Johnson's Ranch

Pablo Gutierrez had five square leagues on the Bear River, an adobe house, some cattle, and a suspicion that the ground carried gold. He went looking for it with John Bidwell before he was killed in 1845. Sutter, who had employed him and who acted as magistrate here, put the estate up at auction that April. William Johnson and Sebastian Keyser paid a hundred and fifty dollars for twenty-two thousand acres. Johnson sold out and went to Hawaii in 1849; Keyser drowned in the Cosumnes a year later.

What the plaque says

Johnson's Ranch The first settlement reached in California by emigrant trains using the Emigrant ("Donner") Trail, it was an original part of the 1844 Don Pablo Gutierrez Land Grant. It was sold at auction to William Johnson in 1845. In 1849 part of the ranch was set aside as a government reserve--Camp Far West. In 1866 the town of Wheatland was also laid out on a portion of the grant. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 493 Plaque placed by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with the Wheatland Lions Club, May 30, 1971.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Empire Mine State Historic Park — 24 mi
  The oldest, deepest, richest hard-rock gold mine in California, with 367 miles of flooded tunnels underneath.
• Nevada City — 28 mi
  Gaslamps, brick storefronts, and the Nisenan who are still fighting to be recognized on their own ground.

More markers nearby

• Durst Hop Ranch — 0.3 mi
• Overland Emigrant Trail — 2.9 mi
• Arboga Assembly Center — 8.6 mi
• Bok Kai Temple — 12 mi