Historical Marker · No. 456
Camp Site of Boston-Newton Party
Shingle Springs, El Dorado County · California
Erected by California Centennials Commission, base furnished by descendants of the Boston-Newton Party, dedicated June 4, 1950, 1950
Twenty-five young New Englanders left Boston on April 16, 1849 and camped here on September 26, one night short of Sutter's Fort. What makes the company worth a plaque is not the gold. Charles Gould and David Jackson Staples both kept diaries the whole way, and the letters home survived alongside them; the University of Nebraska Press published the lot in 1969. Most forty-niner companies dissolved without a record. This one crossed the continent and wrote it down, which is why a single night's camp is marked at all.
What the plaque says
Camp Site of Boston-Newton Party On this site the Boston-Newton Joint Stock Association encamped on September 26, 1849. The company left Boston April 16 and arrived at Sutter's Fort September 27, after a remarkable journey across the continent. A rich store of written records preserved by these pioneers has left for posterity a fascinating picture of the Gold Rush. State Registered Landmark No. 456 Tablet placed by California Centennials Commission. Base furnished by descendants of Boston-Newton Party. Dedicated June 4, 1950.
Where it stands
38.66532, -120.92685 · Directions
Worth the stop nearby
- Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park — 10 miThe tailrace at Coloma where a carpenter found gold in January 1848 and the world came running.