1/7 Emigrant Trails of California and Nevada
2/7 Looking west along the Bishop Creek Route of the California Trail
3/7 Pyramid Creek – Slippery Ford – Johnson’s Cutoff
4/7 Grizzly Flat Cutoff – Class 1 Swale – Approach to the Cosumnes River
5/7 Emigrant Graves Near Beowawe
California-Nevada Chapter
7/7 Fernley Deep Sand Swales Clean Up Crew 2012
The emigrant trails in Northern California and Northern Nevada are the main focus of the California-Nevada Chapter. The principle goal is to identify, map, and preserve the hundreds of miles of trail within California and Nevada while educating the public about this rich heritage.
Overview
There are twenty five major emigrant trails located in Northern Nevada and Northern California. A few early pioneers such as the Bidwell Party, the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party and the Donner Party traversed the high desert of Northern Nevada and the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California to reach the fertile land and mild climate of California. But it was the discovery of Gold in 1848 that brought the throngs of emigrants to the gold fields. As new strikes were made, new trails were found to bring the miners and settlers west. These trails are being inventoried and mapped to OCTA’s Mapping Emigrant Trails (MET) standards by the CA-NV Chapter for preservation and for the benefit of present and future generations.
Leadership
President: William (Bill) Holmes
Vice President: David Fullerton
Director: Dave Freeman
Director: Dee Owens
Director: Kevin Moore
Director: Phyllis Smith
Past President: Dick Waugh
Preservation Officer: John Winner
Secretary: Becky Judd
Treasurer: Phyllis Smith
Membership: Janet Nowlin