Volume 024-2 - April 1970 (5 pages)

had over 1,000 men working the bar’s gravel deposits. He, John Rose was the first man to establish a settlement and a home in the watershed of the Yubas. His cattle operation was the bringing of cattle in from Mexico and marketing them for food for the ever increasing miners and teamsters. His cattle operation created two Roses Corrals, one of which was in Pleasant Valley where he alsohad a trading post. This was part of Yuba County but became Nevada County on April 25, 1851. John Rose is credited with building the first dwelling in Nevada County at a point on Deer Creek on the eastern edge of Pleasant Valley. Today, the site of Roses Corral and trading post is below the waters of Lake Wildwood but his name lives on in the name of the Masonic Lodge in Smartville, Roses Bar Lodge F. & A. AM. No. 89, an active lodge chartered in 1855. PLEASANT VALLEY ROAD TO BRIDGEPORT BRIDGE CHANGES FAST ACTION PASSENGER, MAIL AND EXPRESS SERVICE WAS EXCITING ROUGH AND DUSTY IN THE MOTHER LODE COUNTRY During the past120 years the old roads served well the area from Indian Springs through Penn Valley, through Pleasant Valley and the crossing at Bridgeport. The same is true of the roads from Smartville through Pleasant Valley, Penn Valley to Rough and Ready, or to Nevada City via Newtown. Then a recreational lake was created where deer creek flows through Pleasant Valley. This is a modern subdivision known as Lake Wildwood and is planned for Gracious living above the fog and below the snows. Lake Wildwood is two miles long with seven miles of shoreline and wlll inundate the pioneer road. A new highway will enhance the travel for todays visitors and residents who come to the area and visit the historic old bridge. The new highway will swing to the west along the shores of Lake Wildwood, crossing a dam at Deer Creek and rerouted above the shoreline to connect with the old toll road to French Corral and the Newtown Road to Nevada City. The new activity and prominance that Lake Wildwood brings to western Nevada County can be contrasted with the activity that was experienced in the exciting days of gold. We are told that over 100 teamsters passed a given point every day from spring to winter for over 20 years. At Indian Springs a principal stopping place for wagon repair, harness repair, horse-mule-oxen shoeing, reloading of wagons, feeding of animals, food and lodging and supplies of all kinds made Penn Valley a center of activity that may never be seen again. The preparation for the long haul to the Comstock via the Henness Pass meant thousands of workers skilled as blacksmiths, farriers, wagon makers, carpenters, merchants, teamsters and so on to man the stop-overs and stock the stations over the 100 plus miles to the Washoe Country. Each had his responsibility to keep the great line of teams moving as if a great chain was moving and no link could be neglected. The typical teamster consisted of two wagons one behind the other and pulled by six horses. This made it possible to pull one wagon up a steep grade and return for the trailing wagon or to continue on with one wagon and selected cargo incase of failure of equipment or horses. The same was true for mules andoxen. There were, of course, teamsters operating larger rigs with up to twenty teams and known as ‘‘Jerk-lines’’, 16 HORSE JERKLINE AS WAS SEEN ON THE VIRGINIA TURNPIKE SELECTING THE ROUTE TO TRAVEL The Virginia Turnpike was well established and the route offered several advantages to the teamsters, as we will discuss, but the year of 1859 increased the travel tremendously for the rich ore from Sun Mountain’s Comstock Lode was assayed at Ott’s Assay office in Nevada City and found to be unbelieyably rich, the first samples assaying $1,595 gold and $3,196 silver per ton. The second gold rush was on and all but the timid abandoned their mines and their camps and headed for Nevada’s fabulous strike to become Virginia City, a city of over 20,000 people. The following news account was published in The Hydraulic Press, North San Juan, Nevada County, dateline Saturday, October 22nd, 1859. THE HENNESS PASS ROUTE On Monday, the 10th inst. a party composed of Thomas Freeman and David Wood, both experienced road-builders, with other persons, of whom the writer of this was one, started from North San Juan on a journey to Carson City, Utah, and the new silver mines of the Eastern slope, by way of Henness Pass, with a view to ascertaining the most direct practicable route for a road connecting Marysville, North San Juan, and other towns tn Yuba, Nevada, and Sierra Count{es with the important regions on the Eastern borders of our state, which is now being rapidly peopled. We propose to give as succintly as possible, the results of this expedition, with direct reference to its special object, leaving whatever else of interest was learned for other occasions, The party pursued what is known as The Emigrant Road along the ridge dividing the North and Middle Yubas, up the latter stream to the summit, thr the Henness Pass into Truckee lake Valley, down the little Truckee with its succession of linked grassy vales, to Dog Valley Hill, over this hill to the main Truckee, southward through Truckee Meadows, Steamboat, Smith’s Washoe Valley, to Carson City in Eagle Valley, and thence northward to the Virginia City or Washoe Diggings. This made a total distance from North San Juan of 107 miles, and from Marysville of 143 miles, In returning, the party avoided the circuitous route in going from Steamboat Valley to the diggings, and crossed the range of mountains lying between them and said valley by adirect route which follows the course of a canyon, thus saving 15 miles and reducing the distance from Marysville to Virginia City to 130 miles makingit shorter than any other route. Through this canyon parties are now engaged in building a road, The route described climbed from the level of the Bridgeport Covered Bridge at 587 feet to the Henness Pass at 6,774 feet and provided the lowest pass across the summit of the Sierras and what was considered an easy grade and freer from snows in winter. Although travel continued for most of the year heavy hauling and sometimes all travel ceased during the dead of winter. This route had other notable advantages with navigation on the Sacramento River, the Feather River and the lower Yuba River. Freight of all kinds loaded at San Francisco on river boats, barges and steamers unloaded at Sacramento and Marysville and at other landings depending on the dry or wet season, such as Nicolaus and Knights Landing for transfer to teamsters, stages and pack-trains. Many camps or towns were created by the separation of a days travel as deteri fs

had over 1,000 men working the bar’s gravel deposits. He, John Rose was the first man to establish a settlement and a home in the watershed of the Yubas. His cattle operation was the bringing of cattle in from Mexico and marketing them for food for the ever increasing miners and teamsters. His cattle operation created two Roses Corrals, one of which was in Pleasant Valley where he alsohad a trading post. This was part of Yuba County but became Nevada County on April 25, 1851. John Rose is credited with building the first dwelling in Nevada County at a point on Deer Creek on the eastern edge of Pleasant Valley. Today, the site of Roses Corral and trading post is below the waters of Lake Wildwood but his name lives on in the name of the Masonic Lodge in Smartville, Roses Bar Lodge F. & A. AM. No. 89, an active lodge chartered in 1855. PLEASANT VALLEY ROAD TO BRIDGEPORT BRIDGE CHANGES FAST ACTION PASSENGER, MAIL AND EXPRESS SERVICE WAS EXCITING ROUGH AND DUSTY IN THE MOTHER LODE COUNTRY During the past120 years the old roads served well the area from Indian Springs through Penn Valley, through Pleasant Valley and the crossing at Bridgeport. The same is true of the roads from Smartville through Pleasant Valley, Penn Valley to Rough and Ready, or to Nevada City via Newtown. Then a recreational lake was created where deer creek flows through Pleasant Valley. This is a modern subdivision known as Lake Wildwood and is planned for Gracious living above the fog and below the snows. Lake Wildwood is two miles long with seven miles of shoreline and wlll inundate the pioneer road. A new highway will enhance the travel for todays visitors and residents who come to the area and visit the historic old bridge. The new highway will swing to the west along the shores of Lake Wildwood, crossing a dam at Deer Creek and rerouted above the shoreline to connect with the old toll road to French Corral and the Newtown Road to Nevada City. The new activity and prominance that Lake Wildwood brings to western Nevada County can be contrasted with the activity that was experienced in the exciting days of gold. We are told that over 100 teamsters passed a given point every day from spring to winter for over 20 years. At Indian Springs a principal stopping place for wagon repair, harness repair, horse-mule-oxen shoeing, reloading of wagons, feeding of animals, food and lodging and supplies of all kinds made Penn Valley a center of activity that may never be seen again. The preparation for the long haul to the Comstock via the Henness Pass meant thousands of workers skilled as blacksmiths, farriers, wagon makers, carpenters, merchants, teamsters and so on to man the stop-overs and stock the stations over the 100 plus miles to the Washoe Country. Each had his responsibility to keep the great line of teams moving as if a great chain was moving and no link could be neglected. The typical teamster consisted of two wagons one behind the other and pulled by six horses. This made it possible to pull one wagon up a steep grade and return for the trailing wagon or to continue on with one wagon and selected cargo incase of failure of equipment or horses. The same was true for mules andoxen. There were, of course, teamsters operating larger rigs with up to twenty teams and known as ‘‘Jerk-lines’’, 16 HORSE JERKLINE AS WAS SEEN ON THE VIRGINIA TURNPIKE

SELECTING THE ROUTE TO TRAVEL The Virginia Turnpike was well established and the route offered several advantages to the teamsters, as we will discuss, but the year of 1859 increased the travel tremendously for the rich ore from Sun Mountain’s Comstock Lode was assayed at Ott’s Assay office in Nevada City and found to be unbelieyably rich, the first samples assaying $1,595 gold and $3,196 silver per ton. The second gold rush was on and all but the timid abandoned their mines and their camps and headed for Nevada’s fabulous strike to become Virginia City, a city of over 20,000 people. The following news account was published in The Hydraulic Press, North San Juan, Nevada County, dateline Saturday, October 22nd, 1859. THE HENNESS PASS ROUTE On Monday, the 10th inst. a party composed of Thomas Freeman and David Wood, both experienced road-builders, with other persons, of whom the writer of this was one, started from North San Juan on a journey to Carson City, Utah, and the new silver mines of the Eastern slope, by way of Henness Pass, with a view to ascertaining the most direct practicable route for a road connecting Marysville, North San Juan, and other towns tn Yuba, Nevada, and Sierra Count{es with the important regions on the Eastern borders of our state, which is now being rapidly peopled. We propose to give as succintly as possible, the results of this expedition, with direct reference to its special object, leaving whatever else of interest was learned for other occasions, The party pursued what is known as The Emigrant Road along the ridge dividing the North and Middle Yubas, up the latter stream to the summit, thr the Henness Pass into Truckee lake Valley, down the little Truckee with its succession of linked grassy vales, to Dog Valley Hill, over this hill to the main Truckee, southward through Truckee Meadows, Steamboat, Smith’s Washoe Valley, to Carson City in Eagle Valley, and thence northward to the Virginia City or Washoe Diggings. This made a total distance from North San Juan of 107 miles, and from Marysville of 143 miles, In returning, the party avoided the circuitous route in going from Steamboat Valley to the diggings, and crossed the range of mountains lying between them and said valley by adirect route which follows the course of a canyon, thus saving 15 miles and reducing the distance from Marysville to Virginia City to 130 miles makingit shorter than any other route. Through this canyon parties are now engaged in building a road, The route described climbed from the level of the Bridgeport Covered Bridge at 587 feet to the Henness Pass at 6,774 feet and provided the lowest pass across the summit of the Sierras and what was considered an easy grade and freer from snows in winter. Although travel continued for most of the year heavy hauling and sometimes all travel ceased during the dead of winter. This route had other notable advantages with navigation on the Sacramento River, the Feather River and the lower Yuba River. Freight of all kinds loaded at San Francisco on river boats, barges and steamers unloaded at Sacramento and Marysville and at other landings depending on the dry or wet season, such as Nicolaus and Knights Landing for transfer to teamsters, stages and pack-trains. Many camps or towns were created by the separation of a days travel as deteri fs