Hudspeth's Cutoff

The company that opened this road was big and well guided. Benoni Hudspeth and John Myers, both veterans of John C. Frémont's 1845 expedition, led some seventy wagons and about 250 people west from Soda Springs on July 19, 1849, and reached the old trail here five days later. Where exactly the cutoff came back to the California Trail is still argued: one trail researcher puts it southwest of Malta, another near Connor Creek and the City of Rocks. Either way, everyone behind them took the same road west.

What the plaque says

Hudspeth's Cutoff This shortcut to the California goldfields, followed by most of the 49'ers, came out of the hills to the east and joined the old California Trail just about here. Opened by "Messrs. Hudspeth & Myers, of the Jackson County, Missouri, Company," who reached here on July 24, 1849, this new route was mistakenly thought to save nearly a hundred miles over the old way along Snake River to the north. From here, the 49ers struck southwest for California and golden riches. 169 Text prepared by the Idaho Historical Society Marker made & installed by Idaho Transportation Department

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• City of Rocks National Reserve — 21 mi
  Two granite spires the emigrants steered by. They look like twins and formed about 2.5 billion years apart.

More markers nearby

• Idahome — 8.6 mi
• Diamondfield Jack — 12 mi
• Albion State Normal School — 12 mi
• Emigrant Trails — 26 mi