Benson's Ferry

No state plaque marks the ferry; the Clampers' stone at the road corner speaks for it and for Mokelumne City together. E. Stokes and A. M. Woods ran a ferry across the Mokelumne here in 1849 and sold it the next year to John Benson, who in 1852 laid out what became the main wagon road between Sacramento and Stockton, bringing its traffic to his crossing. Benson was murdered in 1859. His son-in-law, Ed Gayetty, kept the boat running, and the county road beside it still carries Benson's name.

What the plaque says

Bensons Ferry and Mokelumne City Pop. Jan. 1862 - 500. Pop. Feb. 1862 - 0. E. Stokes and A.M. Woods operated a ferry here in 1849. Sold to John Benson in 1850, he operated it until he was murdered in Feb. 1859 Nearby Mokelumne City, founded in 1850, was the second largest city in the county until washed away in the great flood of Jan. 1862 Tuleburgh Chapter No. 69 E Clampus Vitus Dedicated April 21, 1979 Rededicated April 13, 2024

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Sacramento — 23 mi
  The Gold Rush river port that became the state capital, and jacked itself ten feet into the air to stop drowning.

More markers nearby

• Site of Mokelumne City — steps away
• Grave of Alexander Hamilton Willard — 8.6 mi
• Murphy's Ranch — 9.4 mi
• Site of Wood's Ferry and Wood's Bridge — 10 mi