#3 - Forest Gift Shop, Cisco Grove - Cisco Grove, CA
Posted by: 
Volcanoguy
N 39° 18.669 W 120° 32.473
10S E 711987 N 4354188
History sign along the Hwy 40 Scenic Bypass.
Waymark Code: WMW0GP
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 06/21/2017
Views: 2
History sign #3 of the Hwy 40 Scenic Bypass series.
Text of sign #3 - Forest Gift Shop, Cisco Grove
History
Before the coming of I-80 all traffic crossing Donner Summit came right through here. Cisco Grove was an active little community oriented to highway travelers. If you look closely here you will see the ruins of foundations of the various commercial establishments that included a gift shop, lodge, restaurant, grocery store, gas station, housekeeping cabins, bar, and ski club.
Just a few hundred yards up the road was the Auburn Ski Club with its rope tows, ski runs, ski jumps, and lodging. The Auburn Ski Club pioneered and helped popularize modern skiing and was responsible for opening Highway 40 to winter travel. Later I-80 went right through the club’s ski runs and ski jumps and the club moved up to the Summit where it owns the land where Boreal is.
These interesting stone buildings are the remains of the Forest Gift Shop which supplied tourists with locally produced souvenirs. Best sellers were owl ashtrays made from pinecones and pine rounds and corncob/pinecones pipes, Next door, the fruit stand sold ice-cold orange juice, fruit, and orange candies.
The gift shop was built in 1938 by John J. Legman on land owned by Jim Gould Sr. with the masonry done by Lester Hammond. The Forest Gift shop venture lasted for ten years until WWII and a decrease in traffic reduced business. After the war the shop reopened as the Sierra Gift Shop which lasted until the arrival of the freeway.
The coming of I-80 changed Old Highway 40. Leisurely rides along the two-lane highway were a thing of the past. Better cars zipped along the new highway at high speeds and tourist no longer wanted to stop before reaching their destinations. The many small stores, cafes, lodges, service stations, and motels, disappeared and a way of life ended.
A Good Story
James Gould originally bought the Cisco Grove land from the Central Pacific Railroad. The land then became the start of a 22 mile flume and ditch of the Gold Run Ditch and Mining company. The water ran all the way to Gold Run to be used for hydraulic mining. In 2008 the Gould Family donated the building and park to Placer County.
Group that erected the marker: Donner Summit Historical Society
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
On Hwy 40 at Cisco Grove
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Visit Instructions:
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