Redwood Highway
Also known as: California State Highway #1
Why it's listed
Two bypassed stretches of the original Redwood Highway survive in Del Norte County, California. One runs from High Bluff to the mouth of the Klamath River, where a ferry once carried cars to Requa. The other, about three miles long, begins north of Wilson Creek and follows the coastal cliffs toward Enderts Beach. The highway was built between 1919 and 1923 by the California State Highway Commission and was the first state highway built in Del Norte and Humboldt Counties. Before it, the area depended on ships and poorly maintained wagon roads. Slides, erosion and the 1926 opening of the Douglas Memorial Bridge led to relocations that left these sections largely unaltered. Paving is now broken or missing and slipouts block the way, but the grade and construction details can still be seen. The nomination presents them as the clearest surviving examples of a 1920s highway in the region, and notes that the highway's builders spared most redwoods along the route.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the sections are locally significant in engineering and transportation as surviving examples of a 1920s highway, little changed because they were bypassed while other stretches were modernized and widened. They are also original parts of the first state highway built in Del Norte and Humboldt Counties, which opened the area to settlement, resource development and visitors to the redwoods.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 79000253, listed December 17, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | W of Klamath, Klamath |
|---|---|
| County | Del Norte County |
| Listed | December 17, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79000253 |
| Resource type | Structure |
| Period of significance | 1919-1923 |
| Architect / builder | California State Highway Commission |
| Areas of significance | Engineering, Transportation |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Both sections are abandoned and deteriorated: paving is broken or missing, slides and washouts block the grade, and the road cannot be traversed entirely on foot, though original engineering details remain visible. |
| Acreage | 50 |
| Coordinates | 41.58812, -124.10590 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary: it recognises significance and does not restrict what a private owner may do without federal money or permits. It unlocks the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit for income-producing buildings, state credits in many states, and Section 106 review when federal agencies are involved. See what listing means in practice.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 79000253.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q47546166
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.