 1857, the first progress on a road was started by the Crescent City Plank Road and Turnpike Co. The route would later be shown on some maps as the “Turnpike Road.”
The route started in Crescent City and went north following a route that roughly paralleled present-day Hwy. 101 to where it turned east and went over Redwood Ridge at about the same place where Hwy. 199 enters Redwood National and State Parks. Segments of this road were surfaced with planks of redwood to help prevent wagons from getting stuck in mud.
The road crossed the Smith River at a place called Peacock Crossing a mile downriver from where Hwy. 199 crosses the Smith River near Jedediah Smith Campground.
After crossing the river, the road climbed to a ridge called Low Divide and followed ridge-tops in a northerly direction to within a few hundred yards of the Oregon state line. Here it turned east and dropped to a bridge over the North Fork of the Smith River.
The road continued northeasterly, passing near McGrew Mountain and continuing on to Cedar Springs where it turned east and snaked down to the West Fork of Illinois River near O’Brien. The road continued to Waldo and then on to Kerbyville and Jacksonville.
During early 1858, the road was completed. On May 19, the first stage arrived at Crescent City from Jacksonville.
Several supply points were established along the route where freight wagons would stop for the night. Altaville was perhaps the best documented of these, and was described as practically deserted during the day, but becoming lively and loud when the teamsters stopped for the night.
Wagons and stagecoaches would be the dominant form of transportation between Illinois Valley and Crescent City for the next 50 years.
It all started with “The Turnpike,” Illinois Valley’s first road to the sea.
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