Collection: Books and Periodicals > Nevada County Historical Society Bulletins

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Title: Volume 050-1 - January 1996 Collection Type: Books and Periodicals Collection Name: Nevada County Historical Society Bulletins # of Pages: 8 Download PDF: User Login Required Download OCR Text: User Login Required

Date Scanned: 2014-03-05 08:44:36 OCR Software Version #: tesseract 5.4.1 Item Sourced From: PDF First Created: 2025-03-17 04:06:00 Last Updated: 2025-03-17 04:06:00

Original Held At: Searls Historical Library Location: 161 Nevada City Hwy, Nevada City, CA 95959

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In addition to these main thoroughfares. a web of lesser roads spread out and interconnected each of these valley towns to the South Yuba River crossing at Bridgeport. From Marysville the wagons and stages could travel cast to Timbuctoo and Smartville on both sides of the Yuba River—the north road crossed the river at Park’s Bar, as does today’s State Highway 20. Park’s Bar was downstream from Rose’s Bar, named for John Rose, a native of Scotland who had come to California as a ship’s carpenter in 1839 and, like Johann Sutter, became a citizen of Mexico. In the summer of 1848, after the U.S. had taken California away from Mexico by force of arms, gold was discovered at Sutter’s mill. Rose and his partner, William J. Reynolds, began panning for gold along the Yuba River upstream from Marysville, and they opened a supply store on a river bar that became known as “Rose and Reynold’s Bar.” To supply the miners with beef, Rose brought cattle up from Mexico and he kept the animals at a temporary corral located somewhere between Bridgeport and the crossroads known as Anthony House, where the road from Smartville met others leading to the mining camps of Rough and Ready, Grass Valley, Newtown, Nevada City, French Corral, North San Juan, Camptonville, Alleghany, Columbia Hill, and Downieville. Now the site of Anthony House is hidden beneath the waters of Lake Wildwood. The Virginia City Silver Rush of 1859-61 The discovery of rich bodies of silver ore on the Comstock lead in the summer of 1859 set off a rush to Virginia City and A Gold Canyon. Thousands of men hurried to the so-called “Washoe Diggings,” abandoning their mines and businesses (and even their families) in the process. Their arrival created a huge demand for food, liquor, housing, machinery, firewood, and general merchandise that could not be provided from local resources, and everything they wanted had to be hauled at great expense over the mountains from California. Some men were quick to perceive the many opportunities such an exodus could provide. The North San Juan Hydraulic Press reported the activities of some enterprising Californians on October 22, 1859: 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 [Territory], 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 in Yuba, Nevada, and Sierra counties with the important regions on the Eastern borders of our state, which is now being rapidly peopled.... 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, through the Henness Pass into Truckee [Webber] Lake Valley, down the Little Truckee [River] with its succession of linked grassy vales, to Dog Valley Hill, over this hill to the main Truckee, southward through Truckee Meadows [Reno], Steamboat [Springs], 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 a direct route which follows the course of a canyon, thus saving 15 miles—and reducing the distance from Marysville to Virginia City to 130 miles—making it shorter than any other route. Through this canyon parties are now engaged in building a road. The David Wood mentioned above was a native of the Midwest who had come to California and settled with his family near the mouth of the South Yuba River. He owned a sawmill and lumber business near Forest City, which required him to become a road builder. In 1859 he was easily persuaded that an improved highway across the Sierras would benefit him and his neighbors. The Henness Pass Road In the winter of 1859-60, two companies were formed to improve the road over the Henness Pass in Sierra County. One outfit, the Truckee Turnpike Company, was created by a combination of investors from Marysville and North San Juan, and the other, incorporated as the Henness Pass Turnpike Company, was organized at Nevada City. The Truckee Turnpike Company intended to build a road in Sierra County on top of the ridge that overlooks the canyons of the main and middle forks of the Yuba River. The Henness Pass company preferred to improve a route within the county of Nevada, which meant upgrading roads on the south side of the Middle Yuba River. Inasmuch as both companies intended to follow the same route after they reached Jackson’s Ranch, which was near the headwaters of the Middle Yuba, they agreed to cooperate and share costs and revenues connected with the portion of the Henness Pass road that lay between Jackson’s and the present-day community of Verdi, Nevada. The Henness road had two important advantages over other Sierra passes: first, its moderate grades placed fewer demands on the strength and endurance of animals and teamSters; second, its lower summit permitted considerable travel even in the winter months. In moderate winters it was possible to cross in all but the heaviest storms, especially with the aid of skis and snowshoes. In addition, the Henness Pass offered another significant attraction for merchants and foundries in Nevada, Sierra, and Yuba counties: because it was the shortest and most direct