Peg Leg Smith Monument

Peg Leg Smith Monument is a California Historical Landmark in San Diego County.

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park · location approximate

Directions to the area ↗Start a road trip Historical trails

Thomas L. Smith, better known as "Peg Leg" Smith, 1801-1866, was a mountain man, prospector, and spinner of tall tales. Legends regarding his lost mine have grown through the years. Countless people have searched the desert looking for its fabulous wealth. The gold mine possibly could be within a few miles of this monument.

1971 register text, presented as a historical document.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 ↗

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1810 · Mexico and Adjacent Provinces. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1855 · Map of the Public Surveys in California, 1855 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1859 · Map of the Public Surveys in California, 1859 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1864 · Map of public surveys in California and Nevada, 1864 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1941 · Clark Lake, California (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)

Mexico and Adjacent Provinces, 1810, covering the location of Peg Leg Smith Monument, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Mexico and Adjacent Provinces, 1810, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours and the location is approximate.

Example

For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyExpected here. This page shows the older published text, and some signs were recast later. Telling us still helps.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

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

Peg Leg Smith Monument

Historical maps covering this location

More markers nearby