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 The Bear River Crossing Posted by:  stevedc323
N 41° 44.316 W 112° 05.922
12T E 408636 N 4621337
This site overlooks Hampton's Bear River Crossing. The Salt Lake Cutoff crossed the Bear River here on its way to rejoin the California Trail at the City of Rocks
Waymark Code: WM7W8A
Location: Utah, United States
Date Posted: 12/12/2009
Views: 34
As you look down the historic Bear River, imagine Indians, fur traders, explorers, and emigrants grazing their animals in the lush river bottom. During the gold rush, the Salt Lake Cutoff crossed the Bear River here on its way to rejoin the California Trail at the City of Rocks.
On his way to survey the Great Salt Lake in 1843, topographical engineer John C. Freemont crossed Bear River near here and described the river as "a natural resting and recruiting station for travelers, now and in all time to come."
Mountineer Samuel J. Hensley led a pack train north from Great Salt Lake City in the summer of 1848, discovering the route that became the Salt Lake Cutoff. On the Humboldt River, Hensley met a part of 45 men and one woman - Melissa Burton Coray - who had marched to California with the Mormon Battalion during the Mexican War.
They were now bound for Salt Lake to rejoin their families. Following Hensley's directions, the Mormon veterans brought the first wagons over the trail and camped at a spring near here on September 23, 1848.
Later, some 25,000 overlanders used the Salt Lake Cutoff during the peak gold rush years of 1849 and 1850. Mormon pioneers William Empey and Abraham Hunsaker ran a ferry at this site in the early 1850's.
Cooridinated by: Northern Utah Soil Conservation District Sponsors: Ralph H. and Frances K. Germer, Box Elder County Centennial Committee, Utah Statehood Centennial Commission, Box Elder Chapter Sons of Utah Pioneers, Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA), Utah Crossroads Chapter (OCTA)
Marker Name: The Bear River Crossing
Marker Type: Roadside
Addtional Information:
This marker overlooks Hampton's Bear River Crossing in Collingston, Utah.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Deweyville,+Utah&sll=40.590047,-111.829947&sspn=0.013036,0.020599&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Deweyville,+Box+Elder,+Utah&ll=41.738534,-112.098656&spn=0.001601,0.002575&t=h&z=19
County: Box Elder
City: Deweyville
Group Responsible for Placement: Northern Utah Soil Conservation District Sponsors: Ralph H. and Frances K. Germer, Box Elder County Centennial Committee, Utah Statehood Centennial Commission, Box Elder Chapter Sons of Utah Pioneers, Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA), Utah Cros
Date Dedicated: 1996
Marker Number: None
Web link(s) for additional information:
http://history.utah.gov/apps/markers/detailed_results.php?markerid=3308
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Visit Instructions:
In your log, please say if you learned something new, and if you took any extra time to explore the area once you stopped at the historic marker waymark.
If possible please post a photo of you OR your GPS at the marker location.
Also if you know of any additional links not already mentioned about this bit of Utah history please include that in your log.
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