The Yuba River at Big Bend

This beautiful scene is looking east from the Rainbow Lodge, where we can see the present bridge crossing at left, built-in 1928. This is the south fork of the Yuba River, which provides a natural passage through the Sierra Nevada mountains. The river begins near Donner Summit and flows through Summit Valley, Soda Springs, and eventually here where it makes a “big bend”.

Big Bend is a natural crossing spot for travelers starting with the native people who inhabited this land. The first pioneers to come this way where the Steven-Townsend-Murphy party and their covered wagons. Some of the party over-wintered here, and one of their party, Moses Schallenberger, was caught in a snowstorm and spent the winter of 1844 in a tiny cabin on the east shore of Donner Lake. He was eventually rescued, and the cabin he stayed in was put to use a couple of years later in 1846 by members of the Donner Party.

There are emigrant trail traces still to be found in Big Bend. Trails West Association has two of its “T” markers in Big Bend. These markers are placed on or near the original emigrant trails, and each has a quotation from an emigrant diary describing the place where the markers are today. The one pictured above is located just 50 yards north of the Lock Leven Trailhead parking (see map).

The emigrants lowered their wagons down the rocks and followed the S. Yuba River, staying on the south side, where the trail, after crossing today’s Hampshire Rocks Road, follows the Dutch Flat Wagon Roads path. Today the trial is named “Old Wagon Road” and follows the river for about a 1/2 mile.

This section of the trail on Old Wagon Road is magical as you are walking on all the trails at once. Following in the pioneers' footsteps, we cross a Lincoln Highway era concrete bridge and another creek with an old metal culvert exposed.

Metal Lincoln Highway era culvert.

Soon we reach the Trails West “T” Marker #46, which lets us know that this is where the emigrant trail leaves the route of the Dutch Flat Wagon Road and heads up the hill. They couldn’t proceed any further as the rock cliff juts into the water, making passage impossible for the earliest travelers.

In the photo below, we see the emigrant trail heading up the hill, past our bikes, while the Dutch Flat Wagon Road continues, following the river. The builders of that road used rock retaining walls so the trail could continue along the river. These retaining walls over 100 years old still support the old roadbed.

The emigrant trail goes left and up, past our bikes. The Lincoln Highway continues starlight.

We followed the emigrant trail markers for a bit, as we had heard there was a pioneer grave somewhere along the trail near here. The photo below shows the emigrant trail's view back down to our bikes leaning against the “T” marker. Once again, we are amazed at these early travelers' perseverance making climbs such as this with all their possessions in a wagon pulled by oxen.

Looking down from the emigrant trail. You can see our bikes leaning against the “T” marker.

We couldn’t find the pioneer grave and decided to head back down to the river and the road. If you follow the Dutch Fat Wagon Road/Lincoln Highway further west, you rise above the river and can admire the fantastic rock work used for this section. Check out the two photos below taken 100 years apart.

Theodore Wohlbrück photograph cutesy of the Donner Summit Historical Society, Norm Sayler collection.

Looking east on the old Lincoln Highway above the S. Yuba River, Big Bend.

The above photo is taken near the end of the old road, which was destroyed during Interstate 80. Below is a map showing some more of the features mentioned in the post. Fall is an ideal time to visit as the trees start to change color, and the temperatures make for great biking or hiking weather.

Through this narrow passage in the Sierra Nevada mountains, thousands of pioneers and later motorists passed on their way to the Golden State. Big Bend is etched into California History.

Map showing the location of certain features along the emigrant trail in Big Bend.

Big Bend, crossroads in history.

This is an intriguing photo taken by T.C. Wohlbruck of the Big Bend Ranger Station on the Lincoln Highway. We know it’s a TC Wohlbruck photo by the distinctive handwriting and numbering on each of his photos. These photos were taken with the idea of using them as souvenir postcards at his three canteen service stations located in the Sierra Nevada's high country.

Big Bend is rich in history as a resting place along the old Emigrant Trail, the Dutch Flat/Donner Summit Wagon Road, a county road , The Lincoln Highway, Highway 40, and today Hampshire Rocks Road. We see the Lincoln Highway passing by the Big Bend Ranger Station building on the left in the above photo. The road makes a sharp right-hand turn as it heads east, up the mountains towards Donner Summit.

At this time, Highway 40 was still a dream, so the Lincoln Highway followed the old Dutch Flat Wagon Road, which had been built by the Central Pacific Railroad to ferry men and supplies up the mountain for Transcontinental Railroad construction in the 1860s. Once the road was built, the Central Pacific opened it as a toll road, which was very popular. Once the railroad was completed, much of the traffic took the train instead of the wagon road, and the railroad turned it over the counties it passed through. In this case, it became a Placer County Road until 1913 when it became part of the Tranconental Lincoln Highway.

In the above photo, we are standing in the same spot 100 years later. In 1932 Highway 40, the predecessor of the Lincoln Highway was completed through Big Bend. As we can see, the road cut straight ahead, bypassing the sharp right turn the Lincoln Highway made. The Ranger Sation in the older photo has been replaced by a larger Fire and Ranger Station set back a bit from the road at left. We can barely see the old Lincoln Highway turn just past the no-parking sign at the right.

Once you make that right hand turn these days, you will come upon this scene, where we see Monica riding her bike on the old road. There is a large red building along this stretch, but we don’t know what it was used for back in the day. It does appear to have been a barn at one point in its existence. Check out the narrow pass between those large rocks. Between those two rocks traveled the thousands of gold-seekers, emigrants, railroad workers, and transcontinental travelers that used this section of road between the 1860s and 1932.

In the above photo, we are looking west just past the two large rocks.

We see Monica on the old road in the photo below, having just passed by the red building while walking east. The old road eventually curves back out and reconnects with Hampshire Rocks Road, where it would follow the same path until reaching the Hampshire Rock Campground, about a quarter-mile away.

The Big Bend area is a historians dream location. So many old trails pass through here, with stories of survival from the early days. This was the place where the Steven’s-Townsend-Murphy Party spent the winter after having been the first wagon train to cross the Sierra in 1844, even before the ill fated Donner Party’s attempt. An entire day can be spent enjoying and exploring this amazing place.

Below is a map of the area showing the key features.

Map showing key features. Click map for larger view.

The Yuba River, a historic transportation corridor

This particular spot along the Yuba River has been recorded over the years as transportation has changed. The river is a natural passage once one has passed the summit, headed west. The earliest course along this route were the native people, followed by the first emigrant train across the Sierra, The Stevens-Townsend- Murphy Party. Soon after, others followed this “Overland Emigrant Trail” to realize their dreams. The photo above, taken at the time the road was the Dutch-Flat Donner Summit Wagon Road (DFDLWR), between 1860 to 1870s.

Photo: Donner Summit Historical Society, Norm Sayler Collection.

The DFDLWR operated from 1861 to 1871, with no tolls collected after 1869. The road was less traveled once the Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869, as traveling by the railroad was much faster. Over the next 40 years, the three counties maintained the road, but maintenance was limited, as only local traffic used it.  

In 1913 the Lincoln Highway used the old road as part of its transcontinental route, with improvements were made so that automobiles could traverse over the mountains on the old wagon road. The above photo taken by TC Wohlbruck shows the road as the Lincoln Highway, sometime in the 1920s. 

Photo: Donner Summit Historical Society, Norm Sayler Collection.

In 1927 the Lincoln Highway became Highway 40, which in these parts closely followed the older Lincoln. Soon traffic became unbearable. A new highway was built, which is visible on the northern side of the river, opposite the older Lincoln Highway in the above color photograph. The old DFDLWR and Lincoln Highway were no longer maintained as traffic moved to the more modern thoroughfare.

Donner Summit Historical Society, Norm Sayler Collection.

Eventually, as traffic grew Highway 40, it was plagued by crowded roads, such as we see in the above photograph. In 1956 Interstate 80 was the solution! We can see one of the Interstate’s bridges being built in the photograph with the right side of the bridge passing over the older Lincoln Highway.

Map of the location.

Big Bend in Transportation History

The above photo, taken by TC Wohlbrück, shows Big Bend during the Lincoln Highway era. We are looking east, with the road heading off to the right, and the ranger station straight ahead. The original path of the Lincoln Highway through the Sierras often followed the earlier wagon roads, and the car was a new thing, and roads were just starting to keep up. The Lincoln Highway was America’s first transcontinental highway, and its construction was the first attempt to transition from wagon to auto.

The same location is shown in the above photo. I’m standing on “Old Wagon Road,” where it meets Hampshire Rocks Road. Old Wagon Road is the Emigrant Trail and Lincoln Highway. We can see the old road just up ahead, veering to the right. There is still a ranger station off to the left. Before it was Hampshire Rocks Road, this stretch of Highway 40, built in the early 1930s, improved on the older Lincoln Highway.

The photo above shows the old road just a few yards off Hampshire Rocks Road. The road goes about another 1/4 mile, and then rejoins the modern highway.

Map of location.

Yesterday and today on the Lincoln Highway, Big Bend.

This 1920 photo by TC Wohlbruck shows the south fork of The Yuba River below the northern route of The Lincoln Highway at right. This section of the old roadbed is still pretty intact and walkable for being over 100 years old with no upkeep.

About the same location as the 1920 photo. Notice how well the rock wall has weathered.

The photo below shows the construction of the Highway 80 overpass near Big Bend, in the early 1960s. The road below is Highway 40, complete with thick traffic, part of the reason for the interstate's construction. We can see the earlier Lincoln Highway and overland Emigrant Trail passing under the bridge to the right of the river. Just beyond the bridge is where the first two photos were taken.

Photo: Donner Summit Historical Society, Norm Sayler Collection.

The map below shows the location. The blue line is the Lincoln Highway.

Where was this highway photo taken?

These two photos from Jack Duncan seem to show Highway 40 "near Donner Summit," according to the caption. I'm having a hard time locating this particular spot. It looks much like the area between Cisco Grove and Big Bend, but the old road on the right rises much more rapidly at that location. The second photo below seems to show the same area, but check out all the traffic. If you know where this photo location is, please let us know.

Weimar Crossroads railroad subway painted

Monday found Monica and I heading up to the Big Bend area, specifically Hampshire Rocks campground. Along the way in Weimar, we painted a Lincoln Highway "L" on the Union Pacific railroad subway. This particular subway, built in 1928, during the last year of The Lincoln Highway.

Weimar railroad subway with new Lincoln Highway “L”

Location of Railroad Subway

We had intended to head to Prosser Reservoir, just outside Truckee for a night of camping, but instead found ourselves staying at The Hampshire Rocks Campground, near Big Bend. This particular campground had only recently opened two week earlier, due to the massive amount of snow that was still on the ground. The snow was all gone in the camp, so we found ourselves a beautiful spot right next to The South Fork of The Yuba River. Everything about this place is great, except your only a hundred or so yards from Highway 80, so traffic noise is a constant unless you get down next to the flowing river. This place's location among the natural beauty and incredible history, is what makes it so desirable. The Lincoln Highway runs right through the camp if you know where to look.

Campground at Hampshire Rocks

Map of Hampshire Rocks area.

Just a few hundred yards west of the camp entrance, on Hampshire Rocks Road, is a most unusual structure. What looks like a fireplace chimney, but has no flue, has kept locals mystified since it's origins, whenever that was. One local say's it's related to The Overland Emigrant Trail, which passes right in front of it. While looking at the mystery obelisk, we almost tripped over a "C" marker, as we call it. These concrete posts are what is called a "right of way" marker. The state would bury them, and I'm told they are 4 feet tall, to mark their area of influence along the road. Someone else had put some "marking tape" around it, but the three or four other times we had stopped here, it eluded us.

Mystery obelisk in background, “C” marker in foreground.

The next day found ourselves heading to Truckee and hunting down some Trails West “T” Markers for The Johnson Cut-Off Trail of the 1850’s and some Nevada sections of The Lincoln Highway. More on that in the next post.