Emigrant Crossing

The woman quoted was Maria Parsons Belshaw, 28, of Lake County, Indiana, traveling in a ten-wagon train her brother-in-law George Belshaw captained from March 23, 1853, to the Willamette Valley. Her husband Thomas, his brothers, her parents and other kin came too, and a baby girl born to George's family on the trail lived two weeks. Maria kept one of three diaries on the train; George kept another, noting campsites, water, wood and ferries for those who came after. Hers was published in 1932 and the two appear together in print as Crossing the Plains to Oregon in 1853.

What the plaque says

Emigrant Crossing After reaching Boise River, emigrant wagons had to travel 30 miles to find a good crossing about 1/4 mile north of here. They had to avoid a wide zone of shifting channels, so they descended Canyon Hill where the route is still visible. In 1853 Maria Belshaw "...crossed Boise River at ford, 15 rods wide 3 feet deep, beautiful river, gravel bottom, very clear, large salmon in it." After crossing, the road headed westward along a route that became US 20. 455 Text prepared by the Idaho Historical Society Marker made & installed by Idaho Transportation Department

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• World Center for Birds of Prey — 25 mi
  The hilltop where the peregrine falcon was bred back from DDT, and where condors for the Grand Canyon country still hatch.

More markers nearby

• The College of Idaho — 2.3 mi
• The Ward Massacre — 4.1 mi
• Lower Boise — 6.1 mi
• Northwest Nazarene University — 10 mi