The Dalles to Canyon City Wagon Road

Gold at Canyon Creek in 1862 sent some ten thousand people south from The Dalles over Native trails that became this wagon road. One was Columbus Sewell, a Black man born around 1820 who had mined in California. He came north in 1862 or 1863, worked a claim, then put twelve horses to a single wagon and hauled freight between Canyon City and The Dalles, a round trip of about six weeks. Oregon's constitution still carried its clause barring Black settlers. He and his wife Louisa raised their sons in Canyon City, and he died there in 1899.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Painted Hills — 29 mi
  Hills banded red, gold and tan that are not painted rock at all but ancient soils, formed on volcanic ash over millions of years as the climate changed.

More markers nearby

• Sherar's Bridge Area — 29 mi