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 Carson Pass Highway - The wrong "Maiden's Grave"
N 38° 37.908 W 120° 10.274
10S E 746234 N 4279714
Probably the only historic marker commemorating the wrong story
Waymark Code: WM3VJ5
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 05/21/2008
Views: 28
Click on any picture for larger images and click the blue links for other nearby waymarks.
For many years, this was thought to be the grave of a young girl named Rachel who died on a wagon trek from Idaho in 1850. Sometime around the early 1900's, her mother returned to the meadow near Tragedy Spring, looking for the grave of her daughter, only remembering that she was buried at the base of a large fir tree. The woman asked some people camping in the meadow if they knew of such a place. The woman must have mentioned that her daughter's name was Rachel. Not finding the site, the woman left disappointed. Afterwards, the campers told others about the woman's search. Some guests at Kirkwood Inn knew a grave two miles west of this meadow. They remembered that the grave was originally marked with a wooden board listing the date of October 4, 1850. Also remembering the name inscribed as Melton, they jumped to the conclusion that Melton must be Rachel's last name and that she must be the one buried two miles west of here. These Kirkwood guests paid to have an engraved headstone placed at what would become known as "The Maiden's Grave."
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Almost sixty years after the headstone was placed, Steven Ferrari, the landowner of a meadow two miles further east was clearing brush and burning some fallen trees. After all the debris had burned away, exposed was the rock outline of a grave which turned out to be the one Rachel's mother searched for years before.
Check out our Real Maiden's Grave waymark for Rachel's original resting place.
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After confirming the authenticity of the Maiden's Grave at Mr. Ferrari's property it took three more years of research to find out who was really buried at this wrongly labeled Historic Landmark. In 1989, a diary notice was discovered, referring to a young man named Allen Melton from Henry County, ID, who was buried here on October 4, 1840.
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Program: USDA Forest Service Byways
Website: [Web Link]
Official Name: Carson Pass Highway (Route 88)
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Visit Instructions:
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