Near Kirkwood in Alpine County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Snowshoe Thom(p)son

(John Tostensen)

— A True Pioneer —

Snowshoe Thom(p)son Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Joseph Alvarado, May 18, 2023

1. Snowshoe Thom(p)son Marker

Inscription. “…there ought to be a shaft raised to Snow-Shoe Thompson: Not of marble; Not carved and not planted in the valley, but a rough shaft of basalt or of granite, massive and tall, with top ending roughly as if broken short, to represent a life which was strong and true to the last. And this should be upreared on the summit of the mountains over which the strong man wandered so many years, as an emblem of that life which was worn out apparently without an object…” Attributed to: Dan Dequille, Territorial Enterprise, May 19, 1876. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dedicated this 10th day of July 1977, as a founded and endorsed Bicentennial Project

Erected 1977 by The Nevada Members of the Ancient & Honorable Order of E CLampus Vitus.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Communications • Exploration • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the E Clampus Vitus, and the The Spirit of ’76, America’s Bicentennial Celebration series lists. A significant historical date for this entry is May 19, 1860.

Location. 38° 41.633′ N, 119° 59.25′ W. Marker is near Kirkwood, California, in Alpine County. Marker is on Carson Pass Scenic Byway (State

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Highway 88), on the right when traveling east. Marker is at the parking area of the Kit Carson Monument. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Kirkwood CA 95646, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Kit Carson (a few steps from this marker); Naming of Carson Pass (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Carson Trail - Ascent to Carson Pass (about 600 feet away); Memorial to Pioneer Odd Fellows (about 600 feet away); First Summit (about 700 feet away); The Emigrant Trail (approx. 0.2 miles away); Summer Retreat (approx. 3.1 miles away); Caples Lake (approx. 3.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Kirkwood.

Also see . . . Stories and Articles by Ron Watters: The Soaring Eagle of the Sierras. (Submitted on October 3, 2008, by Syd Whittle of Mesa, Arizona.)

Additional commentary.
1. Snowshoe Thompson
In 1851, a 24-year-old Norwegian man named John Thompson* headed for fortune in California. He prospected around Placerville at Coon Hollow and Kelsey's Diggings, then tried ranching in the Sacramento Valley. In 1856, he read about the mail delivery struggle over the Sierra Nevada mountains. He made snowshoes, but not like the flat, heavy ones used by Indians and trappers of the West and Canada. They resembled

Photographed By Syd Whittle, July 31, 2006

2. Snowshoe Thom(p)son Marker

skis, but were heavier and clumsier. The first skis he made were 10 feet long and weighed 25 pounds. (Subsequent skis were recorded at 9 feet long, then seven.) Folks in Placerville laughed when they first saw him and his long skis, but they soon came to admire and encourage him when they realized he might get the mail through. He started his twenty-year career delivering the mail over the mountains in 1856. He became a necessity and a fixed institution in the mountains, providing the only land communication between the Atlantic states and California.
Thompson's first trip from Placerville to Carson Valley was made in January of 1856. It was a 90-mile trip in which he often glided over snow drifts 30 to 50 feet deep. The mail packs he carried were 60 to 80 pounds, and sometimes over 100 pounds. It took three days uphill to get to Carson Valley, and two days to return to Placerville, 45 miles a day through complete wilderness. He carried little food, used snow for water, dressed lightly, and carried no blanket, due to his mail load. When he had to sleep, or when the night prevented his traveling, he tried to find a stump of a dead pine to make camp. He set the stump on fire, collected spruce and fir boughs to sleep on, rested his head on the mail pouch and put his feet at the fire. There he slept, with 10 to 30 feet of snow beneath him.
In his travels he helped many a stranded

Photographed By Syd Whittle, July 31, 2006

3. Snowshoe Thom(p)son Marker

traveler in the wilderness. He made his home in Diamond Valley on the eastern side of the Sierras. "Snowshoe" Thompson died at 49 years old on May 15, 1876, and was buried at Genoa. His only son Arthur, who died June 22, 1878 at 11 years 4 months old, was buried by his side.
*It is thought that his Norwegian name was Tostensen and the proper English translation Thomson, instead of Thompson
Source: Gold Rush Chronicles(http://comspark.com/chronicles/famous.shtml#Anchor-Mar-5578)

— Submitted November 1, 2008, by Syd Whittle of Mesa, Arizona.

Snowshoe Thom(p)son Monument image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Syd Whittle, July 31, 2006

4. Snowshoe Thom(p)son Monument

The top of the shaft "as if broken short"

Photographed By Unknown, n/a

5. Snowshoe Thom(p)son Marker

As originally constructed, the top of the "broken short shaft" was attached to the base of the monument. The monument has since been vandalized and the top stolen.

Photographed By Syd Whittle, July 31, 2006

6. Snowshoe Thom(p)son Marker

E Vitus Clampus major donor plaque mounted under the marker

Major Donor Plaque Mounted on West Side of Monument image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Syd Whittle, July 31, 2006

7. Major Donor Plaque Mounted on West Side of Monument

Major Donor Plaque Mounted on East Side of Monument image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Syd Whittle, July 31, 2006

8. Major Donor Plaque Mounted on East Side of Monument

Photographed By Alvis Hendley, February 17, 2007

9. Snowshoe Thom(p)son Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on May 18, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 3, 2008, by Syd Whittle of Mesa, Arizona. This page has been viewed 3,314 times since then and 51 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on May 18, 2023, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California. 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 3, 2008, by Syd Whittle of Mesa, Arizona. 5. submitted on July 30, 2012, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. 6, 7, 8. submitted on October 3, 2008, by Syd Whittle of Mesa, Arizona. 9. submitted on December 23, 2022, by Alvis Hendley of San Francisco, California.