Stockton–Los Angeles Road facts for kids

The Stockton–Los Angeles Road was an important old road in California. It was also known by other names like the Millerton Road or Stockton–Mariposa Road. This route was created around 1853 when gold was found near the Kern River in what was then Tulare County.

This road connected Stockton in the north to Los Angeles in the south. A detailed description of much of this road can be found in a book called The Prairie Traveler: A Hand-book for Overland Expeditions by Randolph B. Marcy. This information came from a survey done in 1853 by Lieutenant Robert S. Williamson, who was looking for a good path for a railroad through California.

Why This Road Was Important

Before 1849, people and goods traveled between Southern and Northern California mostly along the coast using El Camino Real. Later, another route, El Camino Viejo (meaning "the old road"), went inland from San Fernando Mission. This road went over mountains north of Los Angeles and along the west side of the San Joaquin Valley.

When the Gold Rush started in 1849, many people wanted to get to the gold mines in the Mother Lode region. The Stockton–Los Angeles Road became a key route for people and supplies traveling north from the southern parts of California.

Traveling to the Goldfields

From Los Angeles, the route for gold seekers followed El Camino Viejo. It went past San Fernando Mission and then over a steep mountain pass called Fremont Pass. The road continued through the Santa Clarita Valley and San Francisquito Canyon to San Francisquito Pass, heading north towards Elizabeth Lake.

From Elizabeth Lake, the road went through foothills and then northwest to Mud Spring. Here, the road split. One path, El Camino Viejo, turned west towards Cow Springs and then to Castac Pass, which is now known as Tejon Pass.

Another, more direct wagon route went straight north from Mud Spring across the Antelope Valley. It followed Cottonwood Creek up the Tehachapi Mountains and crossed them at the old Tejon Pass. This path then went down to Tejon Creek and through Rancho El Tejon into the San Joaquin Valley. Lieutenant Robert S. Williamson described this old Tejon Pass road as "one of the worst roads he ever saw." He found a better way through La Cañada de las Uvas, also known as Grapevine Canyon. This Grapevine route became much more popular for travelers and wagons.

Once in the San Joaquin Valley, the road continued north. It stayed along the eastern foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. This helped travelers avoid the wet, marshy areas in the valley and made river crossings easier. Eventually, the road led to the goldfields of the Mother Lode.

Improvements Along the Way

In 1853, a businessman named Henry Clay Wiley made improvements to the Fremont Pass. He added a windlass (a type of winch) to help wagons go up and down the steep slopes more easily. He also built a tavern, hotel, and stable nearby. Later, in 1854, the place was sold to Sanford and Cyrus Lyon and became known as Lyon Station. Around the same time, Phineas Banning started a business supplying Fort Tejon. The Castac Pass then became known as the Fort Tejon Pass.

Over the next few years, more towns and mining camps appeared along this route. People were always looking for new gold mines. Cattle and horses were also moved north along the road from Southern California. Ferries were set up at river crossings to help people get across.

The Kern River Gold Rush

In 1853, gold was first found at the Kern River by D. B. James and Brigham James. This area was part of the large, mostly unsettled Mariposa County. Since it was getting harder to find gold in the northern Mother Lode, many miners rushed south to the Southern Mines. This made traffic on the Stockton–Los Angeles Road much busier.

To help supply the Kern River gold miners from San Pedro (a port near Los Angeles), Phineas Banning made some changes to the old road. He created a small cut through the Santa Clara Divide, which made it easier to reach Lyon Station.

By 1855, Phineas Banning's wagons were carrying supplies from Los Angeles, through Fort Tejon, all the way to Fort Miller (in what is now Fresno County) and to the Kern River gold rush. Thousands of miners went to the Kern River, but many were disappointed.

However, over the next few years, more gold was found in nearby places like White River, Keyesville, Owens River, the Slate Range, and the Coso District. These new discoveries kept the Stockton–Los Angeles Road busy. Trails were even built across the Sierra Nevada mountains to send supplies to these new mines. A wagon road was also built from Visalia through Keyesville and Walker Pass to Owens Valley. By 1858, there were several stamp mills (machines to crush ore) in the Kern River area, and freighting supplies to these mines became a big business for both Los Angeles and Stockton.

The Road's Later Years

In 1858, the southern part of the Stockton–Los Angeles Road, from Los Angeles to Visalia, became part of the route for the Butterfield Overland Mail. This was a famous stagecoach service that carried mail and passengers across the country. It used the road until 1861, when the American Civil War caused it to stop.

Even after the Butterfield Overland Mail stopped, the road was still used for commercial purposes. Large freight wagons, stagecoaches, and livestock continued to travel on it. This continued until the mid-1870s, when the railroad from Northern California finally reached Los Angeles. The arrival of the railroad meant that goods and people could be transported much faster and more easily, which led to the decline of the old wagon road.

The Route of the Stockton–Los Angeles Road

The Stockton–Los Angeles Road started in Stockton. It went southeast towards the Sierra foothills to avoid the marshy areas and flooded lowlands near the San Joaquin River. Different smaller roads were used depending on ferry crossings, bridges, or road conditions. For example, the old French Camp Road was often drier during the rainy season than the Mariposa Road.

The route crossed San Joaquin County to Dry Creek (now Lone Tree Creek). Then it continued to crossings on the Stanislaus River, such as Heath & Emory's Ferry or Taylor's Ferry Crossing in Oakdale.

Next, the road went southeast to the Tuolumne River. Important crossings here included Dickinson's Ferry and Davis's Ferry.

From Dickinson's Ferry, the road reached the Merced River upstream from Snelling. There were three main ferry crossings on the Merced River: Young's Ferry, Belt's Ferry (later Murray's Ferry), and Phillips' Ferry. Phillips's Ferry was the furthest east. From here, the road followed the edge of the eastern foothills southward. This path was closer to the mines and had easier river crossings than the flat plains, which were often muddy or flooded.

The route continued from Phillips' Ferry to Bear Creek. Then it reached the crossing of the Mariposa River, where John and "Paddy" Bennett had a post office. Further on, the road came to Newton's Crossing on the Chowchilla River. This part of the road became the boundary between Merced and Mariposa Counties when Merced County was created in 1855.

From Newton's Crossing, the road went to Fresno Crossing on the Fresno River, about twelve miles east of what is now Madera, California. From "Fresno Crossing," it continued to Cottonwood Creek and then to McCray's Ferry and Millerton on the south bank of the San Joaquin River. Fort Miller was located here, marking the halfway point to Los Angeles.

From Fort Miller, the road went to the Slough of King's River and then to Campbells Crossing on the Upper Kings River, near modern Reedley, California. Poole's Ferry operated here from 1851 to 1857. Smith's Ferry, established by James Smith in 1855, was also near Reedley. Smith's was known for being accessible even at high water and operated until 1874. In 1858, W. W. Hills established Hills Ferry upstream at Poole's Crossing.

From Campbells Crossing, the road reached St. John's Creek, which was the first of the "Four Creeks." These creeks were actually branches of the Kaweah River that split after coming out of the Sierras. From St. John's Creek, it was a short distance to the Kaweah River, the second and main one of the "Four Creeks." The town of Visalia grew up between these two streams, west of the original road. The road then crossed Cameron Creek and Deep Creek, the third and fourth of the "Four Creeks."

From Deep Creek, the road went to the Tule River. From 1854, Peter Goodhue ran a stopping place for travelers on the Tule River. This was also the site of the Tule River Stage Station for the Butterfield Overland Mail from 1858 to 1861. R. Porter Putnam, who managed the station in 1860, later founded Porterville there in 1864.

The route continued from Tule River to More's Creek (now Deer Creek). Then it went southeast to Stickneys Ferry on White Creek (now White River). About five miles southeast of More's Creek, Fountain Springs was established before 1855. This was an important junction where the Stockton–Los Angeles Road met the road to the Kern River gold mines. From Stickneys Ferry, the road went to the Depot Camp and the crossing of Poso Creek. From the Depot Camp, it was a short distance to the Kern River crossing at Gordon's Ferry.

From Gordon's Ferry, the road led to the Depot Camp on Tejon Creek. From there, it went up the Grapevine Canyon to Fort Tejon and then to the top of the Fort Tejon Pass. From the summit of Fort Tejon Pass, the road continued to the summit of the road in the Coast Range in San Francisquito Pass. From this pass, it went down San Francisquito Canyon to the southeast fork of the Santa Clara River and the Rancho San Francisco. From there, it was a short distance to the summit of the Lyons Station and Fremont Pass.

From the top of Fremont Pass, there was a steep descent to the bottom of the pass, and then on to the Mission of San Fernando in the valley. Finally, the road continued to the Rancho Cahuenga at a crossing of a branch of the Los Angeles River. From the Cahuenga crossing, it was a short distance through Cahuenga Pass to Los Angeles.

Why the Road Was Used Less

In the 1870s, new railroads were built through the San Joaquin Valley and all the way to Los Angeles. These railroads made it much easier and faster to move goods and people over long distances. As a result, towns grew up along the rail lines, and the old Stockton–Los Angeles Road was used less and less for freight and passengers.

Also, in the 1880s, water was taken from the San Joaquin Valley for irrigation. This caused the lowlands, which used to be wet and marshy, to dry up. Before, these lowlands were hard to travel through, especially in bad weather, making the Stockton–Los Angeles Road the only good option. But once the lowlands were dry, other routes became easier to use. Because of these changes, the Stockton–Los Angeles Road eventually fell out of common use.