Lassen Emigrant Trail, Bieber

The bronze credits Peter Lassen with opening this road in 1848 at the head of twelve wagons. He nearly lost them. The party wandered into dead-end canyons south of here and was close to starving when Oregonians under Peter Burnett, coming down from the Applegate road, struck Lassen's tracks where the Pit River turns into Big Valley, fed the party and cut the road through to Lassen's rancho. Burnett became the state's first governor the next year. The bronze blames the Indians for the trail's fading; this was Pit River country.

What the plaque says

Lassen Emigrant Trail Peter Lassen opened the Lassen Emigrant Trail in 1848 when he led a 12-wagon emigrant train from Missouri to California. The route passed near this place and was extensively travelled during the years 1848-53 by emigrants seeking gold, adventure and a new life in the west. Because of the hardships of the route and the hostility of the Indians, the trail was little used after 1853. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 763 Plaque placed by the California State Park Commission in cooperation with the Bieber and Lassen County Chambers of Commerce and Lassen County Historical Society, September 10, 1961.

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Site of First School in Fall River Valley — 11 mi
• Lockhart Ferry — 18 mi
• Fort Crook — 20 mi
• Old Emigrant Trail — 22 mi