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245:(who wanted to build a transcontinental railroad) on a reconnaissance of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in 1860. They proceeded over the Henness route, taking elevations and measurements, and came back both convinced that a railroad crossing of the imposing mountains was feasible. They also explored the Donner Pass route, and agreed that it was more favorable.
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230:, who is credited with developing the route in 1849 or 1850 as an alternative to Donner Pass. In 1855 the road was officially surveyed by D.B. Scott when the California Legislature passed An Act to Construct a Wagon Road over the Sierra Nevada range, but a route through El Dorado County approximating the current path of
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was a founding director of the
Henness Pass Turnpike Company, and was a civil engineer who built and owned water systems serving the mines and towns of Nevada County, California beginning in the 1850s. His intimate familiarity with the topography of the area led to his accompanying
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Historically, Henness Pass Road was a travel route used by Native
Americans and then immigrants and local mining communities during the
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Papers compiled by David
Comstock, and “The Christine Freeman Directory,” Searls Historical Library, Nevada City, California.
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era. Beginning in the late 1850s, the road was a major supply route for the silver and gold mines in Nevada.
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Freight was brought by steamboat from San
Francisco up the Sacramento River to Marysville.
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Chapter 24, Stories of Fire and Ice, anticipated publication date: Spring 2023.
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From there it was carried by wagons, with part of the route being via the
155:, elevation 6,916 ft (2,108 m), is a mountain pass northwest of
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U.S. Geological Survey
Geographic Names Information System: Henness Pass
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Comstock, David Allan. "Charles Marsh: Our
Neglected Pioneer-Genius,"
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Gorman, Richard. “An Early Nevada City Odd Fellow,” October, 2017.
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http://www.sierracollege.edu/ejournals/jsnhb/v2n2/trails-Henness.html
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The
Henness Pass route was eclipsed by completion in 1868 of the
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Like most of the well-known Sierra Nevada passes, it lies on the
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Volume 50, No. 2, April 1996, p. 14, Nevada City, California.
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https://www.nevadacityoddfellows.com/history/charlesmarsh/
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Mountain passes of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
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212:, which connected to the road to Henness Pass at
435:p. 3, April 29, 1876, San Francisco, California.
387:November 9, 1860, p. 2, Nevada City, California.
449:http://cprr.org/Museum/Maps/Nevada_Survey_Maps/
422:p. 3, March 22, 1860, Marysville, California.
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359:Nevada County Historical Society Bulletin,
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323:"RootsWeb: NORCAL-L search for d.b.scott"
182:flows west to the Pacific Ocean, and the
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464:Landforms of Sierra County, California
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186:flows east into the Great Basin.
400:. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
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347:California Trail#Johnson Cutoff
312:Sierra College eJournal article
250:First transcontinental railroad
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418:“Henness Pass Turnpike Co.,”
383:“Railroad Route Discovered,”
372:The Ditches of Nevada City,
370:Lindars, Dom. Manuscript,
167:. The pass is traversed by
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219:Henness Pass is named for
206:Bridgeport Covered Bridge
165:Sierra County, California
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433:San Francisco Chronicle,
431:“Another Pioneer Gone,”
420:Daily National Democrat,
234:was ultimately chosen.
125:39.50278°N 120.43944°W
184:Little Truckee River
159:on the crest of the
130:39.50278; -120.43944
385:The Nevada Journal,
264:) to the north and
252:as far as Reno via
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308:2014-09-02 at the
226:2014-09-02 at the
200:2014-09-02 at the
176:Great Basin Divide
61:6,916 ft (2,108 m)
243:Theodore D. Judah
210:Virginia Turnpike
180:Middle Yuba River
169:Henness Pass Road
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70:Henness Pass Road
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228:Wayback Machine
221:Patrick Henness
202:Wayback Machine
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331:. Retrieved
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178:. Here, the
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153:Henness Pass
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146:USGS Sattley
66:Traversed by
44:Location in
19:Henness Pass
254:Donner Pass
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116:120°26′22″W
103:Coordinates
458:Categories
333:2014-07-22
276:References
113:39°30′10″N
46:California
258:Yuba Pass
191:Gold Rush
163:range in
57:Elevation
443:See also
306:Archived
224:Archived
208:and the
198:Archived
142:Topo map
76:Location
91:Range
157:Reno
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284:^
216:.
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268:(
260:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.