San Francis Ranch

Inyo County, August 30, 1993

Just 2 miles from the previous landmark site we come to the site of San Francis Ranch and its relatively new plaque dedicated in 1985 by the ever vigilant Slim Princess Chapter 395 of E Clampus Vitus. With unobstructed views of the White Mountains to the east and the Sierras to the west, it’s easy to imagine this region just as Samuel Bishop did,  as excellent grazing land for cattle and thus much closer access to supply beef to the thriving mines to the north. Ultimately the practice of raising free range cattle didn’t take into consideration the delicate eco-balance of subsistence foods for the Paiute people and despite earlier agreements, a war broke out.

Bishop was already well established in the grapevine region as a landowner, cattleman, and even justice of the peace, presiding over disputes and rodeos. A rodeo back then was when range cattle were rounded up and then divided by brand. Sam apparently was an earthy, get things done kind of guy, as described in his Fort Tejon days by Captain Gardner: “I have here a Justice of the Peace on my hands, who I sent for on some public business. I have given him an intelligent soldier for a clerk, and he, the Justice, is now preparing himself by reading a thick volume of California laws. His appearance is not very judicial. He is in his shirt sleeves, with a hat considerably the worse for wear, a huge pair of Mexican spurs, with buckskin leggings, and of course, what no Californian travels without, a revolver in his belt." Sam married Frances Ella Young, an early settler in Los Angeles, an namesake of the ranch site. Somehow the spelling of her given name evolved from the female ‘Frances’ to the male ‘Francis’ and for the time being we’ll lay this error on the Slim Princess Chapter 395.

You’d think the Bishops would have stayed put, having a good thing going in the Owens Valley, but they packed up the kids and move to San Jose, where Sam developed the street car system. 

Owens Valley about 1907 - OAC Photo

NO. 208 SAN FRANCIS RANCH - In 1861, Samuel A. Bishop, his wife, and party left Fort Tejón for the Owens Valley driving 650 head of stock. On August 22, Bishop reached a creek later named for him and southwest of this spot. San Francis Ranch was established there. At the site a peace treaty was signed by the settlers and the chiefs of the Paiute Indians.
Location: 3 mi SW of Bishop at intersection of Red Hill Rd and State Hwy 168
Google: 37.360897,-118.454665

Mayfield Canyon Battleground

Inyo County, July 29, 1998

Heading south on 395 and out of Mono County we come to the site of Inyo County’s northernmost landmark site…no marker.  

When the Civil Was began, the regular army troops in the region for the most part left to fight for the Union or Confederates in the east, leaving the military to be manned by miners and farmers as volunteers, often providing their own clothing and gear.

OAC Photo



From ‘The Owens Valley Indian War, 1861-1865’ bybCaptain John W. Key, V.,  U. S. Army Reserve:

“The winter of 1861-62 was one of the most severe in the history of the Owens Valley. The plight of the Paiutes was exceedingly bad. The bad weather had driven away almost all of the game and had killed what little game remained. Cattle were now beginning to forage on the Indian's fields of wild hyacinth and yellow nutgrass. It seemed only natural to the Paiutes that the cattle could be killed for their own use, since the cattle were feeding on their fields.”

“The settlers had meanwhile concentrated their herds about thirty miles north of Owens Lake. They then sent messages to Aurora, Nevada and Visalia, California for help. On March 28, 1862 eighteen volunteers under John J. Kellogg, a former Army captain, came from Aurora. A group of twenty-two men came from Visalia under Colonel Mayfield, a retired Army officer. This force of sixty men took to the field under Colonel Mayfield and marched fifty miles north up the valley. “

The Indians had a collective force of over 500 and by May the Indians had complete control of the Owens Valley and the military decided a permanent fort was needed and established Camp Independence on July 4, 1862.

Bishop 1911 - OAC photo


If there was a plaque it would read: NO. 211 MAYFIELD CANYON BATTLEGROUND - On April 8, 1862, a body of troopers and settlers entered Mayfield Canyon (named for one of the settlers) to fight the Indians supposed to be there. However, the Indians had evacuated the canyon so the group made camp at its mouth. The next day they went up the canyon again, but this time they were forced to retreat to Owens Valley.
Location: Mayfield Canyon, 0.2 mi N of Farmer Wells Meadow Ranger Station, 1.5 mi NW from intersection of Pine Creek Rd and North Round Valley Rd, then 1.5 mi N on Ranger Station Rd to site, 15 mi NW of Bishop
Google maps: 37.442155,-118.632646

Dog Town

Mono County, August 30, 1993

On the banks of what is now Dog Creek, Cord Norst discovered gold here in 1857 and this became the first place to attract attention to the eastern Sierras for possible mining sites. About 100 or so miners came and the site subsisted till the summer of 1859 when Cord Norst had wandered off about 5 miles to the east and discovered better diggings in a place to become known as Monoville….named after the lake. It went for a few years as well till much bigger discoveries were made at Aurora and Bodie.

To keep Dog Town company in the California odd town name department we offer: Bummerville, Dunmovin (also on 395), Poopout Hill, Shafter, Squabbletown, Toad Town, and Wimp.

 The Dog Town marker is on US 395, just six tenths of a mile from the entrance to Bodie.

NO. 792 DOG TOWN - Site of the first major gold rush to the eastern slope of California's Sierra Nevada, Dog Town derived its name from a popular miners' term for camps with huts or hovels. Ruins lying close to the cliff bordering Dog Town Creek are all that remain of the makeshift dwellings which formed part of the 'diggins' here.
Location: On State Hwy 395 (P.M. 69.5), 7 mi S of Bridgeport
Google:38.170236,-119.193882

John C. Fremont 1844 Expedition - Highway 395

Mono County, August 30, 1993

Coming from Markleeville on Highway 89 to 395 just below Topaz Lake, we’re in Mono County and heading south on the road that has been meandering 1400 miles from Mexico to Canada up the eastern part of the westernmost states.

1982 photo


Hwy 395 even has a movie in its namesake, an action/crime thriller called ‘Highway 395 – Death Valley’ with Fred Dryer starring and directing the year 2000 film. Fred is small town cop, Wade Rawley who uncovers lots of bad goings-on. Apparently, the film is well written and shot and probably worth a Netflix look in the cult film category. Way to go Fred! That’s a long way from knowing him when this contributor used to play the Hindquarter steakhouse on Naples Island – Long Beach, and he and other football colleagues would hoist ample libations in their off season training typical of the early 70’s. More often than not, he’d be found the next morning just outside the side door where the little stage was inside, sleeping off the previous night in his split window VW bus. At any rate, the Dryer film could be a nice companion to Bogart’s ‘High Sierra’ for those of us with hundreds of trips up and down this road where God pulls out all stops and are looking for a dose of nostalgia.    

By the time they made this crossing, Fremont’s second topographical expedition had been running about the west since leaving Missouri in June of 1843, mapping the Oregon Trail, going to Fort Vancouver, then south through western Nevada. He had twenty seven men, including Kit Carson, and sixty seven horses and mules.
After being told by the Washoe Indians that crossing the Sierras in winter was impossible, Fremont went anyway, thinking these mountains certainly weren’t the challenge of the Rocky Mountains. Hindsight of course tells us the Sierra Nevada range isn’t user friendly when it comes trail blazing.  
Bob Graham’s book; ‘The Crossing’ covers things very well.

By matching this drawing of ‘Long Camp’ by expedition cartographer Charles Preuss, they’ve recently been able to pinpoint the location of the site near Carson Pass. Using the term ‘long’ meant they camped there for awhile. While making this drawing, Charles wasn’t very happy about Fremont’s decision to cross the Sierras to Sutter’s Fort in the middle of winter because they were low on provisions, he wrote: "We are now completely snowed in. The snowstorm is on top of us. The wind obliterates all tracks which, with incredible effort, we make for our horses. The horses are about twenty miles behind and are expected to arrive tonight, or rather, they are now no longer expected. How could they get through? At the moment no one can tell what will really happen. It is certain we shall have to eat horse meat."

In 1846, at a time when the Alta California government quite frankly didn’t want him or his survey gear around, Fremont mapped a trail for American settlers through Mission Pass to eastern San Francisco Bay and got a town named after him for the deed.  

“The ultimate curse of being a national hero
is that once the fires of acclaim go out, only the ashes of criticism remain.
This was the fate of John Charles Frémont,
for he climbed the peaks of glory to endure the deserts of despair”.
Ferol Egan, Frémont: Explorer for a Restless Nation

1993 photo

Ironically, there is no state landmark for the trail of the Fremont expedition here, but there is a landmark and plaque at Devil’s gate pass for Fremont and Carson’s expedition. Go figure.  

NO. 995-1 TRAIL OF THE JOHN C. FRÉMONT 1844 EXPEDITION - In 1844, while exploring and mapping the area of what is presently the western United States, Lt. John C. Frémont's party passed through northern Mono County during the last week of January. After passing through Mono County, Frémont passed over the Sierra and travelled to Sutter's Fort in the Sacramento Valley, where the party rested. To leave California the expedition headed south through the San Joaquin Valley, and then headed easterly to leave California by the Old Spanish Trail to Utah.
Location: Big Bend-Mountain Gate area, Toiyabe National Forest, Bridgeport
Google: 38.348333, -119.361944 (Fremont – Carson marker at Devil’s Gate Pass)

Marklee's Cabin Site

OAC photo 1860's



Alpine County, August 30, 1993

Conveniently located in the heart of Markleeville, or perhaps the cabin came first.

Cycling folks that are into ultimate endurance, or put another way, torture, have figured out how to use this Sierra terrain and developed the Markleeville Death Ride, which goes for 129 miles with 15,000 feet of climbing, going over Monitor, Ebbetts, and Carson passes, with a total of five passes in all. The event comes up again on July 11^th. In checking around the garage the beach cruiser must have been sold in a yard sale, so participation seems unlikely. Spring arrives on a calendar date but the official beginning when living a bit south of here in Mammoth Lakes was determined at the Chevron station in town when the first dried out bicycle tire blew while being re-inflated.

  











Playin' dobro at the 'Alpine County Fair' - August 1987

The 2010 census says 200 people live in Markleeville, that’s up from 197 in 2000. If you can’t find what you need at Ruddens General Store, you probably don’t need it anyway.

1947 Markleeville postcard

Apparently, Jacob Marklee got by from collecting a toll for crossing a bridge he’d built spanning the middle fork of the Carson River, called Markleeville Creek (that would be at the back of Sunny Murphy’s house in town). He met an early fate, being killed in a gunfight with one H.W. Tuttle over a land dispute. Tuttle claimed self defense and was later found not guilty. Marklee’s brothers came out from Sacramento to see if they could recover anything, but were unsuccessful. Jacob was buried in 1863 at age 33 in Markleeville. His cabin was all wood, door hinges, everything, and mostly shake shingles. 

1993 photo of site


There is no plaque, but if there was one it would read:
NO. 240 MARKLEE'S CABIN SITE - Jacob J. Marklee recorded his land claim of 160 acres on June 23, 1862, in Douglas County, Nevada, but after the boundary survey his claim was in California. During the rush to the Comstock Lode, the town of Markleeville was built upon Marklee's land - the Alpine County Courthouse now occupies the site of his cabin.
Location:  County Courthouse, Markleeville
Google maps: 38.694589,-119.77997

Woodfords - Pony Express Route

Alpine County, August 30, 1993

Welcome to Alpine County, if you’re looking for a doctor, hospital, dentist, supermarket, service station, traffic signal, theatre, convenience store, fast food, bank or ATM, this is not the place for you. The county is held together by one major road with Ebbett’s Pass (8,730 feet) dividing the unincorporated communities, and it’s closed due to snow a good part of the year. Most folks on this eastern side consider themselves Nevadans in part and tend to go ‘downtown’ to Minden/Gardnerville to get things done. In all, about 1300 people live in the county, making it the least populated in the state.

Aside from the the rarity of services in the area, this is an outstanding region to visit, camp, or rest a spell. It was during one stay in the ‘80’s and under the column of statements one would like to have back, this contributor was playing a gig in Markleeville shortly after a major fire had passed through Woodfords and the quip was made ‘y’all should change your name from Woodfords to Ashford. It went over about as well as telling a bevy of Lucas jokes to the Austin-Healey owner’s club.  

The Woodford’s Pony Express remount station at Cary’s barn was only used for the first five weeks when Dr. Charles Daggett offered to let the riders use Daggett’s Pass toll free, saving time and three remount stations..

For this trip, it's the end of the trail for Pony Express markers...more remain to the west closer to Sacramento and Friday's on the Nevada border, and will be covered in later dispatches.

Plaque inscription: NO. 805 PONY EXPRESS REMOUNT STATION AT WOODFORDS - Woodfords became a remount station of the Pony Express on April 4, 1860, when Warren Upson scaled the mountains in a blinding snowstorm and made his way down the eastern slope of the Sierra on his way to Carson City. Five weeks later the Pony Express was rerouted by way of Echo Summit and Luther Pass.
Location:  On Hwy 89, 0.1 mi N of intersection of State Hwy 4 and Old Pony Express Rd, Woodfords
Google maps: 38.775775,-119.823932

Yank's Station - Pony Express Route

El Dorado County August 30, 1993

Rolling onward into the suburbs of South Lake Tahoe at Meyers to the site of what was once Yank’s station. Ephraim ‘Yank’ Clement and his wife Lydia, bought the existing stage stop here in 1859 and expanded it to a three story, fourteen room station, with large barn and corrals. It did well as a hotel and store till 1938 when it was done in by fire, along with a good part of the town.

“Warren Upson’s first ride was then, and still is, the worst section of trail on the whole route. The road was upgrade, steep in place, rugged, and through the heart of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Normally clogged with the traffic of the Washoe Road, its track that day was covered with snow. Deep snow that would be with him all the way to Woodfords.

Upson crossed Johnson's Summit (7382 ft) in the driving snowstorm and dropped 1300 feet on a steep 2 mile trail to the Upper Truckee River. Riding south over Luther Pass (7740 ft), he skirted Grassy Meadow, dropped through the Aspen to Hope Valley, and down the rocky West Carson River to Woodfords. After a change of Horses, he entered Utah Territory and made a final change of horses at Genoa.

Hamilton's and Upson's rides were short, but completed in extremely harsh weather, and with terrible trail conditions. They made history and created a legend in the process. The nation owes all honor and glory to them and the others who rode the Pony Express.”

Larry Carpenter
California Division, NPEA

Plaque inscription: NO. 708 YANK'S STATION-OVERLAND PONY EXPRESS ROUTE IN CALIFORNIA - This was the site of the most eastern remount station of the Central Overland Pony Express in California. Established as a trading post on the Placerville-Carson Road in 1851 by Martin Smith, it became a popular hostelry and stage stop operated by Ephraim 'Yank' Clement. Pony rider Warren Upson arrived here on the evening of April 28, 1860 and, changing ponies, galloped on to Friday's in Nevada to deliver his mochila to Bob Haslam for the ride to Genoa. Used as a pony remount station until October 26, 1861, the station was sold to George D. H. Meyers in 1873.

Location: Yank's Station shopping center, SW corner State Hwy 50 and Apache Ave, Meyers

Google maps: 38.856787,-120.012417



Strawberry Valley House - Pony Express Route

El Dorado County August 30, 1993

Continuing up Highway 50 we roll into the Strawberry Lodge, still in operation since the 1850’s. Being just 17 miles from South Lake Tahoe, this could be an interesting alternative for accommodations, rates are pretty good, and though they haven’t figured out how to take reservations online, they do have wireless internet. It’s named ‘Strawberry’ for a guy named Berry, who for a time operated the stage stop, and he had a reputation for feeding the livestock straw instead of hay.

On that maiden Pony Express run of April 4^, 1860, rider Warren Upson was up to his mailbags with snow, and division superintendant Bolivar Roberts took off with a string of mules to help him through the storm and over Echo Summit. Since it’s the same route, it makes one wonder if Mr. Upson ever crossed paths with Snowshoe Thompson

A pencil rendering of Strawberry House by Edward Vischer, about 1861

Plaque inscription: NO. 707 STRAWBERRY VALLEY HOUSE-OVERLAND PONY EXPRESS ROUTE IN CALIFORNIA - This popular resort and stopping place for stages and teams of the Comstock, established by Swift and Watson in 1856, became a remount station of the Central Overland Pony Express. Here on April 4, 1860, Division Superintendent Bolivar Roberts waited with a string of mules to help pony rider Warren Upson through the snowstorm on Echo Summit.
Location: Strawberry, on Hwy 50 (P.M. 578), 8.7 mi E of Kyburz
Google maps: 38.796528,-120.146034

Webster's - Pony Express Route

El Dorado County August 30, 1993

At the time Warren Upson would have ridden through here in 1860, the area was known as Slippery Ford, later to change its name to Kyburz sone fifty years later.

NoeHill photo

John Fremont’s 1845 account: February 25th. Believing that the difficulties of the road were passed, and leaving Mr. Fitzpatrick to follow slowly, as the condition of the animals required, I started ahead this morning with a party of eight, consisting (with myself) of Mr. Preuss, Mr. Talbot, Carson, Derosier, Towns, Preuss, and Jacob. We took with us some of the best animals, and my intention was to proceed as rapidly as possible to the house of Mr. Sutter, and return to meet the party with a supply of provisions and fresh animals. Continuing down the river, which pursued a very direct westerly course through a narrow valley, with only very slight and narrow bottom land we made twelve miles, and encamped at some old Indian huts, apparently a fishing place on the river.

NoeHill photo


Plaque inscription: NO. 706 WEBSTER'S (SUGAR LOAF HOUSE)-OVERLAND PONY EXPRESS ROUTE IN CALIFORNIA - This was the site of Webster's Sugar Loaf House, well-known stopping place during the Comstock rush. Beginning in April 1860, it was used as a remount station of the Central Overland Pony Express, and in 1861 it became a horse change station for pioneer stage companies and the Overland Mail.
Location: On Hwy 50 (P.M. 48. 0), 1.0 mi W of Kyburz
Google maps: 38.771099,-120.308726

Moore's Station - Pony Express Route

El Dorado County August 30, 1993

Uphill and eastward in the Caddy on Highway 50 to the next Pony Express marker from Sportsman’s Hall, we come to the wide turnout that was Moore’s remount station. Right next to the state marker are three stone sculptures that look like a cross between baby Stonehenge’s and tombstones. It turns out they are the three remaining  obelisks that stood on the four corners of the stone arch bridge that spanned the American River here from 1900 to 1930. Caltrans put them here in 1990, just in time for this 1993 visit.

We're up to 3200 feet in altitude and from here and climbing upwar, Pony Express rider Warren Upson would have encountered Broocless Bridge and galloped over the planks and rushing water in weather that was turning into a heavy snow that frist day of April 4th, 1860

John Freemont’s 1845 account:

The bottom was covered with trees of deciduous foliage, and overgrown with vines and rushes. On a bench of a hill nearby, was a field of fresh green grass, six inches long in some of the tufts which I had the curiosity to measure. The animals were driven here; and I spent part of the afternoon in sitting on a large rock among them, enjoying the pauseless rapidity with which they luxuriated in the unaccustomed food.

The forest was imposing to-day in the magnificence of the trees; some of the pines, bearing large cones, were ten feet in diameter; and we measured one 28 1/2 feet in circumference four feet from the ground. This noble tree seemed here to be in its proper soil and climate. We found it on both sides of the Sierra, but more abundant on the west.

Frémont: February 26th. We continued to follow the stream, the mountains on either hand increasing in height as we descended, shutting up the river narrowly in precipices along which we had great difficulty to get the horses.




The California State Park Commission, along with E.Clampus Vitus Chapter 49 put the state marker up in 1960. Moore’s Station was part of a toll road operated by John M. Moore snd was briefly a post office.



Plaque inscription: NO. 705 MOORE'S (RIVERTON)-OVERLAND PONY EXPRESS ROUTE IN CALIFORNIA - This was the site of a change station of the Pioneer Stage Company in the 1850s and 1860s. During 1860-1861, the Central Overland Pony Express maintained the first pony remount station east of Sportsman's Hall here.

Location: At intersection of US. Hwy 50 and Ice House Rd (P.M. 39.7), 9.0 mi W of Kyburz

Google maps: 38.769393,-120.447321

Sportsman's Hall - Pony Express Route



El Dorado County August 29, 1993

Sportsman’s Hall was the only Pony Express stop in California where riders changed.

During the Comstock boom which began in 1859, Sportsman's Hall was one of the most popular and most important places on the road. No inn on the Trail approached its size or the quality of its accommodations. The meals provided were famous to all who traveled this way and many on the Trail eagerly traveled extra miles to just eat at "The Hall." It served a host of freight wagons and as many as seven daily stages. It has been said that there were no less than a thousand head of horses and mules in the stables and corrals on many a night. You could stand in one spot and 300 wagons would pass daily.

‘Folsom to Placerville, Hangman’s yes I will

Remount and then I’m gone, make Sportsman’s Hall by dawn

Now my ride is done, hand off to Warren Upson
Second rider to the test, maiden run of the Pony Express’ 

© Radio Flier Music

Walter Harmon, the 30 year owner of Sportsman's Hall closed the historic landmark restaurant on Sunday, November 7th 2010, so he can focus his time and energy on the health of the soil. He got into organic compost, so as of this writing, the turn key restaurant is on the market for $950,000.

Property Features:

·         5000 sq. ft. Restaurant/Bar

·         1800 sq. ft. Patio Area with Gazibos, Tables and Chairs

·         Covered Bandstand on Patio

·         High Quality Carpeting in Dining Areas

·         High Quality Tile in Restrooms

·         High Quality Dining Room Tables and Chairs

·         All buildings in good condition including roofs

·         Thermopane windows throughout

·         Restaurant building has 600 Amp/3-Phase Electrical Service

·         High-Tech Restaurant Equipment

·         Seating 150 inside and 150 outside

·         Approximately 1 Acre of Open/Land for new development

·         2 Bars /20 feet and 37 feet long

·         2 Heating and Cooling Coleman Presidential II Heat Pumps

·         Large Paved Parking Area and Off Street Parking

·         5 Residential Income Rental Units

·         Sportsman’s Hall is known for it’s history

·         4 Pony Express Monuments in front

·         High Traffic Location just 45 minutes from both South Lake Tahoe and Sacramento

·         Signs on Highway 50 in both directions point out the Historic Landmark Restaurant - Bringing people off the highway

·         Ready to Re-open/Turn-key Operation / Need Food and Employees

Sportsman’s Hall Restaurant
5620 Pony Express Trl
Pollock Pines, CA 95726

(530) 344-7593



Plaque inscription: NO. 704 SPORTSMAN'S HALL OVERLAND PONY EXPRESS ROUTE IN CALIFORNIA - This was the site of Sportsman's Hall, also known as Twelve-Mile House, the hotel operated in the latter 1850s and 1860s by John and James Blair. A stopping place for stages and teams of the Comstock, it became a relay station of the Central Overland Pony Express. Here, at 7:40 a.m., April 4, 1860, pony rider William (Sam) Hamilton rode in from Placerville and handed the express mail to Warren Upson, who two minutes later sped on his way eastward.
Location: 5622 Old Pony Express Trail, Cedar Grove
Google maps: 38.749364,-120.618639

Placerville - Pony Express Route

Sam Hamilton on right

El Dorado County August 30, 1993

Supposedly, this ad ran in Missouri and California and obviously no young man could possibly resist such tantalizing copy that promised so much adventure. In truth, the riders varied quite a bit in age, to as old as forty, but they did tend to be smallish. Originally, and in order to save weight, the company wasn’t going to allow the riders to carry guns, but changed their minds.

Every rider took the following oath:
"I, ......, do hereby swear, before the Great and Living God, that during my engagement, and while I am an employee of Russell, Majors and Waddell, I will, under no circumstances, use profane language, that I will drink no intoxicating liquors, that I will not quarrel or fight with any other employee of the firm, and that in every respect I will conduct myself honestly, be faithful to my duties, and so direct all my acts as to win the confidence of my employers, so help me God."

The two riders that made the first eastbound ride through California were Sam Hamilton and Warren Upson, and they are the subjects for my song ‘Pony Express.’ We’ll be covering more details of the ride with ensuing landmarks along highway 50, but as to Placerville, Sam rode in at 6:45 am on April 4, 1860, having covered 45 miles in four hours after a three hour delay with the ferry, and riding through mud, in pitch darkness through a freezing rain. He changed horses here for last leg of his ride, a twelve mile run to Sportsman Hall, before the handoff to Warren Upson. In spite of the awful weather, they made great time.

1993 photo



This song is part of the album ‘Gold Country’ to be released in the near future. The intent is to musically convey a feeling of horse and rider, the pace, and with the stops they made.

PONY EXPRESS                  © Radio Flier Music

My name’s Sam Hamilton, first rider on the maiden run
Got my satchel, knife and gun, ridin’ through the rain and mud

My name’s Sam Hamilton, first rider on the maiden run
Put my horses to the test, ridin’ for the Pony Express

Quarter to three I’m runnin’ late, in the darkness I await
The delta steamer comes I hope, waitin’ on the Antelope

Steamer’s here I’m off in a flash, through the rain and mud I dash
Can’t rest I got to ride, mile count is seventy-five

Cold rain from the North, on this April 4th
I’ll say for all to hear, 1860 is the year 

Folsom to Placerville, Hangman’s yes I will
Remount and then I’m gone, make Sportsman’s Hall by dawn

Now my ride is done, hand off to Warren Upson
Second rider to the test, maiden run of the Pony Express

Cold sleet turns to snow, up the western slope he goes
Yeah we passed the test, first riders of the Pony Express

2008 photo



Plaque inscription: NO. 701 PLACERVILLE-OVERLAND PONY EXPRESS ROUTE IN CALIFORNIA - Gold rush town and western terminus of the Placerville-Carson Road to the Comstock, Placerville was a relay station of the Central Overland Pony Express from April 4, 1860 until June 30, 1861. Here on April 4, 1860, the first eastbound pony rider, William (Sam) Hamilton, changed horses, added an express letter to his mochila, and sped away for Sportsman's Hall. Placerville was the western terminus of the Pony Express from July 1, 1861 until its discontinuance on October 26, 1861.
Location: SW corner of Main and Sacramento, Placerville
Google maps: 38.727924,-120.803154

Studebaker's Shop

El Dorado County August 29, 1993

For $10 apiece, young ‘Wheelbarrow Johnny’ (1833-1917) built his innovative versions on contract for the guys that owned the blacksmith shop here on Main Street, and they were popular. Like most everyone that was making good profit in business, he deposited his money with Adams & Co. Word of their financial collapse got to him and rather than take it lying down, he laid in wait in the dark of a Placerville night and sure enough, he caught the bankers wheeling gold out the back of their building, most likely in one of his wheelbarrows. At gunpoint Studebaker got his $3000 back and saved himself from the panic of 1854 that rocked California.

With the knowledge of how to build a better wagon for westward travel, he moved back to his native Indiana and went into business with his brothers by 1858…just in time for the civil war and the government contracts that followed. Before ever making a car, they produced 750,000 vehicles. He returned for a visit to Placerville to a hero’s welcome and great fanfare, garlands of flowers, and banners reading ‘Glad Your Back.’ Today, you can still put your entry in the John M. Studebaker International Wheelbarrow Races at the El Dorado County Fair.

Sometimes a song will just about write itself, as if it was already there. It would be nice if they all came about like that. The concept of generations with different Studebaker vehicles came from a Saudi saying my grandfather picked up while there that ‘My father drove a camel, I drive a Cadillac, my son drives an airplane, and my grandson will drive a camel’…or something to that effect. The melody is loosely based on a traditional fiddle song called ‘The Ways of the World’. 

STUDEBAKER                     © Radio Flier Music

I’m a 49’er in Hangtown
Here for a day or two
Need a wheelbarrow to push around
The dirt I’m a-diggin’ through

Well there’s a wheelbarrow
That’s the best by far they say
Make’s ‘em deep and narrow
The wheelbarrow Johnny way

Chorus) And I’ll push my Studebaker
Up and down the hills
Push my Studebaker
From the mine to the ten stamp mill
Push my Studebaker
From the ten stamp mill
Push my Studebaker
Full of gold to Placerville

He moved back to Indiana
And he’s makin’ wagons fine
For the trip to California
Got a whole assembly line

Well my son is a-movin’ west
Needs the best dang wagon made
Son, there’s one that makes the test
The wheelbarrow Johnny way

And he’ll ride that Studebaker
Up and down the hills
Ride that Studebaker
No finer wagon built

Old John, he did make her
No wagon built as well
Ride that Studebaker
All the way to Placerville

My grandson is a-comin’ north
And wants to take the wheel
To visit me he’ll set forth
In a brand new automobile

Well grandson, what you need
The best car that is made
Its agreed no car exceeds
The wheelbarrow Johnny way

And he’ll drive that Studebaker
Up and down the hills
Drive that Studebaker
No finer car is built
Old John he did make her
No car is built as well
Drive that Studebaker
All the way to Placerville

Formerly on the wall of a building that is no longer around, the marker now sits in the corner of a Starbucks patio

Plaque inscription: NO. 142 STUDEBAKER'S SHOP (SITE OF) - This shop was built in the early 1850s. The front part housed a blacksmith shop operated by Ollis and Hinds, and John Mohler Studebaker rented a part of the rear. Here he had a bench and sort of woodworking shop where he repaired and worked on wagon wheels and the like. A little later he began to make wheelbarrows for the miners' use. He became engaged in the making of ammunition wagons for the Union Army - from that grew his extensive wagon and carriage business and, eventually, the automobile business.
Location: 543 Main St, Placerville
Google maps: 38.729313,-120.7953

Note: After being taught by ‘Uncle Dave’ Frey (of the song, Moonlight Motor Inn fame) to drive in Idyllwild, California at age eleven, a 1947 Studebaker flatbed truck was this writer’s first ride. His motive was that by baiting me with the opportunity to drive a real vehicle, all that had to be done was drive it down the road about a half mile and fill the flatbed with sand, and then bring it back. The magic of solo control and wind-in-the-face speeds of 20 miles per hour through the split and levered windshield wore off quickly.

Then there was the Chicken Hawk. In 1953, Studebaker came out with a landmark aerodynamically styled car that remains contemporary even today. They were called ‘Champion’ ‘Starliner’ and ‘Starlight’, and evolved through the fifties as ‘Silver Hawk’, ‘Power Hawk’, and ‘Golden Hawk’, till they finally piled so much chrome and goofy add-ons to it that it became pretty ugly. Around 1965, and in the heart of this writer’s life in the drag racing world, a friend of a friend associate had taken one of these and developed what may remain one of the most unique single purpose vehicles ever concocted. This black primered pre rat rod special Studebaker had welded to its frame a two foot extension beyond the front bumper with a heavy six inch pipe that sat low to the ground and served as ram, with the sole purpose of making 60 mph runs at free standing shopping carts, strategically placed like a goldfish in an Oscar tank. In perspective it worked like a pitching wedge hitting a golf ball. Every couple of months or so a call would come in that the Chicken Hawk would be making a night run with details of time and place. Gotta admit, though certainly a destructive act, there was nothing quite like witnessing the precision of a Chicken Hawk v. shopping cart event, as the tossed cart flipped skyward with the Chicken Hawk slipping underneath and evaporating into the darkness.