Historical Marker · No. 268
West Point
West Point, Calaveras County · California
Erected by the California Centennials Commission, with the base furnished by the Mokelumne Lions Club, 1949
Almost everything in this county begins with the gold. West Point was already here. The bronze says Kit Carson named it while looking for a pass over the Sierra, and that an emigrant road forked at Big Meadows with its north branch coming straight in, to a trading post already thriving before the discovery. So the traffic came first and the mining followed it, which is the reverse of the usual order. Bret Harte lived here for a period.
What the plaque says
WEST POINT STATE REGISTERED LANDMARK No. 268 NAMED BY FAMOUS SCOUT KIT CARSON WHILE SEARCHING FOR PASS OVER SIERRAS. ONE EMIGRANT ROAD FORKED AT BIG MEADOWS, AND NORTH BRANCH CAME DIRECTLY TO WEST POINT, A THRIVING TRADING POST PRIOR TO GOLD DISCOVERY. BRET HARTE, FAMOUS AUTHOR, LIVED HERE FOR A PERIOD. MARKER PLACED BY CALIFORNIA CENTENNIALS COMMISSION. BASE FURNISHED BY MOKELUMNE LIONS CLUB DEDICATED JULY 3, 1949
Where it stands
38.39723, -120.52767 · Directions
Worth the stop nearby
- Columbia State Historic Park — 25 miThe Gem of the Southern Mines, still open for business on a car-free Gold Rush main street.
More markers nearby
- Sandy Gulch — 1.2 mi
- Rail Road Flat — 3.8 mi
- Glencoe — 4.3 mi
- Volcano — 6.4 mi