Old Spanish Trail Caravan ~ Sevier County, Utah
Posted by: 
brwhiz
N 38° 31.800 W 111° 44.540
12S E 435296 N 4264883
This Silhouette Public Art Sculpture accompanies an historical marker at the parking area for the Lakeshore Trail on the southeast side of Utah Highway 25, near the southwest corner of Fish Lake.
Waymark Code: WMGJY6
Location: Utah, United States
Date Posted: 03/13/2013
Views: 1
This series of six figures cut from sheet steel illustrate the fact that a short-cut along the Old Spanish Trail passed this point in the 1800s. The historical marker reads:
The Fish Lake Cut-off on
the Old Spanish Trail
Pathway to Grassy Meadows and Water
An Historic Trade Route Passed This Way
In the early 1800s, thousands of men, mules, and horses plodded along a well-travelled trail that paralleled Fish Lake. Can you imagine the dust, noise, and smells of a trading caravan on the move?
Why Did Traders Come This Way?
You are actually standing on the Fish Lake Cut-off of the Old Spanish Trail. The cutoff was a 72-mile shortcut that skirted the western shores of Wahsatch Lake (Fish Lake). Reaching elevations near 9,000 feet, the trail crossed mountain valleys that provided abundant quanities (sic) of fish, grass, water, and cool summer temperatures for travelers using this alternate route. This "southern branch" rejoined the main Old Spanish Trail near Kingston, Utah.
The Old Spanish Trail
This pack trail, known as the Old Spanish Trail, stretched 1,200 miles and linked Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the Pueblo de Los Angeles (L.A.) in the Mexican Territory of California. Between 1829 and 1848, traders used the trail to carry New Mexican woolen goods--rugs, blankets, and serapes--that were traded for California mules and horses.