Strawberry on the Lincoln Highway's southern route, part 6.

These wonderful photos show Strawberry’s two locations. The location of the Strawberry House has been a source of confusion for me. The secret is realizing there were a total of four Strawberry Houses over the years. Irad Barry built the first roadhouse in 1858 along what is now Highway 50. There is a state rock monument describing the first location just west of the gas station. It was here that a second larger lodge was built and stood until a fire destroyed it in 1867. The photo above shows the huge structure.

Strawberry cabins in 1920. We are facing east. Click photo for closer look. “McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 068,” California State Archives Exhibits,

After the disastrous fire of 1867, the new owner, Charlie Watson, re-built the station, but a bit up the road, just before the bridge crossing the American River. The photo above shows this new location. It was this location that would see the rise in automobile traffic after the turn of the century. This spot would be owned by the Watson and Martin Families from 1867 to 1938. While autos did pass down the old Swan-Henry Road, the Lincoln Highway in 1913 breathed new life into the old rest stop. For the next 16 years, the place was a beehive of activity as American's took to the road in their new Model T's.

Strawberry Resort on the Lincoln Highway, The photo above is courtesy of Laura Bantz

In 1929 the Great Depression was upon us, and the acquisition of automobiles and traveling slowed down as well. Who had the money to do it? The second reason business slowed was the highway's re-routing in 1931 from the old Swan-Henry Toll Road/Lincoln Highway to today's route. This bypassed the old resort and, combined with the Depression, helped in its eventual demise in 1939, just before World War II.

In 1939 Fred Baumhoff built the structure we know today as Strawberry Lodge along the new Highway 50. This would make the third location of the famous Strawberry House/Lodge/Resort. Fred’s Resort didn’t have much time to become a success as World War II roared into the 1940s, and men and equipment were in short supply. In 1943 Fred sold the business, and it had some success in the 1950s and 1960s, but people and their driving habits changed, and no one wanted to stop and take in the fresh air and views anymore.

Today the resort sits somewhat forlorn, waiting for its next big break or its next big disaster. Until people slow down and stop to smell the flowers once again, it will likely be a place that most just speed by on their way to somewhere else.

Our next stop along the southern route of the Lincoln Highway will be the Georgetown Junction, a wide spot along the road today, but back in the 1800s a major crossroads.

Map showing the sites of the three Strawberry buildings. Click map for a larger view.

A crossroads on the northern route of the Lincoln Highway, Part 5

The 1913 route of Lincoln Highway from the Second Summit outside Verdi to Truckee is likely some of the least visited sections of the old road. This route was active with transcontinental drivers until 1926 when the Truckee River's new route was completed. That Truckee River route is the path that Highway 40 took, and Interstate 80 follows today. The Dog Valley route soon lost most of it’s its traffic and became what it is today, a back road, little traveled, filled with history.

Map of entire area discussed. Click map for a closer view.

The above map shows the general location, from Verdi, NV., to Truckee. The yellow symbols are Trails West “T” markers placed on the old emigrant route. The markers are placed on or directly next to the original trail. In between the signs, the route is often undetectable, and that is why my lines from one marker to the next are often straight. We don’t know the actual route, yet.

Before reaching the Stampede Reservoir, we come to a famous crossroads mentioned by the emigrants and still existing today. Henness Pass Road, which we had been traveling on, continues west towards Camptonvile. Our road, the Lincoln Highway and DFDLWR, will become Dog Valley Road. We will use Stampede Reservoir Road to get over the dam and around the lake.

Map showing crossroads and Stampeded Reservoir. Click map for larger view.

In the lake, we can see the line representing the road going around two small islands that are visible when the lake level drops. The small iron bridge that used to cross the now flooded Little Truckee Rive may still be located under the water. The road then rises out of the reservoir and passes by a parking lot that was, unfortunately, built right over the road. The sign below explains what was lost.

Descriptive sign at Stampeded Reservoir. Click the sign for a larger view.

Once we pass Stampede Reservoir, we will have the opportunity to see five different Trails West “T” Markers showing the Emigrant Trail route. Rarely will we miss the opportunity to veer off course to take in the history of these markers. Some of California’s most interesting history is located along this stretch of road. Sometimes we can see the emigrant trail's actual route, and in those cases, we have detailed the route on our map. Wagon ruts and rust stains on rocks are often the best indicators that you're on the trail.

The photo shows Trails West “T” Marker, T-33, “To Prosser Creek”. You can vaguely see the wagon wheel ruts moving off into the distance.

Sign between Stampeded and Prosser Reservoirs. Notice the emigrant trail sign at lower left, pointing the way.

We now arrive at Prosser reservoir where once again we find the old road has been flooded by a reservoir, in this case, built-in 1963. You pass over the dam to get around the lake, and once past the reservoir, our next stop will be Truckee.

There is a great side trip to the Donner Party Campsite, where that family and others overwintered while the rest of the wagon train was caught at Donner Lake, then known as Truckee Lake. Monica and I visited that a year or so ago and put together this short video.

The area from Summit One on Henness Pass Road to Prosser Reservoir is one that we will visit again. We would love to make the drive on Henness Pass Road from the crossroads we described to Comptonville, which is quite a distance filled with all sorts of history. There are also a couple of T Markers and old building sites we need to explore. It’s beautiful out there, and with the added history, it is an area that could fill a lifetime of exploration.

Our next adventure, Part 5 on the Lincoln Highway’s northern route, will be in Truckee, a very historic town.

Verdi, Nevada to the California line on the northern route of the Lincoln Highway, Part 2

In our last post about Verdi, we explored the east side of town with its dirt Lincoln Highway and old metal bridge. That post can be found here. Now let’s head back into town, following the old road as we head towards the California border.

The photo above shows Verdi and a bridge in the distance. This photo was taken by the Central Pacific Railroad around 1868, and shows a wagon heading up the road on the far right. I wonder if this bridge is the earlier version of the Crystal Peak Toll Bridge.

Click the photo for a larger view. Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

As we approach the town, the Lincoln Highway makes a sharp right to cross the railroad tracks. There is a Nevada Historical monument by the tracks that mentions the “Great Train Robbery” that occurred here on November 4-5, 1870, by five desperadoes. The train was the Central Pacific Overland Express. $41,600 in gold coin was taken, and after a two-state search, they were all caught, tried, and convicted. More info here. 

Verdi History Center.

Sign mounted on Verdi History Center.

Once across the tracks, leave the first generation Lincoln Highway and turn left on 2nd Street, the second-generation highway. Just a couple of houses down on the left is the Verdi History Center. We have yet to come by when it’s open, but on the front of the building is a Lincoln Highway sign and a George A Wyman way-point sign.

George Wyman was a true pioneer, being the first person to cross the country on a motorized vehicle in 1903, fully ten years before the LincolnHighway. He rode and walked his motorcycle from San Francisco to New York, mostly following the railroad tracks. You can read more about this fascinating man and his epic journey here.

If you continue west on the 2nd generation Lincoln Highway, and just before the bridge, pull off and into Crystal Peak Park. There we can see the famous last crossing of the Truckee River. Above, we can see the Trails West “T” marker describing this place. There were 26th previous times that the emigrants would have to get wet crossing the river. It was quite tiring, and to reach the last crossing was something to get excited about.

We love these quiet places that, at one time, witnessed humanity on the move. Looking at the actual crossing below, we can well imagine the wagons, oxen, and people heading into the river from this side and exiting on the other.

The famous 27th emigrant crossing at the Truckee River, Verdi,Nevada, looking west.

Click photo for a larger version.

Leaving the park, we head back towards Verdi on the 2nd generation Lincoln until we reach the first generation road and turn left onto Bridge Street. In a bit, we reach the site of the Crystal Peak bridge built-in 1928. Before this bridge, this was known as “O’Neil’s crossing.”

You can read the plaque at the bridge in the photo on at right. Click for a larger view.

Crystal Peak Bridge crossing the Truckee River.

Crystal Peak cemetery, Verdi, Nevada.

Crossing the bridge, we head past the Crystal Peak Cemetery seen above. This area was a town by the name of Crystal Peak, and here are buried some of the former residents of that long-gone place. Now we are off into California, where we stop at the Von Schmidt obelisk.

Von Schmidt Obelisk, Verdi, Nevada.

This place is fantastic! The obelisk in the protective cage was one of four monuments set in place between 1872-73 to determine the state boundary line. There are descriptive signs in this small park that will explain the importance of this spot. One such plaque is shown below.

Descriptive plaque at the Von Schmidt obelisk park.

We have come to the end of today’s adventure. Monica and I are standing in Nevada, with the road still to be driven behind us. As the sign mentions, this part of the road will become quite rough and should only be traversed during the dry season. After this spot, we will climb up Henness Pass Road towards Dog Valley, the very same valley the Donner Party camped, and countless other emigrants.

The Lincoln Highway really is your road to adventure!

Monica and I at the border between California and Nevada on the old Lincoln Highway.

Map showing location of features discussed. Click map for larger view.

The Lincoln Highway, EL Dorado County, Johnson's Pass, Part 5

John Calhoun “Cock-eye” Johnson. Photo from the California State Archives.

We continue our adventure up Meyer’s Grade near Lake Tahoe on the old Lincoln Highway. This climb was the last major difficulty for emigrants in the 1850s who had come to settle in California or gather its riches and head back home. Early automobiles would often break down under the climb's strain, and reaching Johnson’s Pass was a major relief, as it was mostly downhill to Sacramento.

Johnson’s Pass is named after John Calhoun Johnson (1822 - September 13, 1876), a native of Deersville, Ohio. Johnson was the first trans-Sierra mail carrier, who delivered mail from Carson City, Nevada, to Take Tahoe, California, and continued to Hangtown, CA (Placerville, CA). Johnson used the Truckee River Route and the Carson Emigrant Trail to deliver the mail, but these were difficult trails to travel, and he started to look for another way up and over the summit. Johnsons figured if a trail could be built starting at the north end of Carson Valley and then made to go west over the mountains to Placerville, a large chunk of the Carson River Route would be “cut-off.” Johnson built that road, and it became known as Johnson’s Cut-Off Trail, saving much time and effort for travelers. It soon became the most popular route into California for emigrants and wagon trains.

We have learned that the 1913 original alignment of the Lincoln Highway often followed these old wagon routes and emigrant trails, and this was no exception. Automobiles were still a new thing in 1913, and road construction hadn’t caught up to the new-fangled horseless carriages, so they just followed the dirt trails like this one.

T.C. Wohlbrück photo showing the building at the summit before he built onto it.

Once you reached the top of the summit in 1918, this small forest service building would have greeted you. A visionary named Theodore Clemens Wohlbrück (1879–1936), known as "T.C." was a photographer who arrived in California in 1912. He realized that the new automobile and its passengers would need supplies. TC started what he called Canteen Service Stations in three locations of the Sierra Nevada, Donner Lake, Emigrant Pass, and here at Johnson’s Pass, Echo Summit. You can read more about TC and his Canteens here.

T.C. Wohlbrück photo showing the view of the Tahoe Valley from the Summit Lodge.

The view from the Summit Lodge is famous, and TC made sure to record it in the above photo. In the lower photo, we have a modern day view from the same spot.

The view from atop Johnson’s Pass at Echo Summit, CA.

TC Wohlbrück photo showing his Canteen Service Station at Johnson’s Pass.

TC Wohlbrück arranged a lease with the Forest Service to add to and develop the cabin as one of his Canteen/Service Stations. In the above photo, we can see the enlarged Canteen waiting for customers. The sign on the right mentions there is no illegal parking on the Lincoln Highway in the Eldorado National Forest. The photos of the Tahoe Basin were taken from just below the stairs, looking east.

The view from Johnson’s Pass looking east.

Pictured below is a Trails West historical “T” Markers at Johnson’s Pass. Each marker quotes from an emigrant diary about the very spot you are standing. In the next installment of our Lincoln Highway Adventure through El Dorado County, we will look around The Johnson’s Pass area and take a rare look inside the canteen.

Trail West “T” marker at Johnson’s Pass.

Map showing location and features at Johnson’s Pass.

The Summit Station and Hotel, Donner Summit

Looking at the photo above you would be forgiven for not knowing that this is likely one of the most historic spots in California railroad history. I’m standing at the site of the Central Pacific Railroad “roundhouse” at Summit Station, Donner Summit. It’s the only evidence of what was a beehive of activity along the transcontinental railroad. In the background, we can see the entrance for tunnel 6, the longest of the tunnels the railroad built. The concrete I’m looking at makes a large circle. This was the foundation for the roundhouse.

Photo: Donner Summit Historical Society, Norm Sayler Collection

With this 1870 photo, we can see the 67’ turntable roundhouse in the photo center. The Summit Hotel is the large white building on the left. The wooden snow tunnel coming towards us it the west portal to Tunnel Six.

Photo: Donner Summit Historical Society, Norm Sayler Collection

The above 1884 diagram is quite helpful in identifying the objects in the photo.

Photo: Donner Summit Historical Society, Norm Sayler Collection.

The above 1920s photo and the one following were taken from the same spot. The first photo shows the Summit Hotel at left, with a ramp to the railroad snow sheds at right. Travelers would wait at the hotel until the train arrived and then proceeded across the ramp to the snow shed and the waiting train. It looks like some folks are digging in the street, maybe looking for gold? Some more people wait at the hotel and behind the truck.

Photo: Donner Summit Historical Society, Norm Sayler Collection

The fantastic photo above shows why people were waiting for the train outside. Notice the snow shed at right, which appears to be on fire with a great amount of smoke billowing out of the vents near the roof. The shed is not on fire; the train has arrived! Everyone would wait until the last minute to work their way through the smoke to the waiting train.

Photo: Donner Summit Historical Society, Norm Sayler Collection.

Here we see the other side of the loading ramp at the Summit Hotel. This photo was taken around 1900, so we are still in the horse and buggy era with a couple of riders with their horses on the road. With a covered area leading to it, at right, is what appears to be a three-story “outhouse.”

Photo: Donner Summit Historical Society, Norm Sayler Collection

This 1927 photo shows the transition from “horse and buggy” days to the automobile era. We are looking the same direction as the photo with the horse riders, but now we see a car driving on the Lincoln Highway, with Lincoln Highway sign visible just to the car's right. The road turned right, just before the building as the ramp to the trains is still standing.

According to the Donner Summit Museum, this is likely one of the last photos of the Summit Hotel as it burned down in 1925. Why is this photo dated 1927? I’ll let you know when I find out.

Map showing key features.

Dutch Flat Wagon Road at Castle Creek, Soda Springs.

The wagons in the above photo are headed east on the old Dutch Flat/Donner Summit Wagon Road. The road was built by the Central Pacific Railroad to bring men and equipment to the construction sites along the rail bed. The railroad was completed in 1869, so these wagons are likely headed up to the summit construction with supplies from Dutch Flat.

Once the railroad was built, traffic slowed on these old roads until the transcontinental Lincoln Highway for automobiles was completed in 1913. The Lincoln Highway often utilized the Dutch Flat Wagon Road through Placer and Nevada Counties, and this is one example. The bridge crossing at Castle Creek is still there, through the bridge is made from concrete, and only carries the curious adventure who utilizes the roads less traveled.

Location at Castle Creek, Soda Springs.

The Green Valley Road History Tour!

Join us as we begin a new project, The Green Valley Road History Tour. This tour will take place at our new digital Google-powered map, located here. This tour will be the first of several trips that you will be able to make following our chart. You can use your cellular device so you can take it with you in the automobile or while walking. It's the same map you use when following directions you have entered, except our route will have historical points of interest along the way. The map can be found on our webpage, here.

We thought the first tour would be our Green Valley Road tour, which will start on Green Valley Road at the border with Sacramento County. Green Valley Road was a famous road starting back in the 1850s, bringing people up to El Dorado County from Folsom. Green Valley Road was the most popular path to take as it passed through many towns and past many roadhouses on its way to Placerville, the final destination.

The tour uses a red line to indicate the route you can drive. A green line indicates the old roadbed, often not passable in an automobile. The old road route gives us an idea of how much the path has changed. Being able to see the old rout path also helps in finding some of the historical features we will be discussing as we travel along.

We will post on each feature moving up from the county line. When you see the orange Adventures in California History icons, click one to have more info on that site come up. Sometimes nothing is remaining; other times, foundations or ruins are visible. As we travel the road path will be continued so that eventually a complete history tour map will be available for you to use. Place the map link on your computer or cell device with a shortcut, and you'll always be able to access it when you want to know more about something you see.

We had talked in the past weeks about two roadhouses along Green Valley Road, the Kentucky House, and the Rolling Hills Hotel. You will see both marked with the orange icon, which, when clicked, brings up more info, along with a link to even more info. Eventually, we will add videos to the mix.

There are two additional icons we added, showing the site of the old Mormon Island school, and the El Dorado County re-location cemetery, which houses the graves relocated due to construction of the Folsom Dam and reservoir. All the little towns that once occupied the river banks before the dam had cemeteries. Remains from Mormon Island, Salmon Falls, Condemned Bar, Carrollton Bar, McDowell's Hill, Natural Dam, and Doton's Bar cemeteries were relocated to the new Mormon Island Cemetery. The re-location also included five individual graves.

Using the map, after visiting the cemetery, we head back out on Green Valley Road and past the sites of the two roadhouses we discussed earlier, the Kentuck House and Rollin Hills Hotel. The locations shown are estimates based on historical maps and written information. If anyone had a more exact location for any item of historical interest, let us know so we can more the icon to better shows that new information.

This part of our tour will follow the old route, which means we will be turning left on Salmon Falls Road, and right on Malcolm-Dixon Road, which was the former Green Valley Road. Bet you didn't know that! We will continue to our next destination along that road next week.

Auburn railroad crossing gets a new addition

The bridge is newer, but there has been a railroad over-crossing at El Dorado Road and Highway 49/193 in Auburn since 1905! Monica and I spent part of Tuesday painting the Lincoln Highway "L" on both ends of the span. The California Chapter of The Lincoln Highway Association (CLHA) uses signs and these stencils to mark the path of the old road, just as it would have been done from 1914 to 1928.

Monica stands in front of the recently completed “L” at the east side of the under-pass.

The CLHA has recently painted other railroads over-crossings, including the 1910 Newcastle tunnel on Old State Highway, two crossings in Applegate, one each at Heather Glen, Weimar, Secret Town, and the South Yuba Bridge at Cisco Grove, and finally one at Donner Summit. The Stenciled "L's" goes along with our Historic Lincoln Highway signs you will notice along the old road. Be sure to check them out when you drive by.

The same over-crossing, looking west. The Wagon is headed up Lincoln Way.

Middle support facing east.

The following picture shows the same underpass but looking north from the west side.

“DANGER SLOWDOWN TOOT. TOOT.”

Where is the driver?

How can you find and follow the Lincoln Highway? Besides the signs and stencils the Lincoln Highway Association publishes a Google interactive map showing the route accross the country. Just keep zooming in until your at the area your interested in. Map can be found here.

Sierra Summit-Truckee Highway

I am trying to place the location of this photograph. While I assume it’s near Donner Summit on the Lincoln Highway, the exact location baffles me. You can see part of the road below right, snaking it’s way up. Are we headed up to the auto subway under the tracks? Below is a closer view of the auto.

A close-up view of the photo above.

Lincoln Highway map of possible location.

Photo’s from: “McCarthy Album 04, Photograph 010,” California State Archives Exhibits, accessed September 30, 2019, http://exhibits.sos.ca.gov/items/show/4075.

Summit of the Sierra

A great 1915 photo from the William M McCarthy collection at the California State Archives. Titled, “Summit of the Sierras," it shows two sets of railroad tracks, which indicates this is not Donner Summit, as all the tracks there were covered. Is this the Yuba Pass area?

The fun in these old photographs is often in zooming in to see the detail. They are hard to see otherwise, but once we look more closely we can see a couple of buildings set up against the snow sheds. Must have been for workers on the railroad to enter and leave without actually going outside into the snow. Just to the left of the buildings, I have marked what appears to be an automobile subway under the tracks and snow sheds. This subway is just like the one at Donner Summit, so perhaps this will help us to identify this location. Zoomable photo here.

“McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 266,” California State Archives Exhibits, accessed September 29, 2019, http://exhibits.sos.ca.gov/items/show/9290.