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FERNLEY SWALES
PROJECT
By Dick Hallford
The California/Nevada chapter is
working on a project to save the Femley Swales, a portion of the
40- Mile Desert emigrant trail.
We are working with the BLM
office in Reno and OCTA National on the preservation of these
historic resources. If you would like to get involved and help,
please plan to attend the activities for this Project on May 4,
5, & 6.
On May 4, from 1 :00 to 4:00 P.M. there will be a
meeting with BLM at its office in Reno.
The BLM office is off
East McCarran. Take 1-80 to Exit 19 in Sparks. Go south on East
McCarran, turn right on Mill Street (at stop light), turn left
onto Financial Blvd. ( at the first intersection), then watch for
the BLM/Depart ment of the Interior Office at 1340 Financial
Blvd. on the left. Park in the south parking lot. If you get
lost, call the BLM office (775) 861-6400 for directions.
On
Saturday, May 5, the tour of the sand swales and the 40 Mile
Desert will start at the truck stop in Fernley, 1-80 at Exit 48
(northside of 1-80), at 8:00 A.M. A high clearance vehicle with a
CB radio is preferable. We plan to spend some time at the sand
swales explaining the efforts currently underway with the BLM to
save the swales.
On Sunday, May 6, there will be a work party
to clean the trash from the sand swales and immediate area. We
will meet at 9 AM at the Fernley truckstop (Exit 48). Bring heavy
duty work gloves, lunch, snacks, drinks, sunscreen, hat, layered
clothing, boots, and plenty of water.
Please phone Tom Fee at
(775) 827-3724 if you have questions or if you can bring a
pick-up (without camper shell) or larger work truck for
hauling.
PREMIER OF THE FILM
DOCUMENTARY
Forgotten
Journey:
The Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Saga
Forgotten Journey: The
Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Saga is an epic tale of courage and
survival. It is also the story of builders of California.
Created
by Executive Producer and western trails researcher John Krizek,
and produced by Emmy Award winning Producers Kit Tyler and Miles
Saunders, Forgotten Journey airs on KTEH in June 2001. Major
funding is provided by Wells Fargo.
Information on the initial
showing can be found in the article on page 3. Also, there is
information on KTEH's website:
http://www.kteh.org/ForgottenJourney.html.
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
The Symposium in Temecula was very
successful thanks to the work of Joanne Hinchliff. The
presentations were excellent and the field trip very worthwhile.
Joanne deserves a great deal of credit for the effort she put in
to ensure the week- end met the expectations of the
attendees.
Dates to put on your calendar are May 4th and 5th
when there will be a meeting in the BLM Offices in Reno the
afternoon of the 4th followed by a field trip to the Fernley
Swales on the 5th, and there is detail on that meeting elsewhere
in this issue.
Another interesting activity is scheduled June
2nd in Santa Cruz when the Lemucchi family will be dedicating two
plaques in the Evergreen Cemetery to two ancestors who crossed
the plains in the 1840s. There is also more on this occasion in
this issue.
Planning for the Reno 2002 Convention is
proceeding apace and there is a web site that has been set to
keep our membership informed http://www.wagons-1841.com.
A
continuing problem facing all volunteer organizations is the need
to replace key people who have served the organization with zeal
and commitment for many years.
A case in point is the need to
find someone to take over the responsibilities of the
Preservation Officer. Tom Hunt, a charter member of OCTA, has
stepped down from this job. Tom is recognized by everyone
familiar with his work as one of the most dedicated and
contributing members that our Chapter has ever had. The
Preservation Officer serves as the key person in our trail
preservation efforts. The job serves as a clearinghouse and a
conduit for preservation needs and undertakings. This officer is
the one who spearheads the main work of the chapter,identifying
problems and concerns related to trail preservation. This is a
big job, and we need someone to volunteer to take up the torch of
preservation that Tom is laying down.
Anyone interested can
contact me and also call Tom and chat with him to get a real
sense of the job. We would like to fill this key role before the
Convention in Casper this August. My phone (661) 665-8006; Email
is BonnyBill@aol.com.
Bill Webster
CALIFORNIA TRAIL
ARTICLE IN NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
By Tom Fee
The September 2000 issue of the
National Geographic contains a wonderful article on the
California Trails with a 22" x 35" map of the 1841-1869
Western Migration.
Many local libraries sell used copies of
National Geographic for as little as 5 cents - 25 cents although
the supplemental maps are usually missing.
One may purchase a
new copy of the September 2000 issue with map by sending $5.00
to: National Geographic, Single Issue, P.O. Box 63001, Tampa,
Florida 33663-3001.
Be sure to specify you want the September
2000 issue! For additional information, phone (800) 777-2800.
THREE
TO BE ELECTED
Three Californians
Will Be Up For Election To The CA/NV Board.
Chapter treasurer, Carol March
of Los Altos Hills, is running for a second term. Jim Allison, of
Loornis, and Bob Iverson, of Hilmar, are seeking seats vacated by
Dick Hallford and Charles Little, who is winding up his second
term on the board.
JIM ALLISON
Jim,US Army veteran, studied electrical engineering at the
University of Nevada after graduating from Lassen High School in
Susanville in 1957. He is retired after 28 years at the
University of California, Berkeley, as manager of the Network
Hardware Support Group, Informlation Systems and Technology.
"I
joined OCTA in 1998 and have a strong interest in western US
history, including the gold discovery and subsequent immigration,
railroads, and the agricultural and technological history of
California. I attended the 1999 Chico convention and went on the
preconvention tour of the Nobles trail and the postconvention
tour of the Henness Pass route. I also toured the 40-Mile Desert
and the Lassen- Applegate trail in 2000, and helped Chuck Dodd
gather information for the Black Rock Desert NCA.
"My
interests in OCTA includes strong support for preservation needs
and I would be pleased to help provide leadership in that
area."
BOB IVERSON Bob
joined OCTA in 1987 as a life member because of his long interest
in the history of the American West and the preservation of it.
He was born in Minnesota where he grew up and joined the U.S. Air
Force in 1949. He served as an aircraft mechanic Iand flight
engineer. After his discharge in 1953 he went to college and went
to work for Boeing in Seattle. He also was a pilot with the
Flying Tigers.
His interest in archeology was served during
the OCTA convention in Rock Springs where he worked at the Salt
Wells Stage Station site with Don Walker, archeologist with the
State of Wyoming. Bob has a good working knowledge of OCTA and
the chapter, and has been supportive of chapter activities
including outings, symposiums, and helping in planning the Chico
Convention, where he led a bus tour on the Nobles Trail. Bob
helped on the Nancy Allen grave project and has attended many of
the chapter's symposiums including Temecula. His first convention
was in Omaha a decade ago and he has attended all of the annual
meetings since.
"I would be interested in helping with
chapter archeological projects and in working to preserve the
trails," Bob says. " I would like to see an effort put
forth to educate our young people on the value of history and
trail preservation."
CAROL MARCH
Carol grew up in Sacramento and tramped through the Sierra over
emigrant roads as a youngster. She earned an AB in history at
Stanford University and married Hugh March. The couple has a son
and daughter. Carol was active as editor of newsletters for
several organizations, taught school, played the violin in a
symphony orchestra, and was secretary and book- keeper for her
husband's investment business.
"Hugh and I were
introduced to OCTA by Tom Hunt, and we became members in 1987.
Our first convention was in Sacramento in 1991. We helped with
the survey of trail markers in the Truckee-Donner area and served
on the risk management committee for the Chico
Convention.
"Currently I am finishing a two year term on
the chapter's board of directors, serving as treasurer. In that
capacity, I've computerized the financial records and annual
budget, have helped revise the form for dues notices, and
initiated the sustaining membership category for that form. With
your support and vote I'd be honored to continue on the board for
the next two years."
Your
Support Needed for Reno 2002 Convention
Work Party and
Bus Tour Guide Training Coming Up Soon
by Chuck Dodd,
Convention Chair
This summer will be critical for
preparation for our Reno 2002 convention. We need all the help we
can get! We need help to clear the trail above Verdi for a bus
tour hike, and we need trained tour guides.
Participating
as a bus tour guide is a great way to learn more about the trail,
is a great way to expand your circle of rut-nut friends, and is a
great way to ensure that our convention will be a success.
Work
Party:
A work party is scheduled for May 19-20,
2001, to clear fallen trees for the hike to the First Summit (Dog
Valley), subject to unlikely postponement because of snow
coverage. The Dog Valley hike is not feasible without clearing
the fallen trees. (The trees were burned during a forest fire
that occurred in 1996. The fire left traces of the trail very
visible, which allowed Don Wtggins to locate it precisely. Many
of the ruts that were very visible at that time are now obscured
by low-growing vegetation.) Note that Bus Tour Guide training for
the Dog Valley tours is scheduled to coincide with the work
party, as indicated below.
Bus Tours:
Don Wiggins has identified a set of wonderful bus tours for the
convention. Now we need trained tour guides.
For all but
the Forty Mile Desert tour, Tour Guide Training will be conducted
in two parts: a car-caravan (to teach the route and explain the
points of interest on the route), followed by a bus tour (to
refine timing and finalize stops, etc.).
The convention bus
tours and the dates of Tour Guide Training are:
Dog
Valley Segment of Truckee Trail. Includes two or three (or maybe
four) short hikes: Good trails, great scenery, and good diary
quotes. Tour Guide Training: Car Caravan: May 19, 2001; Bus
Run: Spring, 2002. Note work party to clear trail on May 19-20,
2001.
Dog Valley Hike (actually on South Branch of Dog
Creek, above Verdi, Nevada, which leads to Dog Valley). Includes
fairly strenuous hike to lst Summit of Dog Valley. Note work
party to clear trail on May 19-20, 2001.
Sand
Springs Station: Don Wiggins describes this as a "change of
pace" tour. Some of the Simpson Trail, Grimes Point Rock Art
Site, Hidden Cave archaeological site, Sand Springs Pony Express
Station. Tour Guide Training; Car Caravan; June 9-10,2001; Bus
Run; October 6,2002.
Forty Mile Desert: Loop to
include both the Truckee River branch and the Carson River
branch. Tour Guide Train- ing:Bus Run, October 5, 2001.
Note
that the bus runs for the Sand Springs Station tour and the Forty
Mile Desert tour are scheduled for consecutive days, October 5th
and 6th.
If you are interested in becoming a tour guide for
our Reno 2002 Convention, please contact Chuck Dodd: (530)
993-1425 or ChuckDodd@Ca1iforniaTrail.org.
SUMMER
TOURS STILL OPEN
FOR CHAPTER MEMBERS
By Don Buck
Don't miss an opportunity to sign
up for one of the following 4WD pre-convention practice tours
offered this summer. These three tours are designed to attract
conventioneers traveling to Reno in 2002 by allowing them to link
up in route to the convention at tour rendezvous locations
located along the main California Trail. As we did for the Chico
Convention pre-and post- convention tours, priority will be given
to our OCTA neighbors outside of California and Nevada. So the
practice tours this summer are your opportunity to take any of
the three pre-convention tours (with a limit of 12 vehicles per
tour). All three tours are new in their coverage of trails. One
of the purposes of these practice tours, aside from enjoyment,
will be to workout the wrinkles so the 2002 tours will go
smoothly. If you are interested in participating, please contact
the tour leader soon. A brief description of the three 4WD
pre-convention practice tours follows:
Fort Hall Road
from the Raft River (Idaho) to the Humboldt Wells (N evada)
led by Dick Brock, Aug. 27-29,2001 (Monday -Wednesday). This 4WD
tour will include two nights of dry camping and end at Wells,
Nevada. There will be short to moderate hikes. After reaching
Wells, Nevada, Dick Brock will take participants to easily
accessible trail sites along I-80 on the two day return drive to
Reno (Thursday & Friday). Contact Dick Brock for confirmation
and more details. (Email dicbee@aol.com.)
Humboldt
River route from the Wells to the Forty Mile Desert led
by Don Buck and Dave Hopper, Sept. 12-15,2001 (Wednesday -
Sunday). This 4WD tour will include four nights at motels along
I-80, beginning at Wells, Nevada, and ending at Fernley, Nevada.
There will be moderate to optional long hikes. Contact Don Buck
for confirmation and more details. (Email
trailbuck@telis.org.)
Truckee
Trail from the Forty Mile Desert to the Sierra Nevada summit
led by Tom Dougherty and Dick Hallford, Sept. 21-23, 2001 (Friday
- Sunday). This 4WD tour will include two nights of dry camping
or nearby motel accommodations. There will be short to moderate
hikes. Contact Tom Dougherty for confirmation and more details.
(Email catrail@gotnet.net.)
BOARD
OF DIRECTORS MEETING, TEMECULA -March 9, 2001
Meeting called to
order by President Bill Webster at 7:30 PM. Board members
present; Richard Hallford, Charles Little, Bill Rupp, and Bill
Webster.
Nevada Meeting. May 4-5
Richard
Hallford reported on meeting to be held in Reno and Fernley.
Friday afternoon's Reno meeting with the BLM representative to
update on easement. Saturday will be a tour of 40- Mile Desert
and Fernley Swales. Goal of weekend meeting is to find somebody
from Reno area to take responsibility to monitor the area. There
will be a clean up activity on Sunday. Tom Fee authorized to
receive $100 for clean up expenses.
Library Update:
Don
Buck reported committee has visited various depositories of
historical documents and best reception from State Library, which
has a section for OCTA Western Collection and is relatively
secure. Necessary now for committee to set up procedures and
responsibilities for material donations. Buck will make acidfree
photocopies of documents/diaries to send to library gradually.
Board will finance project.
Update on Reno Convention
2002
Convention is chapter activity and whole
chapter needs to be involved. Key positions filled, need foot
soldiers. Information table at Casper Convention.
COED
Update
Don Buck reported. This is a two-part program: (1)
genealogy, (2) emigrant trail researcher's tool. Question is
whether workers I will volunteer or be paid.
Evergreen
Cemetery, Santa Cruz, Plaques Dedication
June 2 dedication
of 2 plaques for pioneers James Williams and Mary Patterson
Williams.
Treasurer s Report
Dues increased to $20
for 2002. Bounced checks will be handled on an individual
basis.
OCTA Video
National expressed concern video
will concentrate only on California, but this is not the
case.
Hunt Replacement:
How will the chapter replace
Tom Hunt and others who will be retiring in the near future?
Iverson suggested training recruits. Buck suggested regional
representatives rather than one representative.
2002
Symposium:
Open to suggestions for a 2002 location. Rupp
suggested excursion train to Winnemucca.
Meeting adjourned at
9 PM.
TEMECULA
SYMPOSIUM
By Patricia Loomis
Memories of the OCTA symposium in
Riverside county's Temecula in March will linger long for the 99
who made the trip.
High on the memory list besides history
learned, and the visits to Old T own, Warner Ranch, and the only
remaining Butterfield stage station, was for many what is
happening in Temecula.
This town, which began as a rancho in
mission times and stayed small most of its long life, in the last
30 years has become a city of thousands -a bedroom community for
Los Angeles. It is spreading across the flatland and up into the
avocado and citrus groves on the hillsides, and shows no signs of
slowing down.
This area is also known as "Ramona
country", the setting for Helen Hunt Jackson's famous novel
which has spawned five movie versions and has remained as an
annual outdoor pageant in nearby Hemet.
The symposium group
learned of the various trails that brought early explorers and
settlers into Southern California and got a first-hand view on
the all-day bus trip.
Methods of mapping were explained by
three OCTA members who have been working on southern trails in
New Mexico since 1995. Don Buck, Tracy DeVault, and Rose Ann
Tompkins explained finding the trails through the use of GPS
(Global Positioning System), diaries, military reports, maps,
aerial photographs, and surveyor's notes.
They look for rust
on rocks made by iron wagon wheels, artifacts, grave sites,
keeping in mind terrain over which wagons would go and
availability of water for the emigrants' animals.
According to
symposium chair person, Joanne Hinchliff of San Jacinto, who
almost single-handedly created the Temecula Symposium, 10 of the
99 attendees came from Grass Valley and north, 45 from the San
Francisco and Sacramento areas, 9 from Central California, 31
from Southern California, and 3 from Nevada and Arizona. Of the
99 total, 22 were not members of OCTA.
On a personal note, the
author of this brief follow-up on the Temecula Symposium, can
only hope there are other Joanne Hinchliffs out there who will
raise their hand when OCTA goes looking for volunteers for
symposiums and other adventures. Thank you, Joanne!
WATERMAN
ORMSBY QUOTE
"Our road lay through some
delight ful oak groves -a most decided im provement on the desert
-while the cool, delicious springs of water were most acceptable.
The stations (through these valleys of Buena Vista), Hall's Oak
Grove, Aguanga, Laguna, and Temecula, are all at convenient dis
tances, and the accommodations are excellent, and the road is
lined with prosperous ranches. " Waterman Ormsby,
correspondent for the New York Herald in 1858, was the only
through passenger on the first overland stage. The Butterfield
Overland Mail, p 111.
SUNDAY
FIELD TRIP - TEMECULA 3/11/01
By Virginia Hammerness
The Sunday sky may have been grey
and threatening, but that didn't dampen the enthusiasm of two
busloads of symposium attendees who, under the guidance of Joanne
Hinchliff and Paul Brigandi, toured sites on the Southern
Emigrant Trail and the Butterfield Overland Stage Road. Our first
stop, Oak Grove, is the site of the only remaining build- ing
that was built specifically to be a Butterfield Stage station.
Interest- ing dioramas were seen through the windows and doors of
the station.
At Box Canyon we looked down the 20 foot dry fall
which caused so much havoc with road building through the canyon.
We walked on some of the old Southern Emigrant Trail as well as
some of the lower and newer Butterfield Stage road and admired a
nice wheel rut worn into decomposing rock. Further down the road
we stopped to ex- plore an adobe and a small cem- etery, all that
remain of Vallecito, an important watering stop on the
Butterfield line. We had lunch here.
Nothing remains of the
station at San Felipe, a major stop for the Butterfield Stage,
where we hiked up the low but steep Foot and Walker Pass to view
the monument and Earthquake Valley. Our last stop was at Warner's
Ranch where we saw the 1859 Carrillo adobe home and barn. These
buildings were leased by the Butterfield company to use as a
station. And so ended a fascinating weekend in the high desert
country of muted browns and greens accented by groves of dark
green oaks and laced with budding sycamores and cottonwoods.
FIONA
REED
Fiona Reed, 89, charter member of
OCTA and trail researcher with her husband Doyle for many years,
died April 1 , in San Rafael.
Fiona was at the Palo Alto
meeting in 1984 when the CA/ NV chapter was founded. She helped
Doyle during his 9 years as chapter secretary and his term as
president of the Southwest OCTA Chapter, as well as during the
years Doyle served on the national board.
She and Doyle began
researching and exploring old trails by car and trailer; they
traveled the Butterfield Road, Santa Fe Trail, and the Mohave
Route.
In 1989, Doyle and Fiona led a small group over the
Hastings Cutoff which resulted in a larger OCTA group enjoying
the adventure later that year. Beginning in Evanston, WY, the
group traveled to Salt Lake, across Skull Valley, past Pilot Peek
and Mound Springs and along the Humboldt River to a final
rendezvous at the home of John and Corajean Biegler in Elko.
The
Reeds were leaders on many of the California Trails including
Henness Pass. They were also members of Trails West.
Don Buck
recalls that to describe Fiona is to talk about Doyle for she was
always at his side. They were both low- keyed, quiet, extremely
pleasant, and always willing to help out wherever they could. As
Don said, they were the ideal OCTAns.
Fiona was a native of
Kansas and a 45-year resident of Davis. She was an elementary
school teacher for 20 years, before retiring to follow the
trails.
We will miss her and remember her faithful interest
and contribution to the trails.
THE
NORWEGIANS ARE COMING
By Ellen Osborn
On Saturday, June 23, 2001 at noon,
the Carson Valley Historical Society will unveil a bronze,
lifesize statue of Snowshoe Thompson in the Mormon State Park,
Genoa.
Snowshoe earned his place in history by carrying the
mail between Placerville and Genoa from 1856 to 1876, without pay
from the government. The statue will sit on a large granite block
sent by relatives from Snowshoe's birthplace in Norway. A party
of 30 Norwegians is planning to attend the unveiling, as well as
relatives from across the United States.
Events are planned
for the entire weekend, including Norwegian folk dancing, living
history presentations and specialty booths. Just prior to the
dedication a guided tour of a segment of Snowshoe's trail will be
offered.
Genoa is a little town, but I'll bet they know how to
throw a good party, and this one will have an international
flavor.
Snowshoe Thompson was John A. Tompson, a rancher
who learned of the difficulty encountered in getting the mail
across the snow-filled Sierra in winter and decided to do
something about the problem.
He made himself a pair of skis
such as he had used as a boy in his native Norway and began
carrying the mail, a job he performed for two de- cades, braving
blizzards over two routes -Woodfords to Placerville and Woodfords
to Murphys.
He died at his ranch in Carson Valley, May
15,1876, and is buried in Genoa, a pair of skis on his
tombstone.
Activities
Calendar
[See Activities
].
COED
2001 MID- YEAR REPORT
by Chuck Dodd &
Kathy Roubal
Since the Kansas City convention,
headquarters has been using an updated Names on the Plains
program and the latest database for answering requests for name
searches. A problem with the program, caused by a lack of
information about the configuration of the Trails Center computer
network is Chuck's distance from In- dependence. Requests for
name searches are submitted by requestors visiting OCTA
headquarters at the Trails Center, by mail, and through the OCTA
web site. Putting Names on the Plains on the internet to
allow users to make requests in a more interactive man- ner is
not as high on the list of COED priorities as are surveying, data
entry, and completion of a distribut- able version of the
Emigrant Trails Researcher's Tool. The term Emigrant Trails
Researcher's Tool, is a new term, just invented (and subject
to change), used to distinguish the research capability of COED
from the names search capability. A report, from COED's Emigrant
Trails Researcher s Tool, is now being prepared in response
to a request from Evans-Hatch, to support their work for the park
service relative to the expansion of the list of trails covered
by the Historic Trails legislation. A new Data Entry program,
with a good help file and tutorial, is in the testing phase and
will be ready for general use by the first of May, as well as a
new Data Entry Checker program. There are 2,263 documents in the
COED database. We have approximately 150 documents in the survey
queue, including some that have been assigned for survey for so
long that they need to be reassigned. We have approximately 50
documents that have been surveyed. There are a few less than 100
documents currently awaiting data entry. There are approximately
500 documents for which surveying and data entry have been
completed, but which must have a data entry quality check before
they can be appended to the database. COED needs people: an
Administrative Assistant, a Survey Administrator, a Data Entry
Administrator, surveyors, and data entry people. Because of
special needs and quality problems encountered in the past, we
recommend a quiet, "personal reference" approach to
recruitment rather than a general broadcast for volunteers. If
the quiet approach does not turn up the needed people, we can
broadcast an appeal later. We request that those in OCTA's
leadership roles recommend to us people who might be willing and
qualified to fill the positions we have listed.
[This is
the gist of a report made to the national board in February.]
OCTA
TO ERECT HISTORICAL PLAQUES AT WILLIAMS GRAVESITE
IN EVERGREEN
CEMETERY JUNE 2,2001
By: Timothy Lemucchi,
great-great-grandson of James Williams
The Williams Family grave site at
the Evergreen Pioneer Cemetery in Santa Cruz has deteriorated
substantially in the one hundred and fifty-odd years since the
last Williams was buried there.
The casual observer now
walking past the grave site would have little idea of the epic
and heroic deeds of the two adults interred there.
This
anonymity will change on June 2, 2001, when OCTA erects its
plaques at the gravesite describing the historic exploits of
California pioneers James Williams and his wife Mary Patterson
Williams.
James Williams, a native of Cape Girardeau County,
Missouri, traveled overland to California in 1843 with his
brothers. The four Williamses - James, age twenty-nine, John, age
twenty-seven, Isaac, age twenty, and Squire, age nineteen - were
members of the Chiles-Walker Party.
Consisting of thirty
people and eight wagons the Party departed Independence,
Missouri, in May 1843, by way of the north fork of the Platte
River, for Fort Hall, Idaho. From there, because of a shortage of
provisions, the party was split. The wagons, women, and children
were guided by mountain man Joseph Walker through northern Nevada
and down the eastern Sierra, arriving in California in the snow
through Walker Pass on December 3, 1843.
The second group,
consisting of Chiles and twelve men including the four
Williamses, journeyed by horseback through uncharted territory to
California via Fort Boise, Idaho, eastern Oregon, and
northeastern California. After suffering Indian attacks, lack of
water, and near starvation, the mounted party reached Sutter's
Fort on November 10, 1843.
The Williams brothers settled at
the Fort where James worked as a blacksmith and John as a tanner.
The brothers joined Captain Sutter in 1845 during the conflict
between Governor Micheltorena and former California officials,
Juan Alvarado and Jose Castro. Upon returning to the Fort, James
met the Patterson family. On August 24, 1845, James was married
to Mary Patterson by United States Consul Thomas 0. Larkin at the
Larkin home in Monterey.
The Williams brothers and the
Patterson family settled in the Santa Cruz area, where the
Williamses leased a sawmill belonging to Captain Isaac Graham and
Henry Naile. James and Squire purchased the 4,418 acre Arroyo de
la Laguna Rancho ten miles north of Santa Cruz, where the family
settled and cut timber and farmed.
Mary died unexpectedly in
childbirth with twins in 1851 and was buried at the Rancho. James
died on October 9,1858, at the age of forty-four, and was
interred at the Evergreen Cemetery.
Mary Patterson Williams, a
native of Jackson County, Missouri, emigrated to California with
the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party of 1844. Mary, then age
sixteen, came with her grandfather Isaac Hitchcock, age
sixty-three, her mother Elizabeth Patterson, a widow age
thirty-six, and her four teenage siblings: Isaac, Lydia, Helen
Malinda, and Margaret.
When winter storms caught the emigrant
party in the high Sierra Nevada, it was decided to leave the
women and children with two men while the others struggled on.
Snowbound, the Pattersons spent the winter in a makeshift cabin.
At the end of February 1845 on the verge of starvation, they were
rescued and brought down to Sutter's Fort. The Stephens-Townsend-
Murphy Party was the first group of pioneers to bring wagons over
the Sierra Nevada Range. All the members -plus two babies born
along the way -survived the arduous trek.
Before James died,
he asked that Mary and the twins, who died in infancy, be
reinterred beside him at Evergreen Cemetery. More than one
hundred descendants of these first California pioneers - the
Hitchcocks, the Pattersons, and the Williamses - reside in
California and other western States.
INTERPRETIVE
CENTER AT ELKO,NEVADA
By Don Buck
The proposed National Historic
California Trails Interpretive Center located in Elko County,
Nevada, is entering its final design stage in the ongoing
planning process. At the end of the last Congressional session a
vital funding bill sponsored by Senator Harry Reid and
Congressman Jim Gibbons of Nevada was passed and signed into law
by the President. This Act provided Federal funding of $12
million for the design and development of the trail center and
designated the Bureau of Land Management as the owner and
administrator of the center. Added to the $6 million that the
Elko sponsors had raised previously through local and state
funding, they now have $18 million "in the bank" with
which to complete the planning, design, and construction of the
trails interpretive center.
That's mighty good news and a
tribute to the Elko folks, spearheaded by Paul Sawyer, who put
their sights on this goal back in the early to mid-1990's. Bob
Pearce of Elko reports that the Elko based California Trail
Advisory Board then solicited extensive I public input, which
resulted in shifting the design focus to a more cost-effective
and functional plan. The current thinking is to locate the
interpretive trail center in or adjacent to the Elko city park
area near the existing Northeastern Nevada Museum. Here the
infrastructure costs would be minimized and the mutual attraction
of the trail center and museum would draw tourists into the
city.
In addition to the trail center in Elko, this plan
envisions at least four "satellite sites" along 1-80,
east and west of Elko, that would be located at or near
significant trail segments and readily accessible by automobiles.
These "satellite sites" would not be staffed but would
have interpretive materials for viewing. Also, they would have
the advantage of directing visitors to Elko where the staffed
interpretive center would be located. It's a very interesting
concept that could lead to other cities along 1-80 in Nevada
sponsoring additional satellite trail interpretive sites.
EDWARD
DUNKLEY
As Trail Talk went to press,
we learned of the death of Ed Dunkley, long time member of OCTA
and Trails West, Inc. Ed of Orangedale, died suddenly April 5. He
was a founder of the High Rock Trekkers and Sacramento Jeepers
and had served as president of both organizations. Ed was the
northern California representative for the California Association
of Four Wheel Drive Clubs which keeps tabs on federa! and state
government plans to curtail off -road travel. He started narrated
guided tours over historic trails for jeep people, according to
Warner Anderson of Auburn, Ed's "righthand man" on the
treks. Ed and Wanen remapped the Henness Pass Trail, and, in
conjunction with the Chico convention, Ed led a 4WD tour. He was
a member of the Federal Aviation Administration's red team which
investigates major air accidents. On April 29, from 1-4 PM, a
memorial service will be held at the Capitol City Mountain Goats
clubhouse, 13333 White Rock Rd, Sacramento. For more information
call Warner Anderson at (530) 878-8833.
NOTES
FROM THE TREASURER
Carol March, Treasurer
The CA/NV Chapter of OCTA continues to be healthy financially.
At the Board Meeting last fall, we discussed our goal of building
reserves so we can afford to fund important trail projects. Ways
to meet that goal were presented, and several decisions
made.
First, we have put annual dues on a January 1st schedule
for everyone. Thanks to you, the members of the CA/NV Chapter,
dues payments have come in quickly and timely, with only a few
reminder notices needed as a follow-up.
The result is a more
accurate view, early in the year, of how we are meeting the dues
portion of our annual budget. Only one follow-up notice is sent,
so if you haven't already responded, please send in your $10 for
individual or family membership soon so you won't miss future
issues of Trail Talk or announcements of coming
events!
Second, we revised the way dues are paid. In the past
a dues notice was only printed in Trail Talk which
sometimes left members confused as to when they should pay, and
sometimes the notice was missed entirely.
Instead, we now mail
separate dues notices to all members annually, and part of that
notice includes spaces to choose categories of payment. This
small change has been very successful. We especially thank the
generous participation of many members who paid their dues at the
Sustaining Membership level this year!
Third, the Board
approved updating our dues structure to bring it in line with
current costs. Starting next January 2002, individual and family
memberships (dues) will be $20.
The main reason for this rise
in membership dues is to ensure continued funding of the
Chapter's activities. An example of a trail activity was fencing
the Nancy Allen grave and placing a bronze marker there last
fall. Another activity which keeps all of us informed of the
Chapter's trail projects and upcoming activities is, of course,
the quarterly Trail Talk. Printing costs and postage costs
continue to go up, so we need to be able to meet those
expenses.
Finally, I would especially like to thank Patty
Knight, our Membership Co-Ordinator, who sends out the notices,
receives your checks in the mail, forwards the checks to the
Treasurer, prepares the labels for Trail Talk, and keeps
our Membership List in good order! It is a huge job, and she does
it efficiently and cheerfully!!
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