California Road
Southern gold rush route through Indian Territory along the Canadian River.
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The California Road was a route through present-day Oklahoma, then Indian Territory, following the Canadian River during the California Gold Rush. It served as the southern counterpart to the California Trail and was laid out by Captain Randolph B. Marcy in the spring of 1849. The trail converged at Fort Smith, crossed into Indian Territory, and continued along the Canadian River to the Texas Panhandle and into New Mexico.
Quick Facts
- Route laid out by
- Captain Randolph B. Marcy
- Year route established
- 1849
- Fortification established
- Camp Arbuckle
- Year camp arbuckle established
- 1850
- Location of camp arbuckle
- southern boundary of the Canadian River, near the 100th meridian west
Facts from the source article.
The Prairie Traveler
During the California Gold Rush, the California Road cut through what was then Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, following the Canadian River as the southern alternative to the California Trail. Captain Randolph B. Marcy laid out this route in the spring of 1849 while escorting gold seekers. The trail started at Fort Smith, crossed into Indian Territory, and ran along the Canadian River into the Texas Panhandle, then into New Mexico, where it connected with an existing route south of Santa Fe to El Paso and on to California.
In 1850, Marcy established Camp Arbuckle near the 100th meridian to protect the road from Plains Indian attacks. About twenty thousand emigrants used this path in 1849. The crossing of the California Road and the Texas Road later became the site of McAlester, Oklahoma.
More in Trails and Roads in the American Old West
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: California Road (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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