Crossing The Siskiyous - Tub Springs State Wayside
N 42° 06.951 W 122° 26.540
10T E 546100 N 4662789
This historical placard is one of two that exist within Tub Springs State Wayside Park just off Hwy 66 in Jackson County, OR.
Waymark Code: WMKAZT
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 03/12/2014
Views: 4
Located within Tub Springs State Park are two historical placards that are located a short distance on a loop trail. The second of the two placards reads:
Applegate Trail emigrants required up to four days to travel from the Klamath River over the Cascades and Siskiyous to the Rogue River Valley. The journey may have challenged those with healthy oxen, but it was a devistating trail for those whose livestock died--some discarded their possessions to make a final dash for the Willamette Valley on foot or horseback
As Jesse Quinn Thornton and his wife trekked west in 1846, several of their oxen died in the Siskiyous forcing the Thorntons to hire other emigrants to carry some of their possessions. Thornton regretted traveling the Applegate Trail and publicly criticized the route in his book Oregon and California (1848). He blamed his misfortunes on the trailblazers whom he called "a class of outlaws and banditti."
There are numerous websites devoted to the history of the Applegate Trail. My favorite is the Trails West, Inc. organization run by a group of volunteers and contains a photo tour as well as offering books on numerous emigrant trails of the West Coast. There is a photo tour of the Applegate Trail that contains photos of many historical 'T' markers made of railroad ties that are sporadically placed along the trail route and can be visited here.
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