Check out our new video on Piru Gorge and Pyramid Lake. See what lies beneath the surface of Pyramid Lake and the many other features of Piru Gorge!
99 Alert – Red Bluff Chinatown Structure
One of our Highway 99 Partners needs your help! For reference, they gave a wonderful presentation in July 2022 on the historic Red Bluff Chinatown. Help show them the 99 Association is there for them by signing their petition to save this historic building!
From The Helen & Joe Chew Foundation:
Dear Beloved Friends and Family, we have an update. We still urgently need your support, no donation necessary, just your kind signature, to protect a significant piece of California’s Gold Rush era heritage: 202-206 Walnut Street in Red Bluff, the Chew family’s birthplace and the last standing structure from their Historic Chinatown. This site is being purchased by the Resource Conservation District of Tehama County (RCDTC) which has communicated they are now in escrow to purchase the property for office use.
Petition Link: https://chng.it/c7FxGKN2y8
please spread the word, no donation is necessary
Despite RCDTC’s mission to manage and conserve Tehama County’s natural resources, this plan disregards the immense cultural and historical value of the Chew family’s birthplace. Following a face-to-face meeting with Joe Chew’s granddaughter on February 7th, the RCDTC submitted an offer to purchase the property on February 8th, coincidentally the same day she informed them via email of her intentions to submit an offer for her grandfather’s birthplace. We are rallying for your help to prevent this sale and ensure the preservation of this irreplaceable landmark goes back to the hands of the Chew family.
By signing our petition, you’re not just supporting a building; you’re honoring the legacy of a family that contributed immensely to the local community through their Traditional Chinese Medicine practice and cultural heritage. We aim to secure the right of first refusal for Joe Chew’s granddaughter, offering a chance to protect and celebrate our shared history.
Join us in this critical effort to preserve the Chew family’s birthplace and keep the story of Red Bluff’s Historic Chinatown alive for future generations. Together, we can make a difference.
Your friends from The Helen & Joe Chew Foundation
New Video – The Grapevine
The first video in our new series “History along US 99” is now available for viewing! Come check it out on our YouTube channel.
Highway 99 History Series
Greetings All!
In an effort to promote Historic US 99 and the history along the way, we are in the process of producing a new web series covering various topics about the road including the Ridge Route, historic route signs, border crossings, and more. Our first video will cover “The Grapevine” in Southern California. If you’d like to help with this project or have an idea of a topic we should consider, let’s talk!
Ridge Route Preservation Organization Begins Pothole Project
From the Ridge Route Preservation Organization:
The Ridge Route Preservation Organization was cleared by the Angeles National Forest to repair potholes along the north section of the Old Ridge Route from the 138 to the Tumble Inn.
The intent is to preserve the road and make it more accessible to the public as well as emergency services. Filling the potholes can reinforce crumbling sections of the road as well as prevent further damage to the original road surface.
The Ridge Route Pothole Project will begin in spring of 2024.
These improvements don’t only serve to protect the history of the Ridge Route, the repairs will also serve everyone who passes through the area. It’s a large stretch of open land that provides recreation for hikers, cyclists and hunters as well as being a heavy fire danger area. It’s important that emergency vehicles have quick and easy access when mere seconds matter.
A donation of $15 buys a 50 pound bag of asphalt cold patch.
For volunteer and donation info visit https://ridgeroute.org/pothole-project.