Theodore Dehone Judah was an American civil engineer who was a central figure in the original promotion, establishment, and design of the First transcontinental railroad. He found investors for what became the Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR). As chief engineer, he performed much of the route survey work to determine the best alignment for the railroad over the Sierra Nevada, which was completed six years after his death.
The National Road was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the 620-mile (1,000 km) road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main transport path to the West for thousands of settlers. When improved in the 1830s, it became the second U.S. road surfaced with the macadam process pioneered by Scotsman John Loudon McAdam.
Stovepipe Wells is a way-station in the northern part of Death Valley, in unincorporated Inyo County, California.
The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about 1,600 mi (2,600 km) across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California. After it was established, the first half of the California Trail followed the same corridor of networked river valley trails as the Oregon Trail and the Mormon Trail, namely the valleys of the Platte, North Platte, and Sweetwater rivers to Wyoming. The trail has several splits and cutoffs for alternative routes around major landforms and to different destinations, with a combined length of over 5,000 mi (8,000 km).
Newhall Pass is a low mountain pass in Los Angeles County, California. Historically called Fremont Pass and San Fernando Pass, with Beale's Cut, it separates the Santa Susana Mountains from the San Gabriel Mountains. Although the pass was visited in August 1769 by Catalan explorer Gaspar de Portolá, it eventually was named for Henry Newhall, a significant businessman in the area during the 19th century.
Donner Memorial State Park is a state park of California, US, preserving the site of the Donner Camp, where members of the ill-fated Donner Party were trapped by weather during the winter of 1846–1847. Caught without shelter or adequate supplies, members of the group resorted to cannibalism to survive. The Sierra Nevada site has been designated a National Historic Landmark. The state park contains the Emigrant Trail Museum and the Pioneer Monument dedicated to the travelers of the Emigrant Trail.
State Route 88 (SR 88), also known as the Carson Pass Highway, is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It travels in an east–west direction from Stockton, in the San Joaquin Valley, to the Nevada state line, where it becomes Nevada State Route 88, eventually terminating at U.S. Route 395 (US 395). The highway is so named as it crests the Sierra Nevada at Carson Pass. The highway corridor predates the era of the automobile; the path over Carson pass was previously used for the California Trail and the Mormon Emigrant Trail. The mountainous portion of the route is included in the State Scenic Highway System.
Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park is a state park of California, United States, marking the discovery of gold by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in 1848, sparking the California Gold Rush. The park grounds include much of the historic town of Coloma, California, which is now considered a ghost town as well as a National Historic Landmark District. The park contains thre California Historical Landmarks: a monument to commemorate James Marshall (#143), the actual spot where he first discovered gold in 1848 (#530). Established in 1942, and Coloma Road (#748),. The park now comprises 576 acres (233 ha) in El Dorado County.
Beckwourth Pass is the lowest mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada mountain range at an elevation of 5,221 feet (1,591 m).
Interstate 80 (I-80) traverses the northern portion of the US state of Nevada. The freeway serves the Reno metropolitan area and passes through the towns of Fernley, Lovelock, Winnemucca, Battle Mountain, Carlin, Elko, Wells, and West Wendover on its way through the state.
U.S. Route 50 is a transcontinental highway which stretches from Ocean City, Maryland to West Sacramento, California. In the U.S. state of Virginia, US 50 extends 86 miles (138 km) from the border with Washington, D.C. at a Potomac River crossing at Rosslyn in Arlington County to the West Virginia state line near Gore in Frederick County.
The Bridgeport Covered Bridge is located in Bridgeport, Nevada County, California, southwest of French Corral and north of Lake Wildwood. It is used as a pedestrian crossing over the South Yuba River. The bridge was built in 1862 by David John Wood. Its lumber came from Plum Valley in Sierra County, California. The bridge was closed to vehicular traffic in 1972 and pedestrian traffic in 2011 due to deferred maintenance and "structural problems".
The Lahontan Valley is a basin in Churchill County, Nevada, United States. The valley is a landform of the central portion of the prehistoric Lake Lahontan's lakebed of 20,000-9,000 years ago. The valley and the adjacent Carson Sink represent a small portion of the lake bed. Humboldt Lake is to the valley's northeast. Pyramid Lake is west. Walker Lake is to the south. The valley is part of the larger Great Basin Desert, however during the California Gold Rush the valley was often called the Forty Mile Desert.
The Lyons Station Stagecoach Stop,, was a tavern and stagecoach stop near the southwest corner of Newhall Avenue and Sierra Highway, by Eternal Valley Cemetery. The site is located in the present day Newhall section of Santa Clarita, in Los Angeles County, California.
The Stockton–Los Angeles Road, also known as the Millerton Road, Stockton–Mariposa Road, Stockton–Fort Miller Road or the Stockton–Visalia Road, was established about 1853 following the discovery of gold on the Kern River in Old Tulare County. This route between Stockton and Los Angeles followed by the Stockton–Los Angeles Road is described in "Itinerary XXI. From Fort Yuma to Benicia, California", in The Prairie Traveler: A Hand-book for Overland Expeditions by Randolph Barnes Marcy. The Itinerary was derived from the report of Lieutenant R. S. Williamson on his topographical survey party in 1853, that was in search of a railroad route through the interior of California.
Henness Pass, elevation 6,916 ft (2,108 m), is a mountain pass northwest of Reno on the crest of the Sierra Nevada range in Sierra County, California. The pass is traversed by Henness Pass Road, a mostly unpaved road not generally passable by automobiles in winter. Portions of the road are recommended for high clearance vehicles only.
Beale's Cut Stagecoach Pass is a stagecoach pass built in 1859 in what is now Santa Clarita, California. The Pass was designated a California Historical Landmark on May 11, 1992. The cut provided a route in the pass between the San Gabriel Mountains and the Santa Susana Mountains ranges. It is located near the current interchange of the Interstate 5 and California State Route 14.
The Daley Toll Road Monument was designated a California Historic Landmark (No.579) on May 17, 1957. Daley Toll Road Monument marker is in the San Bernardino Mountains. The Monument is on the first wagon road built in San Bernardino Mountains. Engineer Edward Daley Sr. and his sons built and opened the toll road in 1870. They Daley family ran the toll road till 1890. The toll road ran from the city of San Bernardino to Lake Arrowhead. The road was called the Twin and City Creek Turnpike and the turnpike into the mountains. In 1890 the road became a San Bernardino County, California road called the Daley Canyon Road. The road is now a US Forest Service fire road and is closed to the public. The Monument is near the current city of Rimforest, California on California State Route 18 at Daley Canyon Rd, about 0.6 miles East of Rim Forest. The road made good money for Daley family. The road was used by lumber men, cattle men and sheep herders. Edward Daley became a San Bernardino county supervisor from January 5, 1880, to January 8, 1883. He opened a farm ranch called Dell Rosa at the entrance to the toll road. Edward Daley in Council Bluffs, Iowa, married in 1846, Nancy Ann Hunt, daughter of Capt. Jefferson Hunt. Hunt made three trips over the Cajon Pass and Mojave Desert one in 1847, second in 1849 and last in 1851. Each trip he was the leader of wagon trains, bringing pioneer west, down one of the westward Expansion Trails. Edward and Nancy came to California on the 1849 trip, together they had 11 children: Laomi, Celia, Edward Jr., Charles Jefferson, John, Grace, Annetta, Frank, Lou, May and Kate. The road he built went up Strawberry Creek, crossed over to the west fork of City Creek, passed by the east of Strawberry Peak and then dropped into Little Bear Valley. Little Bear Valley is where the towns of Blue Jay and Lake Arrowhead are located. At the end of the toll road John Commerford ran the top end of the toll road. John Commerford ran a store at the location.
Tower House, California was a mining town in Shasta County. The mining District of Tower House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 2, 1973, as #73000257 as the Tower House Historic District. The Tower House Historic District is located just west of the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. The town started as a California Gold Rush camp. The town is named after Levi Tower, who built the Tower House Hotel and helped establish the town.
Guillem's Graveyard was a United States Army Graveyard built in 1872 for the US troop that were killed in the Modoc War. The Modoc War was fought from 1872 to 1873. Guillem's Graveyard is in Siskiyou County, California. The Guillem's Graveyard is a California Historical Landmark No. 13 listed on June 1, 1932, one of the first California Historical Landmarks. The Guillem's Graveyard was the Military Graveyard of Camp Guillem. Camp Guillem was the U.S. Army command post for the Modoc War around the camp. A small group of Modoc defended their land for almost two years. Knowing the land, they held off troops ten times their size. After six months of sporadic battles and surprise attacks the US Army won, but with about 100 Troops killed and buried at Guillem's Graveyard. At its peak, in spring of 1873, Gillems Camp had 600 troops stationed at the outpost. Many of the Troops were new immigrants. The remote out post was often low on food and medical supplies.
