This was the site of Sportsman's Hall, also known as Twelve-Mile House, the hotel operated in the latter 1850s and 1860s 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.

California's only home station where riders changed on the Pony Express Trail. Here, at 8:01 A.M. on April 4, 1860, Sam Hamilton, first eastbound rider was relieved by Warren Upson who carried the initial mail over the then strom swept Sierras.

National Pony Express Centennial Association
Dwight D. Eisenhower - Chairman   Waddell F. Smith - President