goldfields

We made a tortuous journey through the snow before we came to the headwaters of the Yuba river, where there were mules to carry us down to Johnson’s Ranch. . . . I stayed several days at the ranch, enjoying the comforts of civilization again, but I never could erase from my mind the sight of the dying people left behind at the lake. Mr. Johnson, a former merchant seaman, had built a substantial adobe building and was engaged in cattle raising on the Bear river.

Mary Murphy, survivor of the Donner Party disaster

Johnson’s Ranch figures large in California history. John C. Fremont and Kit Carson camped there. The Stevens-Townsend Party, the first to bring wagons over the Sierra Nevada, traversed the ranch. The U.S. Army had an outpost there at Camp Far West. It was a resting place and river crossing for many a pioneer and forty-niner.

And most importantly, it was the gathering place for the rescue parties that set out to retrieve the remnants of the Donner Party, and the first civilized dwelling-place that received the survivors.

And yet . . . how many Californians know where Johnson’s Ranch is? Who has visited it and seen the remains of Johnson’s adobe and the ford where countless wagons crossed the Bear River? Is there a monument there? Is it a state park? Or has it faded from memory?

There is a marker along Highway 65 in Wheatland, about 20 miles north of Roseville.

The ranch itself is still in private hands. Some archeological work was done back in the 1980s by Jack and Richard Steed (see their book The Donner Party Rescue Site). They located the site of Johnson’s adobe house, the Burtis Hotel, and the river crossing. But these historic sites on the ranch are still inaccessible to the general public.

That is about to change. Writing in Trail Talk, the newsletter of the California-Nevada chapter of the Oregon-California Trails Association, Bill Holmes reports that he has made contact with the ranch owner and ranch manager, and they are eager to have Johnson’s Ranch recognized as the important historic site that it is. Bill Holmes was primarily interested in locating the site of Camp Far West. Although known to be located near the still extant cemetery, the actual placement of the camp was in doubt. He believes he has pinpointed the location of the camp.

Will we be able to have a look ourselves? According to Mr. Holmes, “The next step in our written plan is to create, build and install interpretive panels for each historic site plus the trail itself. ” The property owner is interested in preserving the historic points of interest and making them available to the public, with parking and maybe even a museum. It’s an exciting time for Johnson’s Ranch and I hope someday soon to be able to visit it.

You probably have a few old pairs of jeans in your closet. But probably not 125 years old (and if they are, they are worth a lot of money). Eight pairs of jeans were found earlier this year down in a mine in Arizona — three pairs of Levis and the rest a rival brand called Stronghold.

To read about this find and see more pictures, go to this article at RV Lifestyle.

These may not be the oldest Levis ever found. The Levi Strauss company first began making workman’s trousers in 1873. The Levi Strauss archive has a pair from the 1880s. But jeans from the 1890s are rare enough to make them collectable and museum-worthy and worth a nice bit of moolah.

How can you tell that the jeans are an early pair? There are a few identifying features:

–Donut buttons on the fly. Zippers weren’t in use yet. Donut buttons have a depression like a donut hole in the middle.

–Only one back pocket.

–No belt loops. The pants were held up by suspenders, which attached to buttons on the waistband.

–A cinching strap on the back, like you sometimes find on vests.

–The leather brand patch located in the middle of the back.

–A strengthening rivet at the crotch. This was later removed from the design when cowboys complained about the rivets getting too hot when they crouched around a campfire. (Ouch!)

These early jeans would have been dyed with plant-based, not artificial indigo. That makes them more likely to fade over time, but down in the mine they were well preserved.

If you are intrigued by old jeans, you can read more about the history of Levis at the Levi Strauss & Co. Heritage blog.