Henness Pass Road - 1849
Henness Pass Road, a branch of the Truckee Trail, was about 125 miles long. Its main terminus was the Marysville, California, area. First described as a trail in some 1849 accounts, and then widened to a road in about 1849-50, the road soon became an important route for emigrants to reach the middle regions of California and miners to seek their riches in mining areas of California and Nevada. Its gradual climb to its highest point, Henness Pass, at only 6700′ and being open later in the winter than other roads, made it a popular route. It became such a heavily traveled toll road that the freighters were requested to use the road during the daylight hours and the stagecoaches during the night.
With the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, horse-traffic over the Henness Pass Road became almost obsolete. In the 1870s the road became a conduit for the logging industry. Today the road is still open for traffic, but the vehicles need to have a high rise axle with four-wheel drive.