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Taken: June 13, 2010
Caption: Information on Display at the New Malones Reservoir Visitor Center
Additional Description: Crossing the River on Robinsons Ferry During the height of the gold rush, a constant stream of mule trains, freight wagons, stagecoaches, and pack-laden miners paraded through the Sierra foothills. All these travelers depended on ferries to cross the Sierra rivers. For someone looking to capitalize on the rush of miners, one of the best strategies was to find a calm portion of the river with easy access to the surrounding hills, and set up a ferry service. In August 1849, John W. Robinson and Stephan Mead began operating Robinson’s Ferry at the foot of Carson Hill on the Stanislaus River. This was one of the best sites on the Stanislaus, with plenty of flat surrounding land and relatively calm waters (although floods carried the ferry off more times than once). The service survived until 1914, keeping the town of Robinsons Ferry alive in the years between the first gold rush and the second gold boom at the turn of the century.
Submitted: June 18, 2010.
Database Locator Identification Number: p113498
File Size: 1.663 Megabytes

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