Overview

You are standing at a crossroads of human history that goes back to the time of the mammoth hunters. This passage over the Sierra Nevada was a key route for Native Americans, mountain men, wagon-train pioneers, miners, stage coaches and travelers along the Lincoln Highway.

Archaeologists documented that this area was a transportation corridor for thousands of years. It was used by migrating nomadic groups and was a trade route for the Washoe Tribe and others. The game trails became Indian footpaths and mountain men blazed wagon routes that became stage roads, railroads, and finally, automobile highways. At or near this place, the histories of Nevada, California, and the nation were forged by the people who have moved across the Sierra since the dawn of time.