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Amador/Nevada Wagon Road
The year was 1861 the battle of north vs south had just begun. California had only eleven years before joined the union as the 31st state. In the aftermath of the Donner Party tragedy of 1848, there was a need for a alternate route over the Sierra Nevada. A bond issue to cover the cost of building the road failed in the legislature. The bond was submitted again in May of 1862, this time it was approved. A franchise was granted to eight citizens of Calavaras county (Amador was formed in 1854) to build the road and collect tolls thereon. Construction started in October 1862 on a road 16 feet wide with a maximum grade of 18%. The road was to start at Antelope Springs (35 miles east of Jackson) although the section from Jackson to Anderson Springs was already in use but, needed to be upgraded to the 16 feet width. The location of the wagon road followed, the same alignment of the present State Highway 88. At Twin Lakes (Caples) the wagon road turned north, whereas, the Immigrant route/ State 88 climbed another thousand feet to the summit of Carson Spur, Built around the rocky point of the spur at the 8000 foot elevation. After passing Silver Lake it rejoins the Immigrant road at Tragedy Springs.
By 1862 the wagon road had reached Silver Lake. The Wagon Road was completed by the end of the year. By the following year supplies of lumber, produce, goods, passengers and gold to help in the war between the states, starting traveling the road between San Francisco, Sacramento, & Stockton over the Sierra into Nevada and places to the east.
When the gold spike was driven into place at Promontory Point, Utah spelled the end of Hauling Passengers/ Freight over the Amador/Nevada Wagon road. Since the railroad was a faster and better way of transporting goods & passengers. The wagon and stage companies soon lost customers to the railroad. But the history of how the Amador/Nevada Wagon road helped the early pioneers in California will live on forever.
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Last Updated June 6, 1999