Norm Sayler and the Donner Summit Historical Society

Monica and I have a keen interest in California history, which takes us all over northern California, including our favorites places in the high country of the Sierra. One such place in The Donner Summit Historical Society located in Soda Springs, a mile or so from Donner Summit. This little museum has more exciting stuff from the area than even the state museum by Donner Lake. Unfortunately, the state museum, like the one in Coloma, has turned into what we call a "push button" museum. Clean, neat, and "push the button" for more info. A bit too sterile for us. Contrast that with Donner Summit Historical Society Museum, which is hands-on, and has more artifacts to look at and touch that the state-run museum.

Monica and the inside of the tightly packed museum.

Most important is the man running it, Norm Sayler. Norm has lived most of his life at Donner Summit, where for 46 years he ran Donner Summit Ski Ranch. No one I have met has a more excellent knowledge of the summit areas history and photographs to back it up. Norm's Ski Ranch was the first ski resort to allow snowboarders on its mountain. Snowboards with autographs of the leaders of the sport, thanking Norm, hang in the museum. Norm also was instrumental in saving the historic Rainbow Bridge from destruction when short-sighted supervisors in Nevada County wanted to tear it down! Norm and the Historical Society were also instrumental in having Highway 40 declared a California Historical Highway, giving the old road some protection.

Trey talking to Norm who sit’s in his “barber chair” at the museum.,

20 mile museum sign

The Museum and historical society have hikes around the summit where the history of this area is discussed and marveled at. The Society has also erected informative signs all around the summit area, which they describe as the "20-mile museum". Pick up a brochure at the museum to follow along. Check out their webpage, and sign up to receive the newsletter, "The Donner Summit Heirloom," which has stories and photos you have likely never seen or heard before.

 

Donner Summit Historical Society museum is located at Donner Pass Road and Soda Springs Road, in the town of Soda Springs.

Truckee 1919 and The Lincoln Highway "L"

I spent the day at the fabulous Donner Summit Historical Society Museum in Soda Springs. Once again, Norm Sayler, curator of the museum, shared some of his knowledge and rare photographs.

This photo shows Truckee, California in September of 1919. We see a couple of cars on the left next to a gas station, with Red Crown gas advertised. What caught our eye, however, is the large Lincoln Highway "L" that is standing next to the gas station. There appear to be either arrows or wording at the top and bottom of the sign, but we can't make out what it says.

Auburn Ravine

Not sure of the date that this was taken, but likely late 1800’s early 1900’s. The road the wagon is on is, or will become the Lincoln Highway. You can see the railroad trestle in the background. We are facing east. This entire area is now under Interstate 80. The creek you see is contained in a culvert that travels under the freeway for quite a ways. Kids will often climb through the tunnel which the locals call Satan’s Tunnel, to see how far they can get (not recommended). The tunnel starts right where the giant statue of a Gold Miner sits by The Interstate and exits the culvert at The Ophir Road exit.

 

Location of photo.

Fred's Place, Highway 50, El Dorado County

Rare photo looking west of Fred’s Place, located near mile marker 36, along Highway 50. Fred’s place was a resort and roadhouse built by Anna and Fred Scriggs in 1918 on land leased from Eldorado National Forest. Fred’s Place closed in 1965. That’s a fake CHP patrol car in the middle of the photograph, apparently effective in slowing traffic.

 

Map of location.

Pacific House in the 1920's

This is Pacific House, guessing sometime in the 1920s. Pacific House is just east of Freshpond on Highway 50. It was a bustling place back in the late 1800s and early 20th Century as the highway passed right in front of the building. In the 1800's it was a stopping spot for people traveling along Johnson's Cut-Off Trail, which climbed up here after crossing the Brockliss Bridge over The American River.

This photo shows just how busy the old Lincoln Highway could get, complete with a cop with high boots walking the cars parked partially on the highway. Today the building exists but is in the midst of slowly collapsing.

Photo from: Donner Summit Historical Society, Norm Sayler Collection.

Lincoln Highway, Emigrant Gap

Monica and I spent a couple of days camping at Prosser Creek Reservoir, just east of Truckee. The reservoir filled a canyon with historic crossings, both The Overland Emigrant Trail, as well as the first generation of The Lincoln Highway. We were able to follow the old trails and enjoy some spectacular scenery.

Trey and Norm talking in The Donner Summit Historical Society Museum at Soda Springs.

The highlight to our trip was The Donner Summit Historical Museum, in Soda Springs. This small museum has more Donner Summit History than any other museum I know. It's run by Norm Sayler, who for over 40 years owner and operated The Donner Ski Ranch. He has amassed a collection of Donner Summit memorabilia and photographs that is unparalleled. We spent over 5 hours during two days talking with Norm and going through his amazing collection. There is so much to see and take in that it will require many more trips up to Donner Summit and Soda Springs to help record and preserve what is stored there.

This photograph shows two ladies standing in front of The PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric) lookout station at Emigrant Gap, around the 1920s. This location is now a large turnout and vista point along Highway 80. If you look closely, you can even see a Lincoln Highway Directional sign on the left of where the women are standing.

The PG&E Lookout at Emigrant Gap, 1920’s. Photo from Donner Summit Historical Society, Norm Sayler Collection.

The photograph below shows two women on skies near Cisco Grove. Notice the Lincoln Highway Sign buried in the snow and The Transcontinental Railroad Snow Tunnels on the hillside.

Notice the Lincoln Highway Sign buried in the snow! Photo from Donner Summit Historical Museum, Norm Sayler collection.

Weimar subway Lincoln Highway logo

Monica and I headed up to Weimar to continue the Lincoln Highway logo project. Weimar is located just above Auburn and below Colfax, along present day Highway 80.

Walk with history

Just outside of Truckee we found a Trails West "T" marker, located at Old Greenwood Golf Course and housing development. T-35 is the number printed on the marker, which means it's the 35th marker describing The Truckee Trail. There are 34 markers before this one, each representing an event or remembrance of that particular spot. Marker T-35 is titled "Truckee Trail-Magnificent View." This marker sit's in the middle of the old trail, as you can see the wagon ruts that have left their impression, still visible after 150 years.

We owe a debt of gratitude to the Trails West Organization, who has marked many of the old immigrant and wagon roads across the west. If these historic trails are not marked and mapped, they will disappear into the mists of time. Imagine trying to find those old wagon ruts if not for the marker or trail guide. To be able to stand in the middle of such a famous trail that carried thousands of emigrants to California in the 19th Century is a thrill. You can imagine the covered wagons and people marching over this un-familiar land headed to their new lives in the west.

Emigrant wagon ruts headed west.

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

Map of location.

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.

Eisenhower and Army convoy leave Washington DC headed to San Francisco

It was on July 7th, 1919 that The Army's Motor Transport Corps convoy left Washington DC headed towards San Francisco. The trip was to see if the military could move men and machines across the country using the recently "completed" Lincoln Highway as the route. They almost didn't make it, arriving in Oakland seven day's behind schedule.

The convoy included, "24 expeditionary officers, 15 War Department staff observation officers, including a young, Bvt Lt Col Dwight D. Eisenhower of the Tank Corps, and 258 enlisted men." The experience Eisenhower had on the trip helped formulate his plan as President for an Interstate Highway System, still in place today.

The National Archives has a video of some of the trip. It's fascinating to watch, and at the 18:47 mark we start to see the mountains of Nevada and California, and the climb up Meyers Grade, across the summit, and down into Kyburz at the 21:45 mark.