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Looking West
The World Famous Oregon Trail Crossroads
You are looking due west at Wild Horse Acres from the far east end. Although you are seeing several miles and US Highway 395 isn't clearly visible, Wild Horse Acres extends about a mile and a half from this spot west. Basically, but not quit, Wild Horse Acres extends from here to US Highway 395.
The signpost, a tad bit left of center in this picture, although hard to see, is the official United States Government signpost for the crossroads of Oregon, California, and Nevada trails. In various forms, this signpost has been in this spot since 1852.
To most the travelers, this was the end of the Oregon Trail because the vast majority of settlers headed west, staying in California. Generally speaking, the easiest trail went west through Susanville, WestWood, and into the north end of the Sacramento valley at Red Bluff. From Red Bluff, the trail to San Francisco goes due south to Sacramento and then it heads west to San Francisco. There was several relatively famous trails across the northern Sierras. One such famous trail named after the master who found it and guided trains was the Noble Trail. The Noble Emigrant Trail which goes through Shasta, and sometimes called the Fort Kearny South Pass, starts at Wild Horse Acres even though the official memorial is along US Highway 395. Some trails went down the Feather River and others went down through Oriville. Most all these trails across the Sierras were easier than the Donnar Pass because they didn't involve lifting and lowering wagons over steep cliffs. When one talks about small little groups heading west, they could afford to lift their wagons over cliffs. But when you are talking about the masses with a large investments in goods and heavy equipment, they took the safest easiest way they could. Although it was longer and took longer it was safer and easier to go through the northern Sierras. The Donnar Party proved that.
This is the very spot, multitudes of immigrants traveling west waited to pick up the wagon masters to go onto California or up to Oregon. Of course not all wagon trains used this technique. But for the huge miles long wagon trains that took 7-9 months hauling all sorts of goods, machines and people to California, it was here at this spot where wagon masters typically changed. The wagon masters and teamsters who guided the wagon trains from Missouri to here headed back on horse back to beat the winter so they could get another wagon train in the spring. The wagon masters from San Francisco and Oregon would ride here and pick up the train. This allowed guiding massive wagon trains across the western plains to be done by specialists on a yearly basis for 20 years until the railroad wiped out the business around 1870. The railroad continental link having been completed in 1869 completely destroyed the wagon train business. An interesting note that between 1850 and 1870 may be 3,000,000 people camped at this spot at Wild Horse Acres and you don't see any evidence of it at all. The only thing left is this old signpost.
Digitally enhanced close up of the sign post.
Although there were immigrants that took these trails as late as 1890. Mostly these immigrants were the people like Great Grand Pa Dunn, who started riding west and just didn't stop till they reached California. All due respect to the hardy souls who camped here, what would you rather do? Invest your life savings in a wagon, team, and pay a wagon master to guide you on a gut wrenching 9 month trek across the plains. Sleeping in the rain, the muck, the dust, and occasionally being attacked by hostiles. Or, buy a cheap ticket on the railroad and travel from Missouri to San Francisco in 10 days in relative comfort?
They say the gun won the west. Nope, it was technology.
Just past the sigh post is Smoke Creek Ranch Road. Hundreds of people every year, get off US Highway 395, take Smoke Creek Ranch Road for a couple minutes and look at this sign. In the one hour or so these picture were taken, long before the Wild Horse Acres website hit the internet, 5 car loads of people did just that. Drove up to the sign, looked at it a few minutes and turned around and drove back. It was quite an amazement that people actually did that just to say they saw it.
To return, click on Catagories Look Around, the pictures, captions, or here.
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