Yreka Trail - The Trail Forks - Siskiyou County, CA - Signs of History on Waymarking.com

Located near a junction along a dirt road 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 begining point of the historic California Yreka Trail that separated from the Applegate Trail and continued southwest to eventually arrive in Yreka, California. There are two markers here, a front and a back. The back of the marker highlights the Yreka Trail and reads:

YREKA TRAIL - THE TRAIL FORKS
"THIS MORNING THE VOLUNTEERS CONSIDERED US OUT OF DANGER
AND-LEFT US TO GO ON ALONE-WE HAD TOLERABLE GOOD ROAD.
FOUR MILES FROM CAMP WE CAME TO WHERE THE OREGON TRAIL
STRIKES OFF TO THE RIGHT."-GEORGE MCCOWEN, AUG 27, 1854
GUIDEBOOK AVAILABLE
2008               TRAILS WEST INC. P.O. BOX 12045 RENO, NV 89510             Y-1

The 'Y-1' on the marker denotes this marker as the first marker of many markers to be found along the Yreka Trail. The Oregon Trail in this part of the country later became known as the Applegate Trail, named after Jesse Applegate who first led a group of emigrants along this trail into Oregon as an alternative route into Oregon. There is a very nice web site by the California-Nevada Chapter of 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.

The front side of the historical marker highlights the Applegate Trail and reads:

SOUTH ROAD - FORKS OF THE YREKA TRAIL
"ALL IN NEED OF PROVISIONS WERE SUPPLIED BY A GOVERNMENT AGENT AT THIS CAMP. NEAR THIS POINT THE ROAD FORKS-ONE LEADING TO JACKSONVILLE, IN OREGON, AND THE OTHER TO YREKA, NORTHERN CALIFORNIA."
JAMES COWDEN, OCT. 2, 1853          A-50

The 'A-50' on the marker denotes this marker as the fiftieth marker of many markers to be found along the Applegate Trail. The Applegate Trail would meander northwards into Oregon and eventually end in the Willamette Valley.

Group that erected the marker: Trails West Inc. 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: cuttof at Dorris Brownell Rd and Willow Creek and Red Rock Rd

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