Plum Valley House Site

You paid to use the road, and this is where you paid. John Bope built the Plum Valley House in 1854 out of hewn logs and whipsawn lumber and ran it as a toll station on the Henness Pass Road, between Marysville and Virginia City. The wild plums growing in the area gave the house its name. The landmark is the site rather than the building, and the bronze says so in its own title.

What the plaque says

PLUM VALLEY HOUSE SITE THE PLUM VALLEY HOUSE, BUILT IN 1854 BY JOHN BOPE, WAS CONSTRUCTED OF HEWN LOGS AND WHIP SAWN LUMBER. IT WAS A TOLL STATION ON THE HENNESS PASS ROAD BETWEEN MARYSVILLE AND VIRGINIA CITY. IT IS NAMED FOR THE WILD PLUMS WHICH GROW IN THE AREA. CALIFORNIA REGISTERED HISTORICAL LANDMARK NO. 695 PLAQUE PLACED BY THE CALIFORNIA STATE PARK COMMISSION IN COOPERATION WITH THE SIERRA PARLOR NO. 268, ALLEGHANY, NATIVE DAUGHTERS OF THE GOLDEN WEST, SEPTEMBER 25, 1962.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park — 5.6 mi
  A canyon washed out of a mountain by water cannon, and the lawsuit that ended hydraulic mining.
• Nevada City — 13 mi
  Gaslamps, brick storefronts, and the Nisenan who are still fighting to be recognized on their own ground.
• Empire Mine State Historic Park — 18 mi
  The oldest, deepest, richest hard-rock gold mine in California, with 367 miles of flooded tunnels underneath.

More markers nearby

• Henness Pass Road — 4.9 mi
• North Bloomfield Mining and Gravel Company — 6.1 mi
• Sierra County Sheriff's Gallows — 10 mi
• South Yuba Canal Office — 13 mi