Aguanga in Riverside County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

U.S. Mormon Battalion Trail

1847

— Temecula Valley —

U.S. Mormon Battalion Trail Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Donald Cooke, January 3, 2024

1. U.S. Mormon Battalion Trail Marker

Inscription. In January of 1847, some 350 soldiers of the Mormon Battalion, including five officers wives and a few children, passed through this area of Temecula Valley. These soldiers, under the leadership of Lt. Col. Philip St. George Cooke, were on their way to San Diego having marched 2,000 miles from Council Bluffs, Iowa carving the first wagon trail across the United States into southern California. The march of the Mormon Battalion is known as the longest march in U.S. military history which leads to the saying that "Only a Mormon soldier could out walk a mule."

Erected 1996 by Eagle Scout project of Johnathon McKay Crane, Troop 100 Inland Empire Council, Historian Col. John A. Bascom Second United States Mormon Battalion.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Roads & Vehicles • War, Mexican-American. In addition, it is included in the Mormon Battalion series list. A significant historical month for this entry is January 1847.

Location. 33° 27.048′ N, 116° 53.783′ W. Marker is in Aguanga, California, in Riverside County. It is on California 79 1½ miles south of Sage Road, on the

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right when traveling south. Parking lot of Stagecoach Inn restaurant. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 43851 CA-79, Aguanga CA 92536, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Los Angeles,

in the Inland Empire,

and in the Peninsular Ranges.

It is also in the American Southwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 12 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Jacob Bergman (approx. 0.3 miles away); Cottonwood School (approx. 2.2 miles away); Dripping Springs Watering Hole (approx. 5.6 miles away); Oak Grove Stage Station (approx. 7.2 miles away); Camp Wright (approx. 7.3 miles away); Welcome To Oak Grove Station (approx. 7½ miles away); U.S. Border Patrol - Theodore L. Newton, Jr. and George F. Azrak (approx. 7½ miles away); Juan Diego Flats (approx. 11.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map

Photographed by Donald Cooke, January 16, 2024

2. U.S. Mormon Battalion Trail Marker

Stagecoach Inn at left. Marker is on the boulder next to the car at right.

of all markers in Aguanga.

Stagecoach Inn Sign image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Donald Cooke, September 22, 2023

3. Stagecoach Inn Sign

Credits. This page was last revised on April 30, 2026. It was originally submitted on January 3, 2024, by Donald Cooke of Aguanga, California. This page has been viewed 720 times since then and 81 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on January 3, 2024, by Donald Cooke of Aguanga, California. 2, 3. submitted on January 16, 2024, by Donald Cooke of Aguanga, California. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.