Settlement Along the Trail

Settlement Along the Trail (HM2C74)

Location: Bancroft, ID 83217 Caribou County
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Country: United States of America
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N 42° 51.851', W 111° 54.294'

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Inscription
The Oregon Trail was not blazed by the first wagon train of emigrants who set out on the journey in 1841. They were following pathways discovered and described by explorers, and mountain men in the early 1800s - pathways traveled for countless years by Native Americans and migrating wildlife. Ancient , earthen-covered lava flows between the Bear River and Fort Hall provided them with a fairly level road for travel through the Upper Portneuf Valley.

Trapper Osborne Russell and fifteen companions spent the winter of 1835-36 at a place called "Mutton Hill" on the Portneuf River. The many hot springs along the Portneuf, combined with a ready supply of bighorn sheep on the rocky hillsides and buffalo in the valley, made this a choice camping spot.
During the 1850s entrepreneurs from Salt Lake City and Fort Hall brought freight wagons filled with merchandise and set up shop along the road. In 1853, emigrants reported that they were hardly out of site of these traders.
In 1863, cattleman Alexander Toponce traveled up the Portneuf Valley from northern Utah, and by the 1870s he was operating a ranch on "Toponce Creek." just across the valley from this spot.

I rented the Fort Hall (Indian) reservation from the Government as a cattle pasture, paying $2,500 a year. I had a piece of land rented forty miles by seventy



miles. At times I had as high as 10,000 head of cattle on the land."
— Alexander Toponce

Settlement at this location began with homesteading in 1880, and the establishment of Chesterfield Town in 1883. Most of the main migration along the Oregon Trail had declined, but some hardy souls still made the journey overland. The families of Chesterfield greeted them with hospitality, happy to share the bounty of this beautiful valley where the buffalo once roamed.
Details
HM NumberHM2C74
Tags
Placed ByOregon & California National Historic Trails,, National Park Service and Caribou Historical Society
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Thursday, October 11th, 2018 at 11:01pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)12T E 426080 N 4746129
Decimal Degrees42.86418333, -111.90490000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 42° 51.851', W 111° 54.294'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds42° 51' 51.06" N, 111° 54' 17.64" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)208
Closest Postal AddressAt or near Chesterfield Rd, Bancroft ID 83217, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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