Mormon Tavern—Overland Pony Express Route in California

El Dorado County · 0.5 mile West of Clarksville · location approximate

At this site on the old Clarksville-White Rock Emigrant Road was Mormon Tavern, constructed in 1849, and enlarged and operated by Franklin Winchell in 1851. A popular stop for teams and stages, it became a remount station of the Central Overland Pony Express. Here on April 4, 1860, pony Rider William (Sam) Hamilton changed horses on the first trip eastward of the Pony Express.

1971 register text, presented as a historical document. It uses the period's terms for Native people; the state's landmark listings still carry most of this wording, and the California Office of Historic Preservation maintains the program's current texts.

Many of these plaques have since been recast or their texts revised. The California Historical Landmarks program and its current texts are maintained by the California Office of Historic Preservation. California Office of Historic Preservation ↗

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Marker data: State of California, Department of Parks and Recreation, California Historical Landmarks (1971)

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