PAVING THE WAY

It’s known as “The Royal Road,” the “Kings Highway” and many other names, but El Camino Real is the most historic highway in California. It has been a pathway through the region since the first missions were built in the 1700s. One hundred and five years ago, El Camino Real was the first paved road through Southern California and it became a celebrated tourist attraction.

El Camino Real is the 700 miles of road that connects the 21 Spanish colonial missions, pueblos and presidios of California. In the early 1900s the state’s rising number of automobiles needed better roads, and the idea to pave the way along the El Camino Real route gathered momentum through numerous society groups and preservation organizations. The state needed a cohesive road system between San Francisco and San Diego, and the missions needed revitalization as many were neglected at the time. The route is marked by historic mission bells along the highway.

In the 1950s, the number of bells declined to fewer than 100 due to road expansion, vandalism and theft. In 1959 the Division of Highways was legislatively mandated to maintain the marker system. Areas along the route that are not part of the state highway system had to find ways to maintain the bells on their own. This remains true today, and many philanthropic organizations and charity groups pay for the markers.

It is believed there have been more than 15 bell designs, including the posts that hang the bells.

1959: the number dips to 120

1963: 81 replicas are donated

1978: Caltrans begins to replace bells with versions made of concrete to discourage theft

1996: The Caltrans Landscape Architecture Program begins to restore the El Camino Real bells

2000: Caltrans receives funding to install 585 mission bells from Orange County to Sonoma County.

COURTESY OF THE ORANGE COUNTY ARCHIVES Workers pave the first state highway through Tustin in 1914. The project continued south, and the route was drivable to San Diego by 1915.