Applegate Trail - Malin, OR - Wagon Roads and Trails on Waymarking.com

Located in Malin City Park is a historical marker that reads:

THE APPLEGATE TRAIL

The Applegate Trail crossed the present boundary of Oregon approximately three miles southeast of here and went around the northern end of the lake which covered much of the basin, passing close to where you are now standing. The route was opened in 1846 by a group of trailblazers from the northern part of Willamette Valley, including Jesse and Lindsay Applegate, Levi Scott, and others, and was first used by pioneers coming from the States in the fall of that year. It was developed as an alternative way to reach the western valleys of Oregon while avoiding the perils of the Columbia River route.

A portion of the trail was used in the fall of 1848 by Perter H. Burnett, who led a group of more than 150 men and fifty heavily loaded wagons from the area of Oregon City, Oregon, to the goldfields of California. They left the Applegate Trail about eight miles south of here and established a new route into the Sacramento Valley. This was the first wheel route connecting the western valleys of Oregon and California.

In 1852 pioneers from the East opened a route off the Applegate Trail from the southern end of Lower Klamath Lake to the Yreka area of northern California.

Research and Signing by the Oregon-California Trails Association

1991

This is part of your American heritage. Honor it, protect it, preserve it for your children.

A citizen memorial next to this marker reads:

IN MEMORY Honorable Lindsay Applegate, son of a Revolutionary soldier with Colonial ancestry, born in Kentucky, September 18, 1808. Explorer, soldier, Trailblazer. Came to the Oregon country 1843. An Oregon Patriot, served in provisional, territorial and state government. In 1846 blazed the "South Road" or Applegate Trail which passed through this area. He died in Klamath County November 20, 1892. Mrs. Dick Henzel Klamath Chapter Regent, 1964-1966 Erected by Klamath Chapter, Oregon State Society of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Colonists Erected September 18, 1965

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 State: Oregon County: Klamath 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: Visiting Malin City Park when I noticed the citizen memorial next to this historical marker. Book on Wagon Road or Trial: http://emigranttrailswest.org/trail-guides-for-purchase/applegate-trail-guide/ Website Explination: http://www.oregonhistorictrailsfund.org/trails/california-applegate-national-historic-trail-1846-1883/ http://www.octa-trails.org/learn/virtual-trail 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: These markers are located in the northern part of Malin Park.

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