Meyers Grade to Johnson's Pass, Lincoln Highway in El Dorado County, Part 4

We have been discussing the route of the original 1913 Lincoln Highway through El Dorado County, and with our last post, we started the climb from the Lake Tahoe Valley floor up Meyers Grade towards Johnson’s Pass. The photo above shows an automobile making the climb from where I believe the present Highway 50 passes. There are only a few flat spots along the grade, and one such spot is where Meyer’s Grade Road passes over the present-day freeway. In the map below, we show where this photo, #1, was taken. When the present freeway was built, some of the original section of the last climb up to the pass was destroyed. We believe the car is where the present-day freeway passes.

Click map for larger view!

This section from Highway 50 up to the pass was considered the last major obstacle on the way to the promised land of California. This is likely the steepest ascent yet, and you can still drive this section! Imagine trying to pull with oxen a wagon full of your goods up and over this section. Early automobiles would often break down, trying to navigate this last section and call for help from the Celio Ranch, in Meyer’s. In the photo below, we see the 1919 Army Convoy members being assisted by a caterpillar tractor.

1919 Army Convoy on Meyers Grade getting an assist from a Caterpillar tractor.

The photo below is a TC Wohlbrück photo showing his car in about the same spot as the photo above with the Army Truck. At this point we are almost at the summit, maybe less than a quarter of a mile away. Imagine driving this dirt road after rain!

A Theodore Wohlbrück photo from a few later than the Army Convoy photo at the same hairpin turn.

Once you reached the top of the pass after 1922, you would be greeted by a Canteen Service Station run by Theodore Wohlbrück. There you could pick up supplies, get water for the radiator, and have a bite to eat while enjoying the spectacular view. In our next El Dorado County Lincoln HIghway post, we will look at that Canteen service station and the summit pass.

The view looking east towards Lake Tahoe from Johnson’s Pass.

The Lincoln Highway at Meyer's, El Dorado County Part 3

Traveling from the Trout Creek Bridge, we are headed west towards the town of Meyer’s. Along the way, our Lincoln Highway map has a small truck icon along the road. Clicking the icon, we find that this was the route used in 1919 by the US Army convoy traveling from Washington DC to San Francisco.

Click map for closer view!

This convoy was an attempt by the US Army to see if it could transport men and machines across the country on the new Transcontinental Lincoln HIghway. In 1919 it was still a novelty to drive across the country, and while the convoy made it, the trip was fraught with breakdowns, poor bridge crossing, deep mud, and sand. Along for the trip was Armored Corps representative, Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower, a 28-year-old officer, and future President of the United States.

Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower. Photo: National Archives

There is a video record of some of the trip at the National Archives', which can be found here. When the convoy reached Meyer’s, the pioneering Celio Family, who owned much of the small town, threw a huge celebration and BBQ for the soldiers. The convoy then made the trip up Osgood’s Grade and over Johnson’s Pass.

Looking at the map above, we can see the old Osgood’s/Meyer’s Grade up to Echo Summit is closed through traffic. It’s now a popular and very steep trail on a paved surface., where we see Monica making the climb in the photo below. This was the grade everyone used to get to the south Tahoe area for 80 years, until the 1930s when the present freeway was built.

Auto’s leaked fluids much more in days’ gone by. You can see the oil streak on the road. The Celio Ranch is marked with an arrow. This is their ranch along South Upper Truckee Road. Click the photo for a closer view.

The photo above was taken by TC Wohlbrück and showed the grade looking east. This is the same section we see Monica walking on in the photo below. TC Wohlbrück was an entrepreneur who built some of the first gasoline service stations and “rest stops” in the Sierra, which he called Canteens. He built one at the top of this grade, Johnson’s Pass, and it still stands today. You can read more about TC here. We will talk about that on our next post along the El Dorado County Lincoln Highway route.

Monica walking up Osgood’s Grade, now closed to traffic.

The Lincoln Highway in El Dorado County, Part 2, historic Trout Creek Bridge

We are continuing our California pioneer (southern route) Lincoln Highway tour, which starts at Stateline, Nevada, and now takes us west on Pioneer Trail or the Lincoln Highway back in 1913. You can read about the Stateline start of our adventure here.

Map showing bridge site, Lincoln Highway, and Stateline, Nevada. Click map for larger view.

Before Pioneer Trail was the Lincoln Highway and earlier county wagon road, it was part of the famed Johnson Cut-Off Trail, which brought emigrants and others over Spooner Summit in Nevada and into the Lake Tahoe Valley. Like later highway travelers, the pioneers were headed towards Echo Summit and over Johnson’s Pass, the final mountain obstacle in their travels.

The 1907 Trout Creek Bridge, with present day Pioneer Trail and autos above

We can see the old bridge and the modern-day Pioneer Trail Road on the upper right in the photo above. You can also see a large metal culvert in the center-left top of the photo. The Creek has been moved east by about 50 yards to pass under the newer bridge. No water passes under the older bridge these days.

Trails West “T” marker at Trout Creek.

On the opposite side of Bear Creek Road, The Trail West Organization has placed one of their historic “T” markers. On these markers is an excerpt from an emigrant diary about this particular location. We can see the excerpt from William Wirt Gilbert’s 1853 diary describing this place in the photo above. He sees the first signs of gold mining since reaching Calfornia here at Trout Creek.

Satellite photo showing bridge and surrounding features. Click photo for larger view.

In the satellite photo above, we can see the Trails West “T” Marker, the bridge, and just west of the old bridge the present day route of Trout Creek.

Bridge date, 1907 carved into concrete.

We couldn’t find any information online as to when the old bridge was built. We visited the area a second time about a year after our first visit. Walking around the bridge, we hit the jackpot, as the date, 1907, was carved into the concrete by some unknown worker or passerby. This bridge was built before the Lincoln Highway was inaugurated in 1913, so it acted as a county bridge before that era.

Below is a short video we made a couple of years back concerning the bridge site.

We will be continuing our Lincoln Highway southern route adventure, headed towards Meyer’s, in an upcoming post.

A 1923 alignment of the Lincoln Highway found

Traveling east on Highway 50, just past Pacific House in El Dorado County, is this welcome sign for the Eldorado National Forest. You can see in the background a frontage road that seems to disappear into the present freeway at both ends.

In the above photo, we see Monica walking on this frontage road, headed east. You can see our truck off in the distance parked next to the welcome sign.

The above map shows the Lincoln Highway in blue, or at least where we thought it went. In red, we have drawn this newfound route. You can see Peavine Ridge road at the left and to the right Bridal Veil Falls.

What makes finding these “lost alignments” fun is when there is some way for us to ID the exact date when the road was finished. We lucked out here as we spotted a culvert passing under the found road. We check these culverts closely as the sometimes are dated, and this one was! You can see 1923 imprinted upon the top portion of the culvert. This likely means the section of road we are looking at replaced the original alignment of the Lincoln Highway developed in 1913. We will head back and see if we can find the original route, likely tucked into the hill.

We will submit this newly found route to the Lincoln Highway Association cartography department so they can update the official map.

Lincoln Highway alignment found near Fresh Pond

While heading east following the Lincoln Highway route past Fresh Pond, we turned left on Outer Limits Road, then a quick right on to Dubasary Lane headed towards the Ranger Station. As is often the case in California's mountains, the Lincoln Highway's old 1913 route diverges from today’s Highway 50 freeway winding its way around the contours of the hills. In the early part of the 20th Century, equipment like a steam shovel was unavailable, so the roads couldn’t be cut into the hills like they were in subsequent years. Often the Lincoln Highway would follow older wagon roads and emigrant routes. Here is no exception as this route follows the old Johnson Cut-Off Trail from the mid-1800s.

Map showing location. Click map for larger view.

Just down Dubasary Ln., we came upon a section of the old road complete with a white centerline, which you can see in the photo at the top of the page. We tried to follow it, but Highway 50 is just to the right, and during its construction in the 1950s, the old road was covered with rock, making access impossible.

Traveling a bit further down Dubassary Lane, we spotted a “C” monument, also known as a “right-of-way” monument. These concrete structures were used by the highway department to signify the state-owned roadway. Typically they were placed about 15 feet from the edge of the state highway, with an imprinted letter “C” facing the road. The “C” stands for California. Nevada has its own monuments with the letter “N.” This marker had no “C” visible, so we jumped out of the car and investigated.

Trey pointing to the “C” monument with no visible “C”.

While the monument had no visible “C” from Dubasary Lane, there was a “C” imprinted on the opposite side, which indicates the old road was on the other side of the chain-link fence. Now the old route started to make sense. The old Lincoln Highway was closer to the newer Highway 50 than previously thought.

The hidden “C”.

It was hard to get this photo as the chain-link fence made it impossible to walk around. The “C” is clearly visible and indicating the roadbed edge was 15 feet on the other side of the fence. In the following photograph, our car is parked, facing west at the site of the monument. We can see how far the old road is from Dubasary Ln., about 15 feet past the fence at left.

Below is the official Lincoln Highway map showing a satellite view of the area. I have shown some of the features and drawn in red the found route of the old Lincoln Highway.

Map showing the found route and some other features. Click map for larger view.

We can surmise that with the modern Highway 50 in the 1950s, the older road was destroyed. It was too close to the new highway, so it was moved away from the freeway and given the name, Dubasary Lane. This newly found route will be presented to the Lincoln Highway Association cartographers for approval and addition to the official map found here.

The Lincoln Highway was America’s first coast-to-coast highway for automobiles. When first planned it followed roads already in place. Here in California's mountains, the old road often followed the older wagon and emigrant trails from the 1800s. Here is no exception as just across Dubasary Lane from the “C” monument is a “T” monument put up by the Trails West organization. It mentions that this is part of the Johnson Cut-Off Trail from the 1850s. Down in the American River Canyon from here was the Bartlett Bridge, which predates the famous Brockliss Bridge. The wooden Bartlett Bridge was destroyed by flood on March 7th, 1855, and replaced with the stone Brockliss Bridge a few miles upriver. We couldn’t find a drawing of the Bartlett Bridge but found this one of the Brockliss Bridge, which the Pony Express used during its incarnation.

Brockliss Bridge over the American River by Edward Vischer. Toll House at right.

Often we find ourselves at some special location in history that even pre-dates the old Lincoln Highway. The old road spans the time from horse and buggy and the new-fangled automobile.

The Lincoln Highway is your road to adventure.

The Lincoln Highway from Fry Creek to Milestone 29

Tuesday found Monica and I venturing into the Eldorado National Forest, searching the Lincoln Highway's old southern route between Fry Creek and Milestone 29. This is a fantastic section of old roadbed that has, for years, been buried under an accumulation of forest debris and erosion. We hiked this portion before, but the road/trail was blocked by manzanita and other plants, making it nearly impossible to travel farther.

Great news, as the forest has been cleared for fire prevention. All the growth that had hindered our progress has been removed, making for an easy hike. Most exciting is many hundreds of yards of rock retaining wall has now been exposed after over 100 years. Let's take a walk and we’ll show you what we have found.

Iron piece on the west side of Fry Creek.

In the photo above, I’m looking at one of the first objects we found, a California “C” Monument, which was used to designate the state’s road boundaries. What is fascinating is there is no “C” printed on the block. There is only one other time we have found these markers with no letter “C” embedded in it. The marker indicates that our official map may be changed to show this previously unknown loop of the old road.

A hundred yards or so from the “C” Monument, the old road crossed Fry Creek. The only evidence of a bridge is iron sticking out of the granite on the west side, and a retaining wall on the east side.

The photo above shows the small retaining wall, on the opposite side from the iron piece, hidden behind some bushes. The photo below shows the site looking west accross Fry Creek. There must have been a bridge here.

The photo below shows the road just a few hundred yards east of Fry Creek, where we came upon this beautiful stone retaining wall. We don't know the year these walls we built. The Lincoln Highway was designated in 1913, but this road is older than that. This was California’s first wagon road, designated in 1895, predating the automobile, so the walls could have been built during the 19th Century.

The photo below shows some of the clearings that have exposed this long retaining wall. We were quite impressed with the length and height of some of these walls. Truly expert craftsmanship to have withstood over 100 years of neglect.

Below we see one of the longer walls and the piles of manzanita that have been cleared. This wall was completely hidden from view before this recent clearing. Below is one of the longer retaining walls we came upon. Notice the piles of manzanita bushes that have been cut out, exposing this once hidden wall.

A little further on, we came upon a stream crossing and a terra cotta pipe passing under the roadbed. We have seen rock and metal culverts before, but never terra cotta or clay. Quite unusual.

Monica is holding a portion of the clay pipe we found laying around. It’s quite thick and heavy.

Still, further on, we came upon a stream crossing and another terra cotta pipe passing under the roadbed. In the photo below, we have walked a bit further east and found another pipe. Check out the size of that Terra Cotta pipe emerging from under the roadbed. It was in such good condition we wondered if it was a recent replacement. Nothing else has been repaired along this stretch of Lincoln Highway, so we assume this is an original culvert. Why clay was used in this particular situation, we do not know.

Below is a photo closeup of the pipes double-layered construction. The outer white layer is quite hard. Not sure what type of material it’s made from.

We are just about through with our hike and we can see Monica walking east on the old road towards our destination, Milestone 29 off Highway 50.

With the recent clearing having been done this stretch of the historic road is easily hiked. The retaining walls are extensive and easily spotted now with the clearing. Lot’s of bear scat around so it’s best to walk this during the daylight before dusk, lest one come upon a furrier traveler on the old road.

Monica heading east near Milestone 29.

Below is a map showing the location of our adventure. We started near Fry Creek at the left and followed the blue line towards Milestone 29 on the right. Very little of this section of the old road is visible from Highway 50.

Click map to see a larger version.

Below is a map showing the two routes of the Lincoln Highway through the mountains of California. Our adventure this time is on the southern route in El Dorado County.

Click map to see a larger version.

Green Valley Road Historical Tour, Part 3

We continue our historical tour of the old Coloma Road, today known as Green Valley Road. Our last historical place of interest was the old Dormody Place, also known as Green Springs House, located to the south, on the old alignment of the road. Now we head east on Green Valley Road towards the Pleasant Grove House, which still stands, barely.

The Pleasant Grove House today.

The Pleasant Grove House through the years has had many names, including the Missouri-Kentucky Hotel, Mt. Pleasant House, Rust Place, Six-Mile House, and the Dixon Ranch. Rufus Hitchcock built the house sometime around 1850 or 1851, with wood that was transported by ship around Cape Horn, South America, to San Francisco.

1858 photo of William Rust Family. Courtesy Rescue Historical Society

Between July 1st, 1860 and October 1861, this place was a Pony Express remount and relay station. Riders heading east from Folsom would stop, as well as riders headed west from Placerville. There are a state monument and Pony Express monument in front of the old place.

Now we head further east to check out the Rust Family Cemetary, which has sat on a lonely hilltop since 1887. You can spot the cemetery by the metal chain than surrounds the plot. Right now, there is intense building all around the cemetery. It's being preserved, but will soon occupy that lonely hilltop with new homes.

Just up the road from the Rust Cemetery, the old alignment leaves the present route for a short distance, and we come to the site of the Lorain Ranch and Store, where John Lorain and his family lived. John was a school teacher in Clarksville and would walk the 3.5 miles down Bass Lake Road each school day. In 1900, John's son Charles, along with his wife, Julia Rust, opened the Charles A. Lorain Cash Grocery Store. About twice a week, John took their vegetables down to the Folsom goldfields to sell.

The Lorain Cash Grocery Store. Photo courtesy, Rescue Historical Society.

Let's continue our trip up Green Valley Road to the site of the 1900's Zentgraf Store site, located near the present-day Green Valley School on Bass Lake Road. George Zentgraf built a bar and store here. The building eventually burned down, with rumors suggesting it was because the last owner tried to lure customers in with ladies working the saloon.

The Green Valley Road History Tour

Interactive map of the the area discussed in Part 3 of our Green Valley Road Tour.

Our last stop of this part of our tour is the location of the Rohlfing Store, also known as the Sam Ripley Store, and J. Evans’ store. It was located across the road from the Zentgraf Store, at the intersection of Bass Lake Road and Green Valley, where the apartments are now. Not much is else is known about this old stop along the road.

This post concludes part 3 of our Green Valley Road Historical Tour. We will continue our Green Valley Road Historical Tour with part 4, soon.

Georgetown Divide History Tour, Part 3

We continue our tour of the historical side of The Georgetown Divide. During our last stop, we viewed the old Meyer's Dance Hall and Saloon, located in Uniontown, now known as Lotus. You can find that post here. Leaving Beach Street and turning left onto Highway 49, let's head to the site of Michigan Flat, located in today's Bacchi land, home of a local ranching family.

The Georgetown Divide History tour

The above map is interactive. You can zoom in and out to get a closer view. Click the orange boxes for more info on a particular site. To enlarge the map click the square at top right.

Michigan Flat is famous for being the site of one of the Stanford Brothers stores. Leland and Thomas kept a couple of stores in the gold country, with Thomas manning the one in Michigan Flat. One of the stones that made up the building still exists, supposedly in front of one of the homes in this area. For many years it was a feat to try and lift this stone. I wonder if it still exists?

Amos Bowman’s 1873 map of the Georgetown Divide. Interactive version here.

In the above 1873 map, we can see Michigan Flat as well as what appears to be an old river crossing near Greenwood Creek. These river fords were common, as the dams upriver hadn't been built, so in summer and fall, the water levels would drop so one could ford these rivers. Another interesting spot on the map is a town called Powningville, of which I can find no information, altho it's quite prominent on the map.

Michigan Flat consisted of several smaller mining camps with names like Red Hill, Coyote Diggins, and Rich Gulch. Before the Stanford Brothers built their store, Charles Smith had the first store in Michigan Flat, in a tent located at the location where Greenwood Creek empties into the south fork of the American River. We have marked his store site on the map. A man named Tutsbury built a butcher shop, hotel, and boarding house where drink cost fifty cents! Wentzel Stock had the first bakery. On the flat itself, Charles Dusenberg was the first merchant in 1850 with his canvas shop. The Stanford brothers then built their shop, while John Hass kept the watch at his store. Jack Miller kept three more boarding houses and a bakery, while Dr's. Stone and Wheelock were the town's physicians.

1868 Township and county Map. Interactive version here.

In the above earlier map, from 1863, we see no mention of Powningville, but we do know the site of the old Magnolia Hotel in both charts. This old building was still standing in 1915. We have marked the possible location on our tour map. Also, I have included a shot of the potential site from Google Earth. Is this the old Magnolia Hotel site? Also of interest in the 1868 map is the site of the home of J.W. Marshall, Discoverer of Gold. This possible Magnolia House site is on private property, and please respect.

Ever wonder why the Bureau of Land Management trail-head nearby is called, Magnolia Ranch? Now you and I know. The old Magnolia House.

Is this the Magnolia House site?

Powningville is quite a mystery. We have marked where we think the town stood on our map. You can compare it with the 1873 Amos Brown Map above. There is little to no reference to this town, other than the map. The other aspect of Powningville that I find interesting is the road titled, “Coloma Trail” that takes off from that town, roughly parallelling Highway 49 towards Cool. Powningville was close to the Fairmont Copper Mines, which according to the 1866 report by D.V. Whiting, Esq, also contained large blocks of the mineral garnet.

The old Coloma Trail, long gone.

To continue our historical tour of The Georgetown Divide we continue north on Highway 49 towards the old town of Pilot Hill. We will cover that section in our next tour post. The map of the tour can be found in our maps section, here.

Green Valley Road History Tour, Part 2

We continue our Green Valley Road history tour, Part 2. We are now on Malcolm-Dixon Road, which was the old route before the re-alignment of Green Valley Road. Just after turning onto Malcolm-Dixon Road, we come to the site of an old roadhouse named "New York." The New York House, located on the south side of the road near New York Creek, has quite the history.

The information for the New York House comes from Doug Noble's Green Valley Road history. The New York House, owned by Constantine Hicks, a carpenter from Vermont, had quite a reputation having been involved in a scandal concerning election fraud, as well as trying to claim "squatters rights" on 640 acres of surrounding land. He was defeated in part by the Central Pacific Railroad, which owned land intended for the transcontinental railroad, which eventually passed through Placer County to the north.

The story of Constantine Hicks gets brutal after this when his daughter eloped with a "hired hand." Hicks and friends overtook the man at the Rolling Hills house down the hill, horsewhipped him to death, then took the body back to the New York house and buried him on a hill across the road.

Live Oak School.

Continuing our journey, we come to the Live Oak School, which is still standing! The photograph at the top of the page shows the 1895-96 class with the teacher, Miss Donovan. L-R front row: Pete Leik, Annie Hughes(later Mrs. Louis Mettie), John Hughes, Frank Koffman, ___ Courtamarsh, &___Courtamarsh. 2nd row: Luke Avery, Maggie Hughes, Annie Leik, Lizzy Ricker, Lilly Orr, Cora Avery, Kitty Ricker, MamieGrace, and the teacher Miss Donavon.

The area around the schoolhouse has been approved for development by the county, with 2.2 acres around the school, as well as the building being preserved for history, while the rest will be developed.

The Green Valley Road History Tour

We now head up the old road where it will eventually lead us back to Green Valley Road, where we will turn left and head up the hill and the site of the Green Spring House, located on the south side (right side as your driving) of Green Valley Road, on a old alignment of the road. The Green Springs House was built by Rufus Hitchcock, who would run the place until 1851 when he died of smallpox. William Dormody ran it until he died in 1876 when his widow Sarah F. Dormody took it over. According to history, it was a favorite place to hold weddings.

Take Green-Valley Road towards Rescue, and our next stop on our tour, Deer Valley Road. We will discuss that in part 3 of our Green Valley Road history tour.

Tour map found here.

The Green Valley Road History Tour!

Join us as we begin a new project, The Green Valley Road History Tour. This tour will take place at our new digital Google-powered map, located here. This tour will be the first of several trips that you will be able to make following our chart. You can use your cellular device so you can take it with you in the automobile or while walking. It's the same map you use when following directions you have entered, except our route will have historical points of interest along the way. The map can be found on our webpage, here.

We thought the first tour would be our Green Valley Road tour, which will start on Green Valley Road at the border with Sacramento County. Green Valley Road was a famous road starting back in the 1850s, bringing people up to El Dorado County from Folsom. Green Valley Road was the most popular path to take as it passed through many towns and past many roadhouses on its way to Placerville, the final destination.

The tour uses a red line to indicate the route you can drive. A green line indicates the old roadbed, often not passable in an automobile. The old road route gives us an idea of how much the path has changed. Being able to see the old rout path also helps in finding some of the historical features we will be discussing as we travel along.

We will post on each feature moving up from the county line. When you see the orange Adventures in California History icons, click one to have more info on that site come up. Sometimes nothing is remaining; other times, foundations or ruins are visible. As we travel the road path will be continued so that eventually a complete history tour map will be available for you to use. Place the map link on your computer or cell device with a shortcut, and you'll always be able to access it when you want to know more about something you see.

We had talked in the past weeks about two roadhouses along Green Valley Road, the Kentucky House, and the Rolling Hills Hotel. You will see both marked with the orange icon, which, when clicked, brings up more info, along with a link to even more info. Eventually, we will add videos to the mix.

There are two additional icons we added, showing the site of the old Mormon Island school, and the El Dorado County re-location cemetery, which houses the graves relocated due to construction of the Folsom Dam and reservoir. All the little towns that once occupied the river banks before the dam had cemeteries. Remains from Mormon Island, Salmon Falls, Condemned Bar, Carrollton Bar, McDowell's Hill, Natural Dam, and Doton's Bar cemeteries were relocated to the new Mormon Island Cemetery. The re-location also included five individual graves.

Using the map, after visiting the cemetery, we head back out on Green Valley Road and past the sites of the two roadhouses we discussed earlier, the Kentuck House and Rollin Hills Hotel. The locations shown are estimates based on historical maps and written information. If anyone had a more exact location for any item of historical interest, let us know so we can more the icon to better shows that new information.

This part of our tour will follow the old route, which means we will be turning left on Salmon Falls Road, and right on Malcolm-Dixon Road, which was the former Green Valley Road. Bet you didn't know that! We will continue to our next destination along that road next week.