The Siskiyou Trail stretched from California's Central Valley to Oregon's Willamette Valley; modern-day Interstate 5 follows this pioneer path. Originally based on existing Native American foot trails winding their way through river valleys, the Siskiyou Trail provided the shortest practical travel path between early settlements in California and Oregon. The California Central Valley The California Central Valley dominates the central portion of the state of California. ... The Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley is the region in northwest Oregon in the United States that surrounds the Willamette River as it proceeds northward from its emergence from mountains near Eugene to its confluence with the Columbia River. ... Interstate 5 (abbreviated I-5) is the westernmost interstate highway in the continental United States. ... Native Americans are the indigenous peoples within the territory that is now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska down to their descendants in modern times. ...

Image File history File linksMetadata Siskiyou_Trail. ...

Route of the Siskiyou Trail

The historic route of the Siskiyou Trail extended from the Columbia District headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company, at Ft. Vancouver in southern Washington, to the San Francisco Bay Area. In California, the Trail went through or near modern-day Redding, Dunsmuir and Yreka, California. In Oregon, the route went through or near modern-day Ashland, Grants Pass, Eugene, Salem and Portland. The Trail used the valleys of the Willamette, Umpqua, Rogue, Klamath, Shasta and Sacramento Rivers to make the connection between Oregon and California, and to traverse the rugged mountains of Northern California and Southern Oregon. The Trail crested at the Siskiyou Summit (elevation 4037 feet) just north of the Oregon-California border, and went past or near landmarks such as Mount Shasta, Upper Soda Springs, Castle Crags, and Sutter Buttes. The Hudsons Bay Company (HBC) is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and is one of the oldest in the world. ... Official language(s) None Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Area  Ranked 18  - Total 71,342 sq mi (184,824 km²)  - Width 240 miles (385 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 6. ... USGS satellite photo of the San Francisco Bay Area. ... Redding from space, April 1994 Redding is the county seat of Shasta County, California, USA, located on the Sacramento River and on Interstate 5 south of Shasta Lake. ... Dunsmuir is a city located in Siskiyou County, California. ... Yreka is the county seat of Siskiyou County, California. ... Coordinates: Country United States State Oregon County Jackson Settled 1852 Mayor John Morrison Area    - City 16. ... Grants Pass is a city and the county seat of Josephine County, OregonGR6. ... Nickname: The Emerald City Motto: The Worlds Greatest City of the Arts & Outdoors Coordinates: Country United States State Oregon County Lane Founded 1846 Incorporated 1862 Mayor Kitty Piercy Area    - City 105. ... Nickname: The Cherry City Location in the state of Oregon Coordinates: County Marion County, Polk County Founded 1842 Mayor Janet Taylor Area    - City 120. ... Nickname: City of Roses, Stumptown, Bridgetown, PDX Location in Multnomah County and the state of Oregon Coordinates: Country United States State Oregon County Multnomah County Incorporated February 8, 1851 Mayor Tom Potter Area    - City 376. ... The Willamette River (pronounced wil-LAM-met) is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 240 mi (386 km) long, in northwestern Oregon in the United States. ... Umpqua River with tributaries The Umpqua River (UHMP-kwah) is a river on the Pacific coast of Oregon in the United States, approximately 111 mi (179 km) long. ... Rogue River, Oregon The Rogue River is located in southwest Oregon. ... The Klamath River, approximately 250 mi (400 km) long, is a major river of the Pacific coast in southern Oregon and northern California in the United States. ... Shasta River from California State Hwy. ... A spring at the Sacramento River headwater The Sacramento River is the longest river in the state of California. ... Mount Shasta from City of Mt. ... Upper Soda Springs is on the banks of the Sacramento River in Dunsmuir, California, USA. It consists of approximately ten acres (40,000 m²) of level ground on both sides of the River, the surrounding hillsides, and continues north along the eastern bank of the Sacramento River to the Dunsmuir... Castle Dome, a popular trail destination at Castle Crags (left foreground). ... The Sutter Buttes rise humbly over the town of Sutter, CA. The Sutter Buttes, also known as the Marysville Buttes or Histum Yani (Maidu), is often called the smallest mountain range in the world. ...

Development of the Siskiyou Trail

The earliest European or American visitors were likely independent hunters and trappers who, in the 1820s, began to travel the rivers of Southern Oregon and Northern California in search of fur and pelts. Led originally by Peter Skene Ogden, Alexander Roderick McLeod, and Michel Laframboise, organized parties sent by the Hudson's Bay Company used the Siskiyou Trail to travel from Oregon to Mexican-controlled California, beginning in 1827. Peter Skene Ogden, alternately Skeene, Skein or Skeen (baptised 12 February 1790 – September 27, 1854) was a Canadian explorer of the American West. ... The Hudsons Bay Company (HBC) is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and is one of the oldest in the world. ...

In 1834, visionary Ewing Young led a herd of horses and mules over the Siskiyou Trail from missions in California to British and American settlements in Oregon. Although this initial effort was met with suspicion by Hudson's Bay Company officials in Oregon, Young returned to California in 1837, where he purchased 700 head of cattle which he drove over the Siskiyou Trail to Oregon. This monumental task, requiring nearly three months, helped widen and establish the Trail, and solidify the new American settlements in Oregon. Ewing Young expeditions to American West Ewing Young (1799 - February 9, 1841) was an American trapper from Tennessee who traveled the western United States before settling in Oregon Country. ... Postcard of the reconstructed Mission Santa Bárbara The California missions are a series of settlements established by Spanish Catholic Franciscans, to Christianize the local Native Americans, but with the added benefit of giving Spain a toehold in the frontier land. ...

In 1841, an overland party of the renowned United States Exploring Expedition came down the Siskiyou Trail with the first scientists and cartographers in the region. The United States Exploring Expedition was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean (the Southern Seas) conducted by the United States Navy from 1838–1842. ...

The California Gold Rush, beginning in 1848, ushered in dramatically increased use of the Siskiyou Trail. The discovery of gold in Siskiyou County and especially at Yreka, California, brought thousands of Forty-Niners along the Trail in search of riches. However, the terrain was so rugged over the mountains of the Trail, that travel was restricted to mule trains and horses. Early travelers were able to travel perhaps 20 miles in a day, stopping at wayside inns and hostels, such as at Portuguese Flat, Upper Soda Springs and Sisson, in Northern California. It was not until the 1860s that toll roads usable by stagecoaches were finally carved through the mountains of Northern California, permitting uninterrupted stagecoach travel for the length of the Siskiyou Trail. The California Gold Rush (1848 – 1855) started in January 1848, when gold was discovered at Sutters Mill. ... Siskiyou County is a county located in far northernmost California, in the Cascade Mountains on the Oregon border. ... Forty-niners were the participants of the California Gold Rush 1848 - 1854. ... Portuguese Flat, California, was a mining camp of the early 1850s during the California Gold Rush, consisting largely of Portuguese miners, located about 35 miles north of Redding, California, USA). ... Upper Soda Springs is on the banks of the Sacramento River in Dunsmuir, California, USA. It consists of approximately ten acres (40,000 m²) of level ground on both sides of the River, the surrounding hillsides, and continues north along the eastern bank of the Sacramento River to the Dunsmuir...

The first telegraph line connected early towns along the Trail in 1864. Development accelerated with the arrival of the Central Pacific Railroad track, completed in 1887, which followed the path of the Siskiyou Trail. The Gov. ...

Modern roads

In the mid-1910s, the pioneering Pacific Highway, later numbered as U.S. Highway 99, provided the first easy automobile access along the path of the Trail. Its first modern freeway Interstate 5 was built in the 1960s along the route of the original 1820s Siskiyou Trail. Pacific Highway is the name of some highways in the US. It is most commonly used to refer to US Highway 101 in Oregon, as that is where it most closely follows the coastline. ... Drawing of US 99 through California. ... Interstate 5 (abbreviated I-5) is the westernmost interstate highway in the continental United States. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ...

References

Siskiyou Trail, Richard Dillon (Second Printing Published by McGraw-Hill, New York; 1975).

External links

• Museum of the Siskiyou Trail
• Archaeological study of Trail
• Early goldmining along the Trail
• Stone Turnpike from Central Valley to Upper Soda Springs
• Early stagecoach use and railroad construction