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In 1844, John C. Fremont and Kit Carson followed the old Indian route over a path that is now named after Kit Carson. The five-month journey, made with 25 men, was a success, and Fremont's report was published by the U.S. Congress. It touched off a wave of wagon caravans filled with hopeful emigrants heading west. As part of the California Trail, the route over Carson Pass became the most heavily used Sierra crossing for farmers and gold-seekers to reach the gold fields and farm homesteads in California. It has been estimated that between 1844 and 1860 a quarter million people made the journey along this road.
A migration in the opposite direction started in 1862 when silver was discovered in Comstock Lodge, Nevada, leading to the construction of a formal road, called the Amador-Carson Valley Wagon Road.
With the advent of the automobile in 1911, the old wagon road was replaced by the Alpine State Highway. The narrow, windy road accommodated animals, wagons, and the first slow moving cars.
After a road widening project in the 1930s, the road was improved again in 1958, following the construction of Lower Bear Reservoir.
With the establishment of winter recreation areas and the road now being available for modern cars, more and more people came to visit this beautiful area and this marker is a monument to the people who literally "paved the way."
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