St. Helena Toll Road and Bull Trail

The bronze ends with the state buying the toll road from John Lawley heirs in 1925. The heir who had kept it running was his daughter, Molly Patton, who worked the summit toll house with the family for nineteen years after Lawley died in 1906. The Legislature chartered his road in 1866; the county board set its tolls, and public outcry forced them down in 1873. Before either road, the county historian Henry Mauldin noted, the first trails over Mount St. Helena were made by Native people, crossing a summit the Wappo held sacred.

What the plaque says

Old Bull Trail Road and St. Helena Toll Road The Old Bull Trail Road ran from Napa Valley to Middletown. It was built by volunteers in the 1850's. A number of the grades were 35 percent. It was an official road in 1861 and abandoned in 1868. St. Helena Toll Road also ran from same points. Was completed in 1868. The grades ran to 12 percent. State of California purchased from John Lawley heirs in 1925. Tablet placed by California Centennials Commission. Base furnished by County of Lake Dedicated May 30, 1950

Where it stands

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