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California State Historical Landmarks in Modoc County
Properties of historical importance in California are currently designated as significant resources in three
state registration programs: State Historical Landmarks, Points of Historical Interest, and the California Register of Historic
Places. Below is a list of the State Historical Landmarks for Modoc County. This data is provided by the Office
of Historic Preservation - California Department of Parks and Recreation and
is also available in the California Historical Landmarks Book.
NO. 108 BATTLE OF LAND'S RANCH-1872 - One of the engagements of the Modoc
War took place on December 21, 1872, on what was then known as the Land's Ranch. Army supply wagons, escorted by cavalrymen,
had reached camp in safety, but several of the soldiers who had dropped behind were suddenly attacked by Indians hiding among
the rocks above the road. Two men were killed and several wounded.
Location: 0.1 mi S of intersection of State
Hwy 139 (P.M. 40.4) and Co Rd 114, 12.1 mi SE of Tule Lake
NO. 109 CHIMNEY ROCK - The chimney was cut out of the solid
rock by Thomas L. Denson, who came west by the way of the Santa Fe Trail in 1852. In 1870 Denson built his cabin, the second
building to be erected in the Pit River Valley, alongside a pyramid-shaped rock, cutting the fireplace and flue out of the
solid rock itself.
Location: Beside RR track along State Hwy 395 (P.M. 30.3), 77 mi N of Alturas
USGS
Quadrangle Sheet Name: ALTURAS 15
NO. 111 OLD EMIGRANT TRAIL - Near the present Pit River-Happy
Camp Road this old pioneer trail, part of one of the earliest roads in northeastern California, is yet easily traced. Trees
eight to ten inches in diameter are growing in the old road bed.
Location: 5.0 mi NW of Co Rd 84, 9.3 mi NW
of Canby
NO. 125 EVANS AND BAILEY FIGHT-1861 - S. D. Evans, Sr. and Joe
Bailey, stockmen from Rogue River Valley, Oregon, and 16 of their employees were driving 900 head of beef cattle from Roseburg
to the mines at Virginia City, Nevada when they were attacked by Indians and the two owners killed.
Location: On
top of hill, 500 ft S of Centerville Rd, 4.9 mi SE of Canby
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name: CANBY 15
NO. 14 CRESSLER AND BONNER TRADING POST, 1865 - Cressler and
Bonner started the first mercantile establishment in Modoc County here, in the first building erected in the town of Cedarville.
They carried on a thriving business with emigrants en route to California and Oregon, and later with Surprise Valley settlers.
Location:
Cedarville Park, Center St between Bonner and Townsend Sts, Cedarville
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name: CEDARVILLE
15
NO. 15 BONNER GRADE - The first road from Cedarville to Alturas
followed the course of the present highway over Warner Mountains from Surprise Valley. It was named in honor of John H. Bonner,
who was instrumental in securing the construction of the road over Bonner Grade in 1869.
Location: Cedar Pass,
State Hwy 299 (P.M. 51.3), 6.2 mi W of Cedarville
NO. 16 INFERNAL CAVERNS BATTLEGROUND, 1867 - This is the site
of the battle between U.S. troops and Shoshone, Paiute, and Pit Indians on September 26 and 27, 1867. The Indians took refuge
in a series of caverns located at the top of a rocky slope. Over a third of the command was killed or wounded in the battle,
six soldiers were buried at the foot of the slope.
Location: Ferry Ranch on Co Rd 60, site is 1 mi SW of Ranch,
6.5 mi NW of Likely
NO. 430 FORT BIDWELL - Fort Bidwell, named for John Bidwell,
was established in 1865. The fort, which operated until 1893, was one of the last early military posts north of Benicia to
be abandoned. From 1898 to 1930, the fort served as a non-reservation boarding school for Indians.
Location: Fort
Bidwell Indian Community Center, W end of Bridge St, Fort Bidwell
NO. 546 APPLEGATE-LASSEN EMIGRANT TRAIL (FANDANGO PASS) - This
spot marks the convergence of two pioneer trails used by emigrants during the years 1846-1850. The Applegate Trail, established
in 1846, led from the Humboldt River in Nevada to the Willamette Valley in Oregon. The Lassen Cutoff, established by Peter
Lassen in 1848, turned south at Goose Lake to the northern mines and settlements of California.
Location: Fandango
Pass, 10.8 mi E of State Hwy 395 on Fandango Pass Rd (Co Rd 9), 9.2 mi W of Fort Bidwell
NO. 6 FRÉMONT'S CAMP - John C. Frémont's expedition from Fort
Sutter to Upper Klamath Lake, which included Kit Carson and other scouts, camped here May 1-4, 1846. They were the first non-Indians
ever to pass this way.
Location: 0.7 mi N of old Alturas Hwy (Co Rd 114) and Hwy 139 jct, 12 mi SE of Tule
Lake
NO. 8 BLOODY POINT - In 1850 one of the bloodiest massacres
of emigrants ever known on the Oregon Trail occurred here when Modoc Indians killed over 90 men, women, and children in a
surprise attack. The following year another large party narrowly escaped the same fate, and the Indians succeeded in killing
several smaller parties here.
Location: 3.0 mi S of Oregon border, then 1.0 mi SW on Co Rd 104, 8.3 mi NW
of State Hwy 139, E of Tule Lake
NO. 850-2 TULE LAKE RELOCATION CENTER - Tule Lake was one of
ten American concentration camps established during World War II to incarcerate 110,000 persons of Japanese ancestry, of whom
the majority were American citizens, behind barbed wire and guard towers without charge, trial, or establishment of guilt.
These camps are reminders of how racism, economic and political exploitation, and expediency can undermine the constitutional
guarantees of United States citizens and aliens alike. May the injustices and humiliation suffered here never recur.
Location:
NE corner of State Hwy 139 and Co Rd 176, 75 mi S of Tule Lake
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name: TULELAKE
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