The Emigrant Trail Historical Marker, Truckee, California

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The Emigrant Trail Historical Marker, Truckee, California

This trail was the original wagon route that went over Donner Summit when emigrants moved west towards California. During the 1850s and 1860s, emigrants were heading to California, hoping to obtain land, gold or new opportunities. They often faced harsh conditions from the weather, terrain and attacks from Native Americans whose lands they were traversing or trying to take over.

The Emigrant Trail crossed many Midwestern states. Pioneers along this trail would eventually reach California, Utah, Washington or Oregon.

Currently, the trail is a recreational area for biking, hiking and other activities.

Historical Marker Inscription

The Emigrant Trail in the pioneer days of California came through the low pass to the north, facing this monument. The trail turned west at this point for a distance of twenty-six hundred feet where a tablet describes the route then followed.

Placed by Historic Landmarks Committee, Native Sons of the Golden West, September 14, 1929.

Location

39° 19’ 32.862” N, 120° 13’ 0.990” W
11769–11771 Donner Pass Rd, Truckee, CA  96161, United States

Tom’s Place Historical Marker, Crowley Lake, CA

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Tom's Place Historical Marker, Crowley Lake, California

German man Hans Lof built the original building that later became known as Tom’s Place in 1917. It started as a gas station and then was expanded. Thomas and Hazel Yerby purchased the property in 1923. They added a lodge in 1924. The area began attracting tourists who wanted to fish and visit Yosemite.

After Tom Yerby died in 1940, Hazel continued to run the place until 1945 when she sold it. Around this time, the highway was paved making it easier to access the area. In 1947, the lodge burned down.

After changing hands for several years, Mark and Michelle Layne purchased the property in January 2000, and they continue to run it to the present.

Historical Marker Inscription

This way-station, rest area and resort has served the residents and visitors of the Eastern Sierra for over 100 years.

Originally built and managed by Hands Lof, it operated as a seasonal cafe, bar, gas station, pack station and camp ground from 1917 to 1923 when it was purchased by Tom and Hazel Yerby.

The Yerbys improved and expanded the facilities with the construction of guest cabins and a full service lodge in 1924 (sadly the lodge burned down in 1947).

With the grading and paving of Hwy 23 (the predecessor of US-395) it became a year-round destination resort town known as – Tom’s Place. In 1961 a post office was established here and operated for several years.

After the death of Tom Yerby, the resort was sold and over the years it changed hands several times. However its popularity did not diminish and the name remained the same.

Today, the current owners maintain the hospitality and ambiance started by its founders. Thus ensuring Tom’s Place will remain a Mono County landmark for the next 100 years.

Dedicated
September 9, 2017
Bodie Chapter No 65
B Clampus Vitus

Location

8180 Crowley Lake Drive, Crowley Lake California 93546

37.5613° N, 118.6812° W

James Sinclair Historical Marker, Radium Hot Springs, BC

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James Sinclair Historical Marker, British Columbia, Canada

James Sinclair began working for the Hudson Bay Company in 1826. He was the son of HBC officer Willian Sinclair. He initially worked at both Fort Albany and Chickney Goose Tent, located in Ontario.

In 1827, he relocated to the Red River Settlement in Manitoba and became a private trader. He later began fur trading, selling the furs back to the Hudson Bay Company. The goal was to keep American competitors from accessing the furs.

This is also the reason that the HBC wanted to reduce population growth in the settlement. To do this and improve Great Britain’s claim to the area, they arranged for a group of families to move into Oregon at the Columbia River. Sinclair was the guide who led the settlers through the plains and Rocky Mountains.

He would eventually move to the Oregon Territory, living in both Oregon and California. He would later become the head of HBC’s Fort Walla Walla. On March 26, 1856, he would be killed during an attack by Native Americans at the fort.

Historical Marker Inscription

In 1841, Sinclair guided 200 Red River settlers from Fort Garry through the Rockies to Oregon in an attempt to hold the territory for Great Britain. By 1854 he had recrossed the mountains several times by routes which later were followed by trails and highways — a tribute to this great pathfinder, traveller, free trader and colonizer.

Providence of British Columbia

1966

Location

50° 36’ 3.852” N, 116° 3’ 31.050” W

7875–7889 Highway 93, Radium Hot Springs BC V0A 1M0, Canada

Settlement of Hatch Historical Marker, Hatch, Utah

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Settlement of Hatch Historical Marker, Hatch, Utah

Known initially as Hatch or Hatchtown, the town was created Meltiar Hatch and his two wives, Mary Ann and Permelia, and their children. It was an order by the Church of Latter-Day Saints leaders to settle the Dixie Mission. The three thought they were in Utah, but redrawn boundary lines had put the settlement in Nevada.

After discussions with Brigham Young,  everyone decided to move back to Utah. The first move was to Panguitch in South Utah. Later, the family moved 20 miles to the south where Mammoth Creek connects with the Sevier River. Other settlers also began moving into the area. The Hatch home was the central location of both LDS worship and school sessions. This is why the town was named Hatchtown.

In the early 1900s, The Upper Sevier Reservoir Company decided to build a dam despite the fears of the community. In 1903, the dam broke. It was rebuilt, and then the dam broke again in 1914. During the second dam break, many homes were destroyed, and people were left homeless. This was one of the reasons that the town was moved one and a half miles south of the original location. The town of Hatch was incorporated on January 3, 1934.

Historical Marker Inscription

In 1872 Meltiar Hatch settled at the head of the Sevier River, near the junction of Mammoth and Asay Creeks. He engaged in stock raising and operated a water-power sawmill. Soon other settlers came. Land was surveyed and irrigation ditches dug. Lime was burned by Neils P. Clove. First school was in the Hatch home, Abram Workman teacher. 1888 the Asay post office was transferred to Hatch, Neils Ivor Clove, Postmaster. In 1892 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints organized Mammoth Ward, Aaron Asay, Bishop. 1899 the Ward name was changed to Hatch. 1901 to 1904, the town was moved to the present site under the leadership of Bishop Rosmus Lynn.

Erected by The Daughters of Utah Pioneers in 1964, No. 292

Location

37° 38’ 59.280” N, 112° 26’ 4.482” W
2–24 W Center St, Hatch, UT 84735, United States

Emigrant Road, Jerome, ID

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Emigrant Road Historical Marker, Jerome, ID

Known as the Emigrant Road, this route was favored by the Hudson’s Bay Company during the mid-1800s. The road ran from Snake River in the north to South-Central Idaho. As an alternative to the Oregon Trail, which tended to be difficult, the Hudson’s Bay Company traders used it to go between Fort Hall and Fort Boise.

Emigrants, on the other hand, had to take a route further south since the road was not initially designed to allow for wagons. With later improvements, emigrants would be able to use this route.

There is a dispute amongst historians as to whether this road was part of the North Alternate to the Oregon Trail, which would have made it part of the Oregon Trail System.

Historical Marker Inscription

More than a century ago, fur trappers and emigrants followed an old Indian trail that crossed here on its way to Oregon.

Hudson’s Bay Company traders preferred this route between Fort Hall and Fort Boise, but early emigrant wagons had to travel a road south of Snake River until ferries and road improvements let wagons come this way. Shoshone Falls — known until 1849 as Canadian Falls to British and French trappers — was a spectacular attraction along this road.

Location

42° 37’ 13.032” N, 114° 26’ 57.978” W
US-93 N, Jerome, ID  83338, United States

Avart-Peretti House, New Orleans, Louisiana

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Avart-Peretti House Historical Marker, New Orleans, Louisiana

While built as a home in 1842 for Mme. Augustine Eugenie de Lassize, the Avart-Peretti House is most known as the location where Tennessee Williams wrote A Streetcar Named Desire. Williams made frequent visits to New Orleans, first coming to the city in 1938. And it was in New Orleans that he renamed himself Tennessee. 

According to reports, the Avart-Peretti House was said to be Williams’s favorite place to stay. In this location, he was close to the Desire streetcar line, and the house was even the inspiration for the fictional home in the play.

The house was also the home of sculptor Achille Peretti from 1906 to 1923. Hailing from Italy, the artist eventually became an American citizen.

The house is currently not open to the public.

Historical Marker Inscription

Erected 1842 as a two-story house for Mme. Augustine Eugenie de Lassize widow of Louis Robert Avart J.N.B. de Pouilly and Ernest Goudchauz architect-builders

From 1906 through 1923 it was the residence and studio of the artist Achille Peretti

During 1946 and 1947 Tennessee Williams lived here and wrote “A Steetcar Named Desire”

John Phillips Marker, Fort Laramie, Wyoming

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John Portugee Phillips Historical Marker, Fort Laramie, WY

This was the ending point for John “Portugee” Phillips’s great 236-mile ride from Fort Phil Kearney to Fort Laramie. After the attack by Red Cloud on Fort Kearney, the fort was low on men and military equipment. U.S. Colonel Henry B. Carrington had been in charge of the fort. He asked for a volunteer to make a ride to request reinforcements from the nearest fort – which was Fort Laramie.

The ride was not easy. There was a blizzard, and it was extremely cold. Yet, Phillips managed to successfully make the ride in two days and get to Fort Laramie on Christmas night. Phillips’s horse died from exhaustion.

Read this for a full background on the massacre and the ride it inspired.

Historical Marker Inscription

Here on December 25, 1866
John (Portugee) Phillips
finished his 236 mile ride
to obtain troops for
the relief of Fort Phil Kearny
after the Fetterman Massacre.

Dedicated by the Historical Landmark Commission of Wyoming
1940

Location

42° 12’ 9.660” N, 104° 33’ 29.430” W

Fort Laramie National Historic Site, Fort Laramie, WY  82212, United States

Jefferson Parish Historical Marker, Louisiana

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Jefferson Parish Historical Marker, Louisiana

Established in 1825, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, was named after Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson was instrumental in the Louisiana Purchase, where the burgeoning United States purchased the territory from France in 1803.

From at least the 1600s, the area was home to Native American tribes. Other groups that called the area home included the Germans, Spaniards, Africans, Italians, Acadians and more.

Prior to 1874, the parish borders stretched from St. Charles Parish to Felicity Street in New Orleans. As Orleans Parish grew, however, it annexed areas of Jefferson Parish. The current borders were redrawn to their current location in 1874.

Historical Marker Inscription

On Feb. 11, 1825, Governor Henry S. Johnson signed legislation creating the Parish of Jefferson out of the Third Senatorial District. It is named for President Thomas Jefferson, who died the following year, July 4.

Location

29° 58’ 23.988” N, 90° 8’ 26.030” W

1373–1379 Airline Dr, Metairie, LA  70001, United States

Lancaster Trading Post, Fort Laramie

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Fort Platte Trading Post Historical Marker Wyoming

Located approximately one mile from Fort Laramie (formerly known as Fort William), Fort Platte was built by fur trader Lancaster Lupton. Lupton made the post as a competitor to Fort William, and he had previously created Fort Lupton in Colorado. So, Lupton already had a system in place to make these types of ventures successful.

Despite the fort being successful, Lupton had to sell it to Pratte & Cabanne in 1843 due to his own debts. It was eventually abandoned within a few years of the sale.

Historical Marker Inscription

A Trading Post Built By
Lancaster P. Lupton
in 1841,
Stood Fifty Yards to the
North.

Placed By
The Historical Landmark Commission
Of Wyoming
July 1951

Location

42° 12’ 33.210” N, 104° 32’ 15.300” W

1218–1286 WY-160, Fort Laramie, WY  82212, United States

The Oregon Trail – Cold Spring Camping

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Cold Spring Camping Ground Historical Marker, Guernsey, WY

The Cold Springs campground was a major camping spot along the Oregon-California-Mormon Trail. The marker indicates not only the spot where emigrants stopped. It also indicates the rifle pits that soldiers used to protect the area.

Historical Marker Inscription

The Oregon Trail

1841

Cold Spring Camping Ground. Rigle Pits On Brow Of Hill 500 Feet North

Erected by the Historical Landmark Commission of Wyoming

1943

Location

42° 16’ 1.470” N, 104° 47’ 25.680” W

1251 US-26, Guernsey, WY  82214, United States