Marker Name: Discovery Point
Marker Text: Near this point a plodding mule stopped abruptly, a few feet short of the crater rim. Its astonished rider suddenly found himself on the brink of a natural wonder few had ever seen. John Wesley Hillman had stumbled upon Crater Lake.
The day was June 12, 1853. Hillman had joined a party of goldseekers on a searchfor the fabled Lost Cabin Mine. They found no gold, but they knew they had discovered a scenic treasure. The prospectors erected a crude sign bearing their signatures, and named the majestic waters, “Deep Blue Lake.”
In the years that followed, the lake was rediscovered and renamed several times. An 1869 exploring party gave the lake its present name, and in 1902, Crater Lake became the nation’s sixth national park.
John Wesley Hillman ventured west as a young man to seek his fortune with the forty-niners. Prospecting, mining, freighting, and odd jobs kept him on the move. Hillman was only 21 when he first saw Crater Lake. He later rode for the famed Pony Express.
Visit Instructions:
Include your thoughts and observations pertaining to this location and your visit. Provide any additional history that you are aware of that pertains to this location. If the marker commemorates a historic building tell us what it is used for now or share with us the circumstances of an earlier visit to bring this locations history to life.
Please upload a favorite photograph you took of the waymark. Although visiting this waymark in person is the only thing required of you to receive credit for your visit, taking the time to add this information is greatly appreciated.
Be creative.