Skip to main content

Former California State Route 49-108 on Main Street in Jamestown

By


Jamestown is a community located in Tuolumne County in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  Jamestown was founded during 1848 and is one of the many traditional Gold Rush towns located along California State Route 49.  The original alignment of California State Route 49 in Jamestown was located along Main Street.  California State Route 49 along Main Street in Jamestown was joined by a multiplex of California State Route 108 likely during the late 1940s.  California State Route 49 and California State Route 108 were moved to a bypass alignment west of Main Street in Jamestown during the 1970s.  California State Route 49 can be seen passing through Jamestown along Main Street on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Tuolumne County.  


Part 1; the history of California State Route 49-108 in Jamestown

Jamestown was settled one mile from the first mining claim located what is now Tuolumne County during 1848.  Jamestown is named after Colonial George F. James who arrived in the community during 1849.  Colonial George F. James was a popular merchant in early Jamestown known for supplying champagne to patrons and was once elected community Alcalde.  Ultimately, poor mining investments by Colonial George F. James led to the community bearing his name to briefly be renamed American Camp by angry residents.

Jamestown can be seen along the road to Sonora Pass on the 1857 Britton & Rey's Map of California.  


The population of Jamestown would peak around 4,000 before a devastating fire struck the community during October 1885.  The post-mining era decline of Jamestown was short lived as a community became the headquarters for the Sierra Railway during 1897.  Jamestown would never incorporate as a city. 

State Highway service would come to Jamestown as part of the 1909 First State Highway Bond Act.  The First State Highway Bond Act defined the road from Salida east to Sonora through Jamestown as State Highway.  In time the State Highway through Jamestown would come be to be known as Legislative Route Number 13.  The routing of Legislative Route Number 13 through Jamestown was via Main Street.

Legislative Route Number 13 can be seen passing through Jamestown via Main Street on the 1917 California State Automobile Association Map.  


The initial run of Sign State Routes was announced in the August 1934 California Highways & Public Works.  Legislative Route Number 13 between Yosemite Junction-Sonora via Jamestown was assigned as part of California State Route 49.  



California State Route 49/Legislative Route Number 13 can be seen passing through Jamestown along Main Street on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Tuolumne County.  

The relocation of California State Route 49/Legislative Route Number 13 south of Jamestown off of what is now Harvard Mine Road was featured in the September 1941 California Highways & Public Works.  The new alignment of California State Route 49/Legislative Route Number 13 south of Jamestown was dedicated on August 31, 1941.  


The September/October 1948 California Highways & Public Works references California State Route 108 being extended west of Jamestown co-signed with California State Route 49 to an unclear point.  A summary of major construction projects cites California State Route 49 and California State Route 108 as being co-signed through Jamestown to at least Montezuma Road.  


The bypass of Jamestown alignment of California State Route 49-108 opened after the California Highways & Public Works publication ended during 1967.  The illustration below shows the difference between the original routing of California State Route 49-108 on Main Street versus the modern bypass.  The California State Route 49-108 appears to have been constructed during the early 1970s.  


Part 2; exploring former California State Route 49-108 on Main Street in Jamestown

Originally California State Route 49-108 were aligned through downtown Jamestown on Main Street.  Modern California State Route 49-108 bypass downtown Jamestown to the west of Main Street.



Jamestown along Main Street largely appears much as it did during the height of the Gold Rush.  Some of the notable structures on Main Street are the1898 Branch Jail, the 1897 Emporium, and the 1880 Jamestown Hotel.








Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

By
In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...
4 comments
Read more

Massena Center Suspension Bridge

By
The Massena Center Bridge, also known as the Holton D. Robinson Bridge, has had quite the tumultuous history. Situated on the Grasse River just east of Massena, New York in the hamlet of Massena Center, the Massena Center Bridge is a reminder of the efforts the community has made in order to connect over the river. The first and only other known bridge to be built at Massena Center was built in 1832, but that bridge was never long for this world. During the spring of 1833, the Grasse River dammed itself due to an ice dam, flooded and lifted the bridge off its foundation, destroying the bridge in the process.  The floods were frequent in the river during the spring, often backing up the river from Hogansburg and past Massena Center, but not to nearby Massena. After the first bridge disappeared, local residents had to resort to traveling seven miles west to Massena to cross the next closest bridge, and that was no easy task for a horse and buggy. However, it was many decades befo...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Dead Man's Curve of Interstate 90 and Innerbelt Freeway in Cleveland

By
"Dead Man's Curve" refers to the transition ramp Interstate 90 takes between Cleveland Memorial Shoreway onto the Innerbelt Freeway in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.  Said curve includes a sharp transition between the two freeways which is known for a high rate of accidents.  Currently the curve (not officially named) has a 35 MPH advisory speed and numerous safety features intended to mitigate crashes.  When the Interstate System was first conceived during 1956, Interstate 90 was intended to use the entirety Cleveland Memorial Shoreway and connect to the Northwest Freeway through Lakewood.  The Innerbelt Freeway was initially planned as the northernmost segment of Interstate 71.  The extension of Cleveland Memorial Shoreway west of Edgewater Park was never constructed which led to Interstate 90 being routed through the Innerbelt Freeway.   Part 1; the history of Cleveland's Innerbelt Freeway and Deadman's Curve The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 was signe...
Post a Comment
Read more