Dutch Flat Donner Lake Wagon Road

Dutch Flat Donner Lake Wagon Road (HM2E5C)

Location: Soda Springs, CA 95728 Nevada County
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Country: United States of America
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N 39° 19.012', W 120° 21.656'

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Inscription

Hwy 40 Scenic Bypass

History

Only 17 hours from Sacramento to Virginia City. "Safety and comfort can't be beat." "By far the best road constructed across the mountains." "Half the maximum grade" of other roads. "Constructed in the best in the best possible manner." "Wide enough for teams to pass each other without difficulty." "Commodious hotels have been erected along the route." So said the ads for the Dutch Flat Donner Lake Wagon Rd. when it opened in 1864.
Built beginning in 1862, the road went through Summit Valley here. It was built to carry freight and to supply the construction of the railroad. Today you can clearly see the route through the valley where it sits higher than the surrounding meadow. So much traffic packed the earth; that may be why, as the forest encoached on the meadow, trees did not grow on the route.
The railroad marketed the new toll road as a big improvement over the Placerville Rd. and it saw very heavy usage. In 1867, 85 train car loads of freight a day were unloaded at Cisco onto freight wagons to travel over the Summit on the Dutch Flat Rd.
The railroad made travel faster and cheaper so the road fell into disrepair.
By 1873 The Sacramento Daily Union said, "Along the route were the remains of many buildings which had been erected years ago, before the railroad was completed, but disused



as soon as travel was transferred to the great passage way. Large barns and hotel still stood as wrecks, their roofs crushed by the weight of snow, and in some cases only the blackened remains of large hotels... that had been consumed by fire...."

A Good Story

The first locomotive in California, the Sacramento, was hauled on wagons from Gold Run to the Summit to work as a donkey engine at the central shaft of the great summit Tunnel in 1867.
Missouri Bill hitched 10 yoke of oxen (20 oxen) to his logging wagon which had two foot wide wheels so it would not sink into the mud. The huge wagon load was such a scary sight to oncoming traffic that it caused one stampede and "raised hell on the trail." "There was trouble every day" and "stage horses would balk at he sight of her." Eventually oncoming teamsters blindfolded their mules so they would not run off when they saw the engine coming. It took six weeks for the locomotive to get to Donner Summit on the Dutch Flat Road.

Things to do right here

Walk the remnants of the Dutch Flat Rd. here in Summit Valley. The remnants are clear about 100 yards south of this spot. There are Native American mortars to find, wildflowers to see, views to admire, clean air to breathe and lots to photograph.
Details
HM NumberHM2E5C
Tags
Placed ByDonner Summit Historical Society
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Thursday, February 7th, 2019 at 10:01am PST -08:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)10S E 727514 N 4355261
Decimal Degrees39.31686667, -120.36093333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 39° 19.012', W 120° 21.656'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds39° 19' 0.72000000000003" N, 120° 21' 39.36" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)530
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling East
Closest Postal AddressAt or near Lake Van Norden Rd, Soda Springs CA 95728, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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