Slippery Ford to Strawberry on the Lincoln Highway, part 5

We have explored the Slippery Ford area on our eastward journey on the Lincoln Highway from Stateline to Placerville in part 4 of our El Dorado County Lincoln Highway adventure here. The Slippery Ford area is rich in history, and if you like hiking, it’s a great trip from Lover’s Leap campground to the Slippery Ford parking lot. If you are going to walk in both directions, we recommend starting at Lovers Leap campground and heading uphill first, then returning with the downhill, making it a bit easier to finish. The other option would be two cars with one parked at your destination. The walk is medium difficulty, though in the summer it can become scorching. The gravel roadbed has eroded in some areas making it difficult to walk over the small loose gravel.

Swan-Henry Toll Road and Lincoln Highway looking east.

The photo above shows a boulder that has fallen into the roadbed. We are a few hundred yards from the Slippery Ford Trail parking lot at Twin Bridges. This part of the old roadbed is easy to walk as it is not very steep. A forested area behind the photographer, a hundred yards or so, provides some welcome relief from the summer sun.

Pretty soon, we come to a wonderful rock which has been marked by old-time travelers. What era did they write this? We don’t know, but the Pony Express, Swan-Henry Toll Road, and the 1913 Lincoln Highway passed by this very rock. Someone wanted to record their passage through this historic route.

Register Rock on the Pony Express Trail, Swan-Henry Toll Road, and Lincoln Highway.

Heading down the old road a bit, we can see off to our right and below a rock building lacking a roof. At some point in the 1930s, the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) built this as a ski hut. Apparently, it was never finished or used. You can head down and check it out from the trail.

Ski Hut built by the CCC in the 1930s. Never used. We are looking north.

A bit further on, we come to the Slippery Ford House site, a boarding house and supply stop for travelers in the 1860’s. This spot is amazing as there is literally nothing left of this old place other than debris, which should be left in place as archeological evidence. It’s great fun to take the photo below and compare it to the site today.

1866 photo shows Slippery Ford House with teams outside. The team is headed up-hill, east, towards Slippery Ford. . Library of congress photo.

Below you will find a short video we made in 2018 at the Slippery Ford House site.

These historic photographs come to us from the Library of Congress, Lawrence & Houseworth Collection, made in 1866. Slippery Ford was famous enough they took many photographers of the area, including the Slippery Ford House. The photo below is interesting as it appears to shows the third building on site. We assumed from previous photos there were just two buildings.

From Slippery Ford House looking east on the old Swan-Henry Toll Road.

Looking at these old photos of Slippery Ford House, the first thing I notice is the roadbed's great condition. Today this road is often a jumble of rocks resembling a stream bed more than a road. This is due to erosion over the years, with water etching deeper into the ruts each year. In addition there is no road maintenance anymore, so nature is left to it’s own creation along this trail.

Monica standing in the middle of the badly eroded roadbed. You can see a old culverts sticking out of the ground. That is likely Lincoln Highway era pipe.

Monica's photo above shows how the roadbed has been eroded over the years, exposing the base, which consists of softball size and larger sized rocks. These sections of the road can be difficult to walk as every time you step the rocks move. You can see a Lincoln Highway era culvert sticking out of the ground.

Looking west towards Strawberry Valley from the Slippery Ford House, 1866. Look closely and you can see the wagons coming up the hill towards the house. Click photo for larger view. Photo from Library of Congress.

Monica and a blasted rock.

As we travel these 19th Century roads in the Sierra Nevada, we often come across these rocks with a star-shaped pattern. These rocks were just too big to move, so the road builders blasted them, making the roadbed level. Dirt would then be graded on top of the rocks to make a smooth surface for travel. That’s why many of these roads were toll roads, to pay for the ongoing maintenance.

A rock showing the star shaped pattern from blasting.

We are approaching our destination near Strawberry, and there is one more historic obejct to enjoy, Monks Rock. Hank Monk was quite famous in his day for being a devil may care stage driver, who held records for his speed of travel. It’s said that one night, when stage traffic would travel the less crowded roads, he hit his head on this rock while speeding to his destination.

Monk’ Rock, on which the famous stage drive Hank Monk hit his head while driving his stagecoach team up the Slippery Ford Trail. Photo from the Library of Congress. Click the photo for a closer version.

We have looked at Monk’s Rock trying to envision how he managed to get close enough to actually hit it. Still can’t figure it out, but it’s a great story about a big old rock, of which this area abounds.

Monks Rock.

Just past Monk’s Rock, headed west towards Strawberry, the end of the hike is the Lovers Leap Campground. This campground is usually filled with rock climbers who find it thrilling to climb up the sheer side of Lovers Leap. Lover’s Leap Campground is only a short 1/4 mile from Strawberry. There is day-use parking at the campground.

Lover’s Leap Campground at Strawberry.

Now that we’re done hiking down the Slippery Ford Trail we’ll take a look around the Strawberry area in our next episode of our Lincoln Highway Adventure in El Dorado County.

Map of area showing key features. Click map for larger view.

Google Earth view looking east.This 3D view shows the topography of the area well. Click map for a closer view.

1895 Citrus Colony Cricket Team, Rocklin, California

Moses Andrews of Auburn started Placer County’s citrus industry when he planted a seedling citrus tree in 1871. The region was well suited to citrus. It was below the extreme cold of the mountains but high enough in the foothills to ripen earlier than other citrus regions in California, giving these fruits a head start for shipping back east by rail. This was the beginning of the Penryn/Loomis/Rocklin citrus industry.

Joel Parker Whitney was a local citrus and grape grower who had traveled to Europe and had an affinity for English country life. He decided to build a colony for people who shared his love of that life. The Citrus Colony was born. Twelve wealthy families arrived from England and built homes, a clubhouse, tennis courts, and even a cricket field.

'Pictured above is the Citrus colony’s 1895 cricket team, which was unbeaten in the State of California. They were also the 1898 champions of the state.

Eventually, the fruit prices started to drop as the depression of the 1890s worsened, and the colonists’ lack of farming experience began to take its toll. Eventually, some colonists headed back to England while others ended their farming careers for other ventures. The Colony went bankrupt in 1905.

More information about Placer County’s Citrus Colony can be found here.

Aerial view Auburn at the turn of the century

We are looking west above Auburn, California, at the turn of the 20th Century. While automobiles existed, they were not common at this time, and the main mode of transportation was the horse and wagon. The canyon we see at right is known as Auburn Ravine and today is buried under Interstate 80. With that in mind, we can see the original location of the Auburn Volunteer Fire Department building, with stripes, on the far right. That building was saved and now sits at its new location.

At far left we can see the old post office building and the small gazebo building that held a drinking fountain. At the top of the hill, sit’s the white Snowden House.

In the above Google Earth photo, we can see the modern-day view of the same location. The stripped firehouse building now sits in the new location. Interstate 80 dominates the right side of the view. The Snowden House still stands at the top of the hill. The railroad trestle crossing the interstate was built by Southern Pacific in 1909 and therefore does not show up in the earlier photo.

Kentucky House, on the old Coloma-Folsom Road

The Austin T. Leachman "Kentucky House," located on the old Coloma-Folsom Road, was one of the first roadhouses one would encounter when traveling east from Sacramento County into El Dorado County. The Coloma-Folsom road is now known as Green Valley Road, and this roadhouse stood on the south side of the road at the junction with a path that led south to Clarksville in the present-day El Dorado Hills.

Leachman came to California by wagon train from Quincy, Illinois, in 1850 and 1859 married an Irish lady named Mary Sullivan, purchased the hotel and roadhouse then known as the "Red House," as well as 220 surrounding acres near present day's "Browns Ravine."

The Leachman House or "Kentucky House" called that as it was Leachman's birthplace, operated successfully as long as traffic in the form of stages and freighters came along the old Coloma-Folsom Road. The Kentuck House continued until 1869 when traffic started to slow along the old road.

Gold Run on Highway 40

Monica and I headed upcountry to Donner Summit the other day. Whenever possible, we take the old Lincoln Highway/Highway 40 route. It's slower-paced, and you get to see the small towns along the way. This is the "old-trading" post at Gold Run. I had not seen this photo before, but was familiar with the spot, as it's where the current Gold Run post office is located. This was the old Lincoln Highway before it became Highway 40 in 1928. Gold Run's history goes back to the gold rush era and hydraulic mining, which is how Gold Run made its fortune. When hydraulic gold mining was outlawed in the latter 19th Century, the town dwindled in size and importance.

Gold Run, California today.

 

Gold Discovery Centennial Celebration in Coloma, California

Gold Discovery Centennial Celebration in Coloma, California filmed in 16 mm, 1948. Participant filmed vignettes of the 1948 centennial celebration of the discovery of gold. Scenes mostly in Coloma, CA with a couple snippets from Placerville CA. Parade floats, speakers, participants, spectators. Gold panning.

From the California State Archives. https://archive.org/details/caclmmgd_000010

Day at the beach in San Francisco, 1903

A rare movie of people enjoying the beach below the old Cliff House. This is three years before the Great Earthquake and Fire. Other than the old Dutch windmill at Golden Gate Park, all the buildings pictured are gone.

Our first "adventure" map!

One of our favorite drives is Auburn to Donner Lake via The Lincoln Highway. You can’t really travel all the way on The Lincoln, as much of it is bypassed, or has fallen into disrepair. We have mapped out what parts you can travel on, and what other alternatives will get you off the freeway. Sometimes freeway driving is the only way, but as soon as we can, we get off and travel on old Highway 40, which roughly follows The Lincoln.

The first incarnation of The Lincoln Highway often followed closely the old wagon roads and emigrant trails of the 19th Century. Where possible we have tried to map out historical markers pointing out these old trails, and actually mapping the trails so you can walk in the wagon ruts of our pioneers.

The entire trip from Auburn To Verdi, Nevada could be made in a day, but would require mostly driving without stopping much. We typically do the Auburn to Donner Lake, and back again in one day, with stops along the way! The section from Donner or Truckee to Verdi is a days worth fun, especially if you visit the town of Boca, which is a great ghost town to visit.

We mark the special historical spots with our logo (as seen above), so you can easily see them. When you “click” the logo either a photo or video explaining the significance of the location will pop up.

The maps are really best used on your portable media device, like a cell phone. The maps can be opened via Google Maps, showing you location and directions to the various places we visit. No longer do you have to figure out where you are on the map, and how to get to that place. It’s a boon for us history buffs!

We cannot make any guarantees as to the accuracy of this, or any map we produce. To the best of our knowledge they are up to date, and we change them as conditions warrant. Never the less, it’s up to you to decide whether to follow the map, or use your ‘gut instincts’ concerning these locations. We do not cross private property that’s marked, nor should you. Be respectful of the environment so these places and routes will stay open for us to explore.

The maps are located in our map section here.

Trademarks of early California

California was the first state in the union to offer trademark protection, seven years before the federal government started! California began registering certain container brands in 1861, but trademark registration for all types of products began in 1863.

What’s fun about these old trademarks is how the promoted their brand. Here we see a trademark for “California Portable Lemonade" or “Sugar of Lemons”. We assume that when this product was trademarked in 1869 the idea of “portable lemonade” was a novel one. It’s basically just powdered lemon mixed with sugar, that when added to water make “lemonade”.

Besides the actual trademark filed, letters describing the item and fees paid, which apparently was done with a stamp to the tune of 5 cents.

With most all the trademark requests a formalized letter, such as the one above was included. “Know all men by these presents that we, Schroder Albrecht & Co. under an by virtue….” The language, and handwriting take us back to a time when neat handwriting was vital in getting your point accross.

There is often another part to the label, and here we see Schroder and Albrecht showing how, “the above two labels are (?) and secured around the box containing the California Portable Lemonade…” The label above tells us “The article is manufactured from the best white sugar and purified lemon juice and will retain it’s freshness in any climate.” The product was manufactured at 113 K Street, Sacramento.

Here is a view on Google Maps showing the location of “The Portable Lemonade Company” at 115 K Street. It was located in “Old Town Sacramento” right next to the present Evangeline’s Costumes.

Most all the trademark applications include a Notary Public seal, and signature.

The application includes another view of the “back side” of the label.

In ending their application for trademark the Portable Lemonade Co. they included these “directions” and a picture of a train in the mountains. I assume this was to show the “portable” nature of the product?

Trademarks from: California Secretary of State's Office, “Old Series Trademark No. 0147,” California State Archives Exhibits, accessed October 13, 2018, http://exhibits.sos.ca.gov/items/show/147.