Burnett Cutoff - Applegate Trail - Siskiyou County, CA - Wagon Roads and Trails on Waymarking.com

Located near the junction of Hwy 139 and Hwy 140 is a historical 'T' marker that is part of a series of historical markers located in parts of Nevada, California and Oregon and placed by the Trails West organization of volunteers to mark important parts of emigrant trails that were traveled in the mid-1800s in this part of the country.

This particular T-marker marks the location of the historic Applegate Trail that meandered around Goose Lake and eventually into Southern Oregon and continued north to the Willamette Valley.

The marker text reads:

BURNETT CUTOFF - MUDDY WATER
"WE PASSED OVER ... SMOOTH PRAIRIE FOR SOME DISTANCE. ONE EVENING
WE ENCAMPED AT WHAT WAS THEN CALLED GOOSE LAKE (AT COPIC BAY).
IT BEING LATE IN THE SEASON, THE WATER IN THE LAKE WAS VERY
LOW, MUDDY, AND ALMOST PUTRID." - PETER BURNETT, OCT 1848
GUIDEBOOK AVAILABLE
2013               TRAILS WEST INC. P.O. BOX 12045 RENO, NV 89510             BC-2

The 'BC-2' on the marker denotes this marker as the second marker of a number of markers to be found along this Burnett Cutoff stretch of the Applegate Trail. There is a very nice web site by the Oregon-California Trails Association dedicated to all the emigrant trails that led west and includes an interactive map that visitors can click onto to highlight different emigrant trails that led west.

There is a nice writeup from this website on the Applegate Trail that reads:

1996 marks the 150th anniversary of the Applegate Trail, the southern route of the Oregon Trail. It was blazed in 1846 as an alternate, and hopefully safer route to Oregon. Three brothers, Lindsay, Jesse, and Charles Applegate and their extended families came to Oregon on the original Oregon Trail during the first major migration in 1843. As the party was rafting through the rapids on the Columbia River just outside The Dalles one of their rafts capsized in the current and Lindsay's son Warren, age 9, Jesse's son Edward, also age 9, along with Alexander Mac (Uncle Mac, age 70) drowned. This tragedy made the brothers determined to save others similar grief and find a safer route to the Oregon Territory.

By the Spring of 1846, the brothers had settled in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, planted crops and built cabins, but they were determined to find a safer, more secure route for emigration. Charles stayed home to care for the family and land. Lindsay and Jesse, along with Levi Scott and ten others formed a scouting party to be known as the the South Road Expedition. On June 20, 1846, they left La Creole Creek (now Rickreall) near Dallas, Oregon on their journey south. They traveled down the Willamette Valley through what is now Corvallis and Eugene. They continued on to just south of Ashland, then turned east, reaching Greensprings Mountain about where Highway 66 crosses today. On they traveled across Oregon and Nevada until they reached the Humboldt River, then they turned north along the river for 200 miles.

Being short on supplies, Jesse Applegate was chosen to lead the party continuing onto Fort Hall, Idaho to get supplies and inform emigrants about the new trail. The others proceeded up the Humboldt to where Winnemucca is now and set up a rendezvous and rested the stock. (The Applegate Trail runs from Humboldt, Nevada to Dallas, Oregon. Near Humboldt it joins the California Trail, running from near Fort Hall, Idaho to the gold country of California.

On August 9, 1846 a group of as many as 100 wagons set out from Fort Hall to cross the new Applegate Trail. In September, the first of the wagons left the Humboldt River and headed across the Black Rock Desert, a treacherous section of the trail filled with Indian attacks, overpowering heat, and very little forage for the animals. Next the wagons rolled into Surprise Valley, then onto Goose Lake and Tule Lake. The party crossed the Lost River on a natural stone bridge, the bridge and a marker to record the expedition are near Merrill, Oregon. The wagons then swung southwest around lower Klamath Lake and on towards Greensprings (in the southeast corner of what is now Jackson County).

Levi Scott led the wagon train on from present day Ashland towards the Willamette Valley. The rains had started by the time the wagons reached the Rogue Valley and from here on it would be either rain or snow for weather conditions. Brush and trees made the the trail hard to clear, but the men who joined the Applegate Train had to guarantee to do the road building and clearing needed to be done before more travelers could use the trail. The train lost Meadow's Vanderpool's flock of sheep at Rock Point to the Indians, and Martha Leland Crowley, a young girl, died October 18, 1846, while the train was moving across present day Sunny Valley, Oregon. The creek where Martha Crowley died was aptly named Grave Creek. A covered bridge (built in 1920) still spans the creek. The wagon train continued through the southwestern valleys of Oregon until they reached their final destination in the Willamette Valley. The group had survived much hardship and trouble, but they created a new passage to the Oregon Territory that would be used for many years.

In 1853 alone over 3500 men, women, and children took this route. Today, Interstate 5 and Highway 66 travel the same route. The Applegate was designated a National Historic Trail by the US Congress on August 3, 1992. Known as the southern route of the Oregon Trail, the Applegate Trail provided an alternative for settlers who wanted to avoid the perils of the Columbia River. Not all settlers appreciated the trail some even felt the Applegates had hindered rather than helped them on their way. Time proved the real test, however. After nearly 150 years the Applegate Trail endures as the basis for the state's major transportation routes, allowing today's traveler the opportunity to retrace the steps of Oregon's early trailblazers.

Road of Trail Name: Applegate Trail - Burnett Cutoff State: California County: Siskiyou County Historical Significance: The Applegate Trail is an alternate southern route of the Oregon Trail and was blazed from west to east, intersecting the California Trail at the Humboldt River. It is historically linked to the Oregon Trail in that it was developed as an alternative route into Oregon that avoided the obstacles of the Burnt River Canyon, the Blue Mountains, and the Columbia River. After its opening, Oregonians used part of the Applegate Trail to travel back and forth to California’s gold fields. As designated by Congress under the National Trails System Act, the Applegate Trail is a branch of the California National Historic Trail. Years in use: 1846-1919 How you discovered it: I spotted the 'T' marker on the side of the road and knew it was a historical marker based off of many previous 'T' markers I've waymarked all over southern Oregon and northern California. Book on Wagon Road or Trial: http://emigranttrailswest.org/trail-guides-for-purchase/applegate-trail-guide/ http://www.amazon.com/The-Applegate-Trail-1846-Documentary/dp/1889082007 http://www.amazon.com/Over-Applegate-Trail-Oregon-1846/dp/0936738812/ref=pd_sim_b_3 Website Explination: http://www.oregonhistorictrailsfund.org/trails/california-applegate-national-historic-trail-1846-1883/ Why?: The Applegate Trail was a major source of travel for pioneer families settling into Oregon, men traveling to and from California during the California Gold Rush days and for commerce travel, i.e., men bringing food and supplies from one town/encampment to another. During the Gold Rush years, the Applegate Trail was used also to reach mining towns in northern California by way of the Lassen Trail, Nobles Trail, and Yreka Trail. Directions: If traveling along Hwy 139, turn east onto Hwy 140 (Old Alturas Hwy) and the T Marker is just off the road to the right.

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