Historic El Camino Real road marker - photo/L Godfree
On your road trip along the Coastal Highway 101 in California you may have noticed the unique bells marking the drive. You may be curious about the meaning of the bells used as signs saying “Historic El Camino Real” placed along the route.
The modern El Camino Real was one of the first state highways in California. El Camino Real is a Spanish phrase for The Royal Road, also known as The King's Highway from early California history dating back to 1769.
The first of 450 bells was unveiled on August 15, 1906. Given the lack of standardized road signs at the time it was decided to place distinctive bells along the state highway route, hung on an 11-foot high shepherd's crook also described as "a Franciscan walking stick."
El Camino Real refers to the 600-mile California Mission Trail which connected 21 Spanish missions, stretching from Mission San Diego de Alcalá in San Diego in the south to Mission San Francisco Solano in Sonoma in the north. Today, several modern highways cover parts of the historic route, though large sections are on city streets (for instance, most of the stretch between San Jose and San Francisco). The official state definition of El Camino Real
The modern restoration effort of the original bells began in 1996 by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), with installation of 555 El Camino Real Bell Markers in 2005. The original 1906 bell molds were used to fabricate the replacement bells. The replacement and original bells were produced by the California Bell Company and are dated 1769 to 1906, and include a designer's copyright notice.
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Comments
We did an RV trip along the California coast - loved your article and images. Brought back some nice memories.
Delightful! Article and iformation and photos. Exceptional Lindsay
How interesting. I had no idea.
I've never been to California.
I've always wanted to do a motorcycle trip along the Pacific coast - another thing to add to the 'list.' Thanks for sharing the great pictures.
I've done this coast many times, and it is as beautiful as it looks. It is one of the best road trips..with some side detours to Highway 1.
That is a wonderful drive.
Nice article - I've always been fascinated with the California Missions and their history.
I've drove back and forth from Long Beach to San Luis Obispo and been very fascinated by the historic roads on the 101. The curiosity of the bells lead me to this site and learned a bit more. I cannot be more fascinated and amazed. Thanks.
Thank you for your comment! It makes it worth writing the article and posting the photos knowing others enjoy the information. Thanks to all my readers!
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