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.

Georgetown Divide History Tour, Part 4

We continue the tour after visiting the old town of Michigan Flat. That part of the trip is here. Now we continue on Highway 49, turning left on Pedro Hill Road, which is the old highway into the town of Pilot Hill. Just before the turn off of Highway 49 onto Pedro Hill Rod is an excellent section of the old road, which we can see Monica walking upon in the above photo.

Beat-up “C” Marker on Pedro Hill Road.

Where Pedro Hill Road meets the entrance to the Cronan Ranch Regional Trails Park, we can spot a "C" marker, pictured above. "C" markers are also known as California right of waymarkers, which were installed by the California Division of Highways between 1914 to 1934. These markers are found at curves, intersections, and regular intervals along straightaways. The posts are 6" x 6" x 42" long. The top 6 to 8 inches projects above the ground and is what we see today, in most cases. There is also a 3/16 " "x6" copper wire set at the top to show the exact angle to measure. There is more information about "C" markers here. We will come upon a couple of more of the concrete markers along our tour.

Amos Bowman’s entire 1873 map of The Georgetown Divide can be found here.

As we continue along the old road, today called Pedro Hill Road, our next stop in Pilot Hill is the Pilot Hill Cemetery. The cemetery, founded in 1850, was known as the Centreville Cemetery, which was the name of this town. The area had three different towns, Pilot Hill, a town named Pittsfield that had been started in the Spring of 1851 by emigrants from Pittsfield, Illinois, and Centreville. Originally the town of Pilot Hill was located closer to the physical feature known as Pilot Hill. Interestingly, the county web site for the Pilot Hill Cemetery, as well as others, call this place Centerville. It’s not Centerville, but Centreville.

1861 Township and County Map, showing Centreville, can be found here.

The Centreville/Pilot Hill Cemetery is one of the oldest cemeteries in El Dorado County. It’s believed there are graves that pre-date the official 1850 starting date. Our former Congressman Gene Chappie, who served from 1980 for three terms, is buried here.

Freemont seated at right, Kit Carson, his guide, stands.

John Freemont, and members of the US Topographical Corps, passed this way in the winter of 1843-1844, looking for a better route to Sutter’s Fort, in the Sacramento Valley. Pilot Hill was the place they climbed to see the entire Sacramento Valley below. During the Gold Rush, bonfires would be built on the top of the hill to guide people from the valley to the gold region in the mountains. Thus it became known as Pilot Hill, and today a Cal Fire lookout stands at the top.

Once we have walked through the Centreville, Pilot Hill Cemetery, we head back to Pedro Hill Road and head north to the site of the famous Nance’s Hotel and Snakeroom Bar. We will visit that place and more on Part 5 of our tour of the historic Georgetown Divide.

The Georgetown Divide History tour

An online interactive map of our tour is available here. 

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.

Georgetown Divide History Tour, Part 2

Our next stop on our tour of the Georgetown Divide is the 1855 Meyer's Dance Hall and Saloon, just up Beach Street from the site of the old bridge at Lotus. You can read about the old bridge crossing at our first post of the tour here. Following the map and turning around in the church parking lot, we head back towards Highway 49, where we find the ruins of the old hall on the left.

Before the town was named Lotus, it was known as Marshall, named for the discoverer of gold. In 1850 the name was changed to Uniontown in honor of California's entrance into statehood. The name of the town was changed again to Lotus in 1881. This road was the old route from Sacramento to the goldfields, and many would pass this business. Dancing was quite the entertainment back in the days before electricity, and this spot was known as a "miners delight."

Now we head back towards Highway 49 and turn left onto Highway 49, but the old road went straight, behind Marco's Restaurant and back out towards Highway 49. You can see the old route as a green line on our maps. It's good to know the old way as the descriptions of various features often relate to their location with "the road," which usually implies the historic route, not the road we travel on today.

The Georgetown Divide History tour

Just a short distance to the north we will arrive at the site of the long-gone town of Michigan Flat, the place where the Stanford Brothers, Leyland, and Thomas, laid the foundations for their great wealth as proprietors of a general merchandise store.

We’ll talk about that place with our next post.

The old Lotus Bridge site, and the Georgetown Divide history tour

Join us as we begin the Georgetown Divide History tour! The tour can start anywhere along the route, but we will use the crossing at the south fork of the American River in our example. This tour will eventually make a complete loop bringing us back to the starting point. Google powers the map we will be using and will allow you to use your cell phone device to follow and enjoy the various features we will learn. Once we have discussed a historical point of interest and "put it on the map," we will move on to the next spot. Eventually, we will have a "tour" you can use to explore our history-rich region. The map is located here on our webpage under "maps."

Close-up of the 1873 map of the Georgetown Divide. A link for this map is available in our map section here.

Our first stop along the tour is the old road route and bridge site across the south fork of The American River at Lotus. Looking at a close-up of the 1873 map of the Georgetown Divide above, you see two arrows. One shows the old Lotus crossing site near Hennigson Park, and the other shows the approximate route of the present-day bridge.

The old Lotus Bridge.

The old route used to cross the river at the present-day site of Henningson Park. Standing at the shore of the river, you can still see the concrete foundations for the old bridge sitting in the water. Once you crossed the bridge, the old road followed Beach Street towards the present-day Highway 49. We have drawn in the old route on our tour map so we can better visualize the way.

The Georgetown Divide History tour

The bridge was damaged by high waters in 1950 and ceased use when the present crossing, a bit upriver, was built in 1951. That bridge was replaced in 2019 by the bridge that stands today over the south fork of the American River. Join us as we continue our tour of the Georgetown Divide and visit the next site on our journey, the location, and ruins of the old Meyer's Dance Hall and Saloon.