NO. 1016 STOCKTON
DEVELOPMENTAL CENTER - The Stockton Developmental Center began in 1853 as the
Insane Asylum of California at Stockton. It was founded on 100 acres with ready
access to the goldfields on land donated by Captain Charles Weber, founder of
Stockton. California's Legislature was convinced that the turbulence of the Gold
Rush had caused many to suffer from mental problems, and that the existing
hospitals were inadequate to cope with large numbers of people with mental and
emotional conditions. Consequently it authorized the establishment of the
Stockton Hospital, the first public hospital in California to serve the mentally
ill. California's mental hospital is one of the oldest in the west, and early on
was recognized for its progressive forms of treatment.
Location: 510 E Magnolia St, Stockton.
NO. 149 BENSON'S FERRY - This river ferry, established in 1849, was purchased by
John A. Benson in 1850. In 1852, Benson laid out the then-principal wagon road
between Sacramento and Stockton. Following Benson's murder in 1859, the ferry
was operated by his son-in-law, Ed Gayetty.
Location: S bank of N Fork Mokelumne River 100 ft W of County Rd J8, 3 mi N of
Thornton
NO. 155 LONE STAR MILL - A sawmill built in 1852 on the Mokelumne River was
removed to Hodge and (David S.) Terry's ranch in 1854 and a flour mill attached
the following year. The mill burned in 1856 and was rebuilt on its present site
as the Lone Star Mill.
Location: Entrance to Stillman L. Magee Park, Mackville Rd, 1 mi N of Clements
NO. 162 SITE OF MOKELUMNE CITY - Established in 1850, its prospects were bright.
The second largest town in the county, it had deep water communication with San
Francisco all year round, an advantage not possessed by any other town in the
county except Stockton. The floods of 1862 destroyed the town.
Location: 200 ft N of intersection of Cameron Rd and Thornton Rd, 3 mi N of
Thornton
NO. 163 SITE OF WOOD'S FERRY AND WOOD'S BRIDGE - In 1852, immediately after his
arrival and completion of his cabin, Wood proceeded to build a ferryboat and
establish the crossing known as Wood's Ferry. In 1858, he built a toll bridge at
the old ferry crossing, charging $1 for a pair of animals and wagon, and .50
extra for every additional pair of animals with the wagon.
Location: Present bridge is approx location of original ferry and bridge, County
Hwy Jl0, Woodbridge
NO. 165 WEBER POINT - Site of a two-story adobe-and-redwood house built in 1850
by Charles M. Weber, founder and pioneer developer of Stockton. One of the first
elaborate residences and landscaped gardens in the San Joaquin Valley, it
remained Captain Weber's home until his death in 1881.
Location: On Center St between Channel and Miner Sts, Stockton
NO. 178 SITE OF FIRST BUILDING IN PRESENT CITY OF STOCKTON - In August 1844, the
first settlers arrived at Rancho del Campo de los Franceses. One of the company,
Thomas Lindsay, built the first dwelling, a tule hut, on this site. He was later
murdered by Indians and buried here by travelers. The Point was formed by the
junction of McLeod's Lake and Miner's Channel.
Location: City Hall, on Civic St between Miner and El Dorado Sts, Stockton
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name: STOCKTON WEST
NO. 214 SITE OF BATTLE BETWEEN FORCES UNDER GENERAL VALLEJO AND SAN JOAQUIN
VALLEY INDIANS - In 1829, the Governor-General of California directed Vallejo to
punish the Cosumnes Indians for their raids on local ranches. The battle is one
of the few fought in California in which cannons were actually used.
Location: l0 mi S of Manteca on Two Rivers Rd, take S Manteca Rd to Trahern,
turn right 1/4 mi, left on Two Rivers Rd to Indian Valley Resort, 200 yards SE
of confluence of San Joaquin and Stanislaus Rivers on N bank of Stanislaus
NO. 358 TOWN OF WOODBRIDGE - In 1852 Jeremiah H. Woods and Alexander McQueen
established a ferry across the Mokelumne River at this point. As a result, a new
road from Stockton to Sacramento by way of Wood's Ferry was established. In 1858
Woods built a bridge at the site of the ferry from which the town, laid out in
April 1859, took its name.
Location: On County Hwy Jl0, Woodbridge
NO. 365 LOCKEFORD (LOCKE'S FORD) - It was on this hill that Dr. Dean Jewett
Locke and his brother Elmer H. Locke built the first cabin on this section in
1851. Disturbed by grizzly bears, they spent their first nights in the oak
trees. Dr. Locke, physician for the Boston and Newton Joint Stock Company, left
Boston on April 16, 1849 to cross the plains and arrive at Sacramento on
September 16, 1849. Because he built and maintained a ford across the Mokelumne
River, his wife, Delia Hammond Locke, in 1859 named the town he laid out on his
ranch Lockeford.
Location: 0.6 mi N on Elliotte Rd, Lockeford
NO. 436 NEW HOPE - Approximately six miles west of this spot, 20 Mormon pioneers
from the ship Brooklyn founded the first known agricultural colony in San
Joaquin Valley, planting the first wheat and crops that they irrigated by the
pole and bucket method. They erected three log houses and operated a sawmill and
a ferry across Stanislaus. Their settlement later became known as Stanislaus
City.
Location: Ripon City Park, Fourth and Locust Sts, Ripon
NO. 437 FIRST LANDING PLACE OF SAILING LAUNCH COMET - First known sail launch to
ascend San Joaquin River from San Francisco landed here autumn, 1846. It carried
20 Mormon pioneers who founded New Hope Agricultural Project on Stanislaus. A
yoke of oxen and span of mules were driven from Marsh's Landing (Antioch) by two
men who followed a crude map drawn by Merritt the trapper. Two years later Doak
and Bonsell operated here the first ferry on San Joaquin River.
Location: From I-5 take Manthey Rd interchange, take W side frontage rd, go N 1
mi to N bank of San Joaquin River, plaque located at entrance to Mossdale
Crossing Park and Ramp, 2.0 mi N of intersection of I-5 and I-205, Tracy
NO. 513 BURIAL PLACE OF JOHN BROWN (JUAN FLACO) - In 1846, during American
conquest of California, John Brown -nicknamed Juan Flaco - rode from Los Angeles
to San Francisco in four days to warn Commodore Stockton of the siege of Los
Angeles, and troops were sent to secure the city. This 'Paul Revere of
California,' who lived in Stockton from 1851 to 1859, is buried in the former
Citizen's Cemetery near this site.
Location: 1100 E Weber St at N Union St, Stockton
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name: STOCKTON 15
NO. 520 SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY COLLEGE - Built through subscription by the residents
of Woodbridge and dedicated as Woodbridge Seminary in 1879 by the United
Brethren Church, this was the site of San Joaquin Valley College from 1882 to
1897. It was then used as Woods Grammar School until 1922, when the building was
dismantled.
Location: 18500 N Lilac St, Woodbridge
NO. 668 FRENCH CAMP - Here was the terminus of the Oregon-California Trail used
from about 1832 to 1845 by the French-Canadian trappers employed by the Hudson's
Bay Company. Every year Michel La Framboise, among others, met fur hunters
camped with their families here. In 1844 Charles M. Weber and William Gulnac
promoted the first white settlers' colony on Rancho del Campo de los Franceses,
which included French Camp and the site of Stockton.
Location: On Elm St at French Camp School, French Camp
NO. 740 CARNEGIE - A city of 3,500 population from 1895-1912, the town had a
post office, company store, hotels, saloons, bandstand, and hundreds of homes.
The Carnegie Brick and Pottery Company had 45 kilns and 13 tall smokestacks,
clay came from the famous Tesla Coal Mine, four miles to the west. Town and
plant were served by the Alameda and San Joaquin Railroad.
Location: Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area, 5.9 mi W of I-580 on Corral
Hollow Rd, 9 mi SW of Tracy
NO. 755 CORRAL HOLLOW - The Edward B. Carrell home was built here at the site of
an Indian village on El Camino Viejo, an old Spanish trail. Through here passed
the '49ers and the first mail to the Tuolumne mines, men and animals received
food and drink at Wright's Zink House five hundred yards north of here.
Location: 1.5 mi W of I-580 on Corral Hollow Rd, 6.5 mi SW of Tracy
NO. 765 TEMPLE ISRAEL CEMETERY - Donated by Captain Charles M. Weber in 1851 for
use as a cemetery by the Jewish community of Stockton, this is the oldest Jewish
cemetery in continuous use in California and west of the Rocky Mountains.
Location: On E Acacia St between N Pilgrim and N Union Sts, Stockton
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name: STOCKTON WEST
NO. 777 SITE OF SAN JOAQUIN CITY - This river town was established in 1849.
Pioneers and freight wagons following post roads to the southern mines crossed
the river nearby at Durham's Ferry, and as a terminal for riverboats, the town
played an important part in development of west side grain farming and cattle
raising.
Location: 1.4 mi N of county line on County Hwy J3, SE of Tracy
NO. 780-7 FIRST TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD-SITE OF COMPLETION OF PACIFIC RAILROAD
- The construction of the San Joaquin River bridge completed the last link of
the transcontinental railroad. Building has proceeded simultaneously from the
bay area and Sacramento to meet at the San Joaquin River. The first train
crossed the bridge on September 8, 1869.
Location: From I-5 take Manthey Rd interchange, take W side frontage rd and go N
1.9 mi to N bank of San Joaquin River, plaque located at entrance to Mossdale
Crossing Park and Ramp, 2.0 mi N of intersection of I-5 and I-205, Tracy
NO. 801 REUEL COLT GRIDLEY MONUMENT - Erected in honor of the soldier's friend,
Reuel Colt Gridley, by Rawlins Post, Grand Army of the Republic, and the
citizens of Stockton in gratitude for services rendered Union soldiers during
the War of the Rebellion, when he collected $275,000 for the Sanitary Commission
by selling and reselling a sack of flour.
Location: Stockton Rural Cemetery near Memory Chapel, Cemetery Ln and E Pine St,
Stockton
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name: STOCKTON WEST
NO. 931 LODI ARCH - Designed by architect E. B. Brown and built in 1907 for the
Lodi Tokay Carnival, the arch served as an entrance into Lodi and a symbol of
agricultural and commercial growth. Essentially unaltered since construction,
the structure is one of few remaining Mission Revival ceremonial arches left
within California.
Location: SE corner of E Pine and S Sacramento Sts, Lodi
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name: LODI NORTH
NO. 934 TEMPORARY DETENTION CAMPS FOR JAPANESE AMERICANS-STOCKTON ASSEMBLY
CENTER - Here, within the confines of San Joaquin County Fairgrounds, enclosed
by barbed wire and housed in temporary barracks, 4,217 San Joaquin County
residents of Japanese ancestry, predominately American citizens, were interned
from May 10 to October 17, 1942 under Executive Order 9066. May such usurpation
of civil, social, and economic rights, without specific charges or trial, never
again occur.
Location: Administration Bldg, San Joaquin County Fairgrounds, Airport Way,
Stockton
NO. 935 CALIFORNIA CHICORY WORKS - The partnership of C. A. Bachmann and Charles
H. W. Brandt, formed in 1885, was the largest chicory supplier in America while
operating at this site during the 1890s. Chicory roots are roasted, ground, and
used as a mixture with or substitute for coffee. Using its own ship, The Dora,
and the finest German equipment to process the chicory, the company shipped its
product to market until about 1911.
Location: 1672 W Bowman Rd, 2.2 mi W of I-5, French Camp
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name: SACRAMENTO EAST
NO. 995 TRAIL OF THE JOHN C. FRÉMONT 1844 EXPEDITION - Frémont's historic second
overland expedition of 1843-44 was the first in which he reached California. He
and his companions entered California in the dead of winter, camped across the
snowbound Sierra, spent a month at Sutter's Fort in the Sacramento Valley, and
then continued south through the San Joaquin Valley. Frémont's report added to
the growing American interest in the Far West and California, making this 1844
expedition one of the most influential events in American westward expansion.
Frémont camped at this site on March 26, 1844.
Location: NW corner of junction of Hwy 88 and Calaveras River
