Historical Markers, Interpretive Signs

Now to where he was born:


the house

the barns in the back ground,

Too funny

I stopped by here after the BMW rally in Sedailia, and arrived about 15 minutes before closing. The ladies in the gift store were very helpful and knowledgeable, and one of them walked me up to the house as the other was closing up shop. First pic is the front of the house, as we would come to it today. However, in the Boone's time, the "front" is the side with the porches (stairs were added later from deck to deck), as that faced the Osage Creek and eventually the Missouri River, which was the "road" in that era. Also interesting to note DB was here before Lewis and Clark, and how he came to be in this area.

Really excellent history everyone. The images supporting the markers deliver a feel for the place and time in ways words only cannot. Though vividly written words I have a thing for as well.

Here's a sign noting the site of an old town that is basically a semi-ghost town now...


Found old images, found the location/direction of the photographer back then, captured today's view of the same, merged them. As you will see, wasn't much of a going concern then, nor is it today...

...continuation of Daniel Boone.

In the 1700's and into the 1800's there were often no judges availa'le to hear and judge on local disputes. In those cases a local ethical and respected citizen was chosen to judge and rule on disputes. These disputes ranged from thief, assault, debt, land and boundary disputes etc. Such court cases were handled by Daniel under this "Judgement Tree".

This tree is close to his home in Defiance, Missouri and probaly within 20 miles of his Missouri grave site (site pictured in a'ove threads). Private Shields of the Lewis and Clark Expedition was a cousin of D. Boone...and they went into a trapping partnership after the Expedition. Boone probably lived in this area when the Expedition passed by.

Almost directly across the Missouri River (behind the treeline in the background) is the Meriwether Lewis site of Tavern Rock cave. (also pictured earlier). As the marker says there used to be small town here but at the site of the tree but it was flooded away in the early 1800's. Much of this area was settled by French settlers.








The tree - Probaly an off-spring of the real Judgement Tree was used as a shade and courtroom as Daniel made judgements presented before him.

This tree and marker is on the west side of the Missouri River out in a corn field. I accidentally ran across it looking for the Tavern Rock site.

In the above post, when you refer to the judgement tree being west of the river, are you referring to the Defiance side of the river where it is running generally north south at that point? There was a Judgement Tree at the Boone house the ladies showed me, but also said there was another one if I went thru Defiance. I had a very limited amount of time to make it from there up to Louisiana to a friends grave (he wasn't going anywhere, but the sun was getting low). I have a picture of the tree at the house (well, the log that is left) but is on the SD card at work. Will post it tomorrow. But would like to know how to find the other tree if I get back up there.

This one is close to the huge power plant smoke stacks...it is on the same side as Defiance, Missouri. As you probably know their is no bridge across the Missouri except 50+ miles away.

It is right along the side of the Katy Trail I'd guess SE of Defiance. It is close to Augusta, Dartmond, and Augusta Bottoms. You can see it from the road paralleling Katy Trail...it is roughly 200 yards across a corn field. From what I heard from local hikers on the Katy Trail this was his main Judgement Tree though there was another one closer to his house later on. Pretty informal form of justice though may have been more just than what we sometimes have now.

If you haven't read "Empire of the Summer Moon" I highly recommended reading it. Gives you a better appreciation of the Great Plains as you are crossing them. This sign is just east of the Black Kettle National Grasslands on OK 33, I think...

Interesting marker about the Hermit.


Similarities in appearance are striking.

Heading down the Continental Divide over Gibbons Pass (right on the Montana & Idaho state line) in 2007 (yes, part of the Lewis and Clark Trail) I ran across this guy...



Literally must have been 20 miles from the nearest civilization. His name was Bill and was a true hermit living in a 10 by 8 foot immobile mobile home. Fricking living conditions were amazing.:eek1...and he was very content with his lifestyle. Trailer had only one little corner for him to lay down to sleep.

Bill, the Hermit walked once or twice a month to the nearest store to fetch cigarettes and beer.

I saw this happen so I know it is true: Bill had trained his pure bred Black Lab companion to retrieve trout from a nearby stream. When his dog saw a trout it barked like crazy, pointed, caught the trout and dropped his catch on the banks for Bill. Bill's main source of food was trout and deer he shot. When I ran across Bill he was rolling a cigarette, drinking a cup of coffee, and sipping a beer and the Black Lab was out (working) trout fishing.

Spent about 2 hours with Bill and hated to have to leave. He made my "Readers Digest" Top 100 most interesting people I ever met...




Ran in to these Pronghorn within a mile of his place.



And these within 100 yards of his place.

sb... Well that's an interesting historical marker/site.

lc... In a way, Bill is a living marker of some kind.

I once had a sofa like that, but my lab only retrieved tennis balls.

I had a sofa like that too but my Dobermans couldn't retrieve a bad cold.

If you will note, Bill had all his valuables roped up in a tree in the background. One looked to be a plastic bag of water with a couple of live trout in the bag.

Felt a little sorry for him....then

Got home, looked back at these pictures,,,and thought what a good life, no traffic, no 'lectric or water bills to pay. "No dental care" to deal with....I do think I was born in the wrong century.

I have been back to Bill's place twice in the past 5 yrs and he's moved on to somewhere else.

In the 2 hrs I was with him it was quickly obvious he had an advance education....and was just living life his way.

This is in an area we call Dog Valley near Lake Tahoe. We have not explored much around here even though it is only about an hour away. Might head out there this weekend to find another marker or two.
About the Truckee Trail:
The Truckee Trail, as the Truckee River Route of the California Trail is called, is historic in that it was the first wagon road opened over the Sierra Nevada. It was opened in 1844-45 by the Elisha Stephens party which consisted of 11 wagons, 26 men, 8 women and 16 children. This party was guided by Caleb Greenwood, an old mountain man, who was assisted at a critical time near the Humboldt Sink by a Paiute Indian chief who the emigrants called “Truckee.”



This was on a trip last weekend near Lassen Park which is a little closer than Lake Tahoe. Not the first Nobles Trail marker we have come across. There is another right along the road to our house and several more out in the Black Rock Desert.
About the Nobles Trail:
In the spring of 1852, William Nobles convinced the merchants of Shasta City, near present day Redding, California, that he had discovered a viable wagon road to their thriving town. Nobles proceeded to show them the new wagon route that initially branched off the Applegate Trail at Black Rock and headed southwest across the Black Rock and Smoke Creek Deserts to Honey Lake Valley and Susanville. From there the trail continued westerly through forested and volcanic country, finally descending to the upper end of the Sacramento Valley at Shasta City. The Nobles Trail proved to be one of the easiest of all the wagon routes into northern California and received heavy use in subsequent years.

Well relatively close...


The Calilfornia Trail and Sacramento routes were scattered all over trying to get thru Truckee to Sacramento...and over the snowed in mountains. The Donner's Pass group ran into the mountains east of Truckee, major snow storm, most died from a brutal winter storm. Went by Donner Pass on June 7th, 2012 and was side tracked with the weather.

Donner's Pass Marker:



The Donner's Pass people got into disputes and if anyone died...they were so desperate they ate them. Interesting museum there.

Bad view of a CaliforniaTrail Map at the Donners Pass Museum, with estimates of where scouts got over the mtns to Truckee and Sacramento.






Route from Donner's Pass to Truckee, Calif on June 7th, 2012. Surprisingly not cold.



Replica of wagon at Donner's Pass visitors center;

Working on a new patch for my motorcycle group. Have to take a pic of my bike in front of 25 different historical markers in Texas. It's fun riding to them and then getting off the bike to read a little of the history of Texas...

Excuse me if this is a repeat.







So, when you all come to North Georgia, you need to bring a rock.

I don't think it is a repost SC, and how about that. That is something I've never seen!