Madera County Road 426

Road 426 is an approximately seven-mile-long rural highway corridor which begins at Road 222 on the shore of Bass Lake and terminates at California State Route 41 in Oakhurst. The corridor was developed during the 1850s during the emergence of Fresno Flats (now Oakhurst) and lumber milling at Crane Valley (now Bass Lake). The section west of Road 223 and Teaford Saddle was part of the Millerton-Fresno Flats Road whereas the segment east was part of the Crane Valley Road.

Part 1; the history of Madera County Road 426

Madera County Road 426 was a segment of what was the Millerton-Fresno Flats Road. Fresno Flats (now Oakhurst) was settled in 1858 following the Mariposa War along the Fresno River. The community was originally centered around ranching and servicing the nearby mill operations in Crane Valley. The stage road eventually bypassed Millerton when the Fresno County seat was moved to Fresno in 1874.

The Fresno-Fresno Flats Road can be seen on the 1882 Bancroft's Map of California. The road can be seen crossing Teaford Saddle north of Fine Gold and entering Fresno Flat. An eastern fork in the road is shown serving travel to the mills of Crane Valley and the North Fork San Joaquin River (now North Fork Willow Creek).

As the automotive era in the twentieth century began the segments of the Fresno-Fresno Flats Road were assigned names. The entire corridor was named as a component of "Crane Valley Road" which also included modern Road 222 and Road 221 from the Forks Resort south to Road 200.

Crane Valley Road can be seen in detail on the 1912 United States Geological Survey Map of Mariposa.

During the mid-twentieth century the road names of Madera County were dropped in favor of a numbering system. Crane Valley Road was subsequently reassigned as Roads 426, 222 and 221. Road 426 appears on the 1953 United States Geological Survey Map of Bass Lake.

Part 2; a drive on Madera County Road 426

Northbound Madera County Road 223 ends at a fork in Madera County Road 426. Signage indicates Bass Lake is one mile to the east whereas Oakhurst is six miles to the west.

Eastbound Road 426 descends from Road 223 and Teaford Saddle to Road 222 on the shore of Bass Lake near the Forks Resort.

Westbound Road 426 descends gradually from Road 223 and enters Oakhurst.

Road 426 passes through Oakhurst and crosses the Fresno River. West of the river the highway terminates at California State Route 41.

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