Historical Marker · No. 704
Sportsman's Hall Overland Pony Express Route in California
Cedar Grove, El Dorado County · California
Erected by California State Park Commission in cooperation with the James W. Marshall Chapter No. 49, E. Clampus Vitus and the Central Overland Pony Express Trail Association, 1960
Two plaques stand at Sportsman's Hall, and they disagree by twenty-one minutes. The 1960 state bronze has Sam Hamilton riding in from Placerville and handing the mail to Warren Upson at 7:40 on the morning of April 4, 1860, Upson gone two minutes later. The 1961 Centennial Association bronze beside it puts the same handoff at 8:01. That plaque also makes the larger claim: this was California's only home station, where one rider gave way to the next instead of only changing horses. A Native Sons and Native Daughters cairn stands in front of both.
What the plaque says
Sportsman's Hall This was the site of Sportsman's Hall, also known as Twelve-Mile House. The hotel operated in the late 1850's and 1860's by John and James Blair, a stopping place for stages and teams of the Comstock, it became a relay station of the Central Overland Pony Express. Here, at 7:40 A.M., April 4, 1860, pony rider William (Sam) Hamilton, riding in from Placerville, handed the express mail to Warren Upson, who, two minutes later, sped on his way eastward. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 704 Plaque placed by the California State Park Commission in cooperation with the James W. Marshall Chapter No. 49, E Clampus Vitus, and the Central Overland Pony Express Trail Association, April 3, 1960.
Where it stands
38.75010, -120.61125 · Directions
Worth the stop nearby
- Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park — 15 miThe tailrace at Coloma where a carpenter found gold in January 1848 and the world came running.