Keep the Show on the Road! Posted April 28, 2009 Report Share Posted April 28, 2009 The thundering sound of six horses and the sight of a Concord wagon swaying on its throughbraces through a cloud of chocking dust marked the arrival of the daily stages at Cole’s. The jehus, the Knights of the Whip, enjoyed a dramatic arrival. Though the last stage ran the route in 1887, the old dirt track, and some of the stations from the period still exist along old US99, including Cole’s Station. US 99 (old Pacific Highway) between Redding, California, and Eugene, Oregon was the route of the California and Oregon Stage line. Until the rail line connecting California and Oregon was finally completed in 1887, the route up the Shasta River Canyon, across the Siskiyous, and into the southern Willamette Valley was the only practical land route between San Francisco and the settlements in Oregon. The other choice was by steamer along the coast. Anyone traveling old US99 in Southern Oregon and Northern California can experience the sights, if not the sounds, of the old California and Oregon Stage line first hand….another fun ride on the American Road. I stopped to briefly experience several. The schedule below is from my 1882 Railroad Gazetteer (sure I’m bragging). It refutes the notion that the trip from San Francisco to Portland took 16 days, as some claim. Maybe it was 16 days by mule in 1850, but by 1881 it took “only” six days! Catch the train Monday in San Francisco: LV San Francisco 8:00 AM Monday LV Sacramento 2:30 PM Monday AR Redding 9:45 PM Monday Catch the California-Oregon Stage at 6:00AM Tuesday in Redding LV Redding 6:00 AM Tuesday LV Strawberry Valley (Sisson’s / Mt Shasta) 6:00 AM Wednesday. LV Yreka at 3:45 PM Wednesday LV Coles at 10:30 PM Wednesday LV Mountain House (Barron’s) 3:45AM Thursday LV Grave Creek 10:45PM Thursday AR Roseburg 4:00 PM Friday Catch the Oregon- California RR train at 5:00 AM Saturday in Roseburg LV Roseburg 5:00 AM Saturday AR Portland 4:25 PM Saturday. A mere six days between San Francisco and Portland (assuming you sleep on the stage)! Some interesting minutia: It took 12 hours (3:45 PM to 3:45 AM with no layovers) between Yreka and Mountain House (Barron’s). Today, via the interstate, it would 30 minutes! The whole stage trip between Redding and Roseburg took 84 hours, but there were layovers for meals etc of 6 hours, so the travel time was 78 hours. Seventy eight hours in the dust or mud, cold or heat, with insects, road agents, dozens of river and creek crossings, board seats, a jerking, rocking coach, drunken stogie smoking companions packing guns and knives, and heavy drinking jehus to enrich the experience. Fare…15 cents a mile. Adjusting for inflation between 1881 and 2009, that is equivalent to about $3.18 a mile today. Gasoline prices too high for you??? While Cole’s station further south is my favorite, the Wolf Creek Tavern is a classic structure, and is far better known than any of the actual stations on the Big Road. The Tavern was neither a swing nor home station on the stage road, although it is sometimes identified as a “stop.” The road went right by it, and no doubt passengers occasionally got on or off the stage here, but it was not an official station. But so what…..it is a beautiful and evocative site, right on old 99, and a must see. It has been a roadside inn (tavern) since at least 1867 but the “modern” building I photographed dates only from 1883, just a few years before the end of the stagecoach era in 1887. The Grave Creek House stood just to the east of what is the old Pacific Highway (US99) and north of today’s Grave Creek covered bridge. It has been replaced by a modern house but the old trees still surround the site. It is barely visible in the picture I took of the covered bridge (see arrow). Grave Creek took its name from the death and grave site of a young girl from a family traveling the southern route of the Oregon Trail, better known today as the Applegate Trail. There is a great museum nearby which I have visited and recommend, but had no time to visit on this trip. On old US99 south of Ashland, a few miles north of the Steinman Pig Tail (described elsewhere here) stands Barron’s Station. It has “morphed” into a lovely, well tended B&B, perhaps the most fitting modern incarnation of a famed old stage stop. The bright yellow house today stands tall and impossible to miss, as it certainly did when it served as a home station for the California - Oregon Stage Line. Home stations, as opposed to swing stations, provided meals and accommodations for stage travelers, and were often the place where a stage driver lived. Major Barron closed his station in 1884, a couple of years before the last link in the rail line was completed. Certainly the most evocative stage station still standing anywhere in the west, and perhaps in America, is Coles. On one side of the dirt road stands the original house and on the other are the original stage barns. The rail line that ended the stage line runs between them! I have traveled the old dirt stage road between the summit and Coles a few times, and while I couldn’t do it on this trip, it is well worth anyone’s time. Approaching Coles from either direction, it appears as it did in 1887 when the last stage stopped here. In fact a period photo and modern photo are so much alike it is hard to tell them apart. The photos below, taken at least 125 years apart are nearly identical, except one lacks the stagecoaches! The wagon closest to us is a mud wagon, commonly used during the wet season. They were lighter, but not as comfortable as the Concords that were suspended on “shock absorbing” leather straps called throughbraces. Seating was on the inside, and note the absence of passengers on the roof. Mud wagons were common, no doubt more so than the larger more expensive Concords. The six horse team means that they expected to pull some tough grades, as would certainly be the case either direction from Cole’s. North (as they were headed) was the Siskiyou summit, before the long grade down to Ashland. Along the valley floor they more likely would have used four horses. The wagon in the background is of course a Concord, the familiar symbol of stagecoaching. The jehu is Daniel Crawley, accompanied by Dan Haskell, Wells Fargo messenger. Crawley had the honor of being the first to drive a California-Oregon Stage from Yreka north over the Siskiyous into Oregon. Thirty one years later “Uncle Dan” Crawley is listed as driving the last stage south over the same route. Note the several men on the roof. I used to assume that passengers on the roof were the overflow of those who couldn’t get a seat inside, but the opposite seems true. At least for men, the roof was often preferred. It was above the dust, far less cramped, and of course offered the best views, and freshest air. And it was often more comfortable because you were not constantly pitched against the sides of the coach or fighting to keep your seat. Besides, you could light up a big stogie and not incur the wrath of your female companions! I suppose the man in the foreground with the bucket has been watering or feeding horses, or perhaps offering apples to passengers……you tell me. Cole’s stands as my ideal of an authentic site…..unrestored, unpretentious, little known, and almost unchanged. It hasn’t been remodeled into a living museum, a roadside restaurant, or anything else. It may take a moment to download but I encourage you to visit the site via the 360 degree Quicktime panorama HERE (5 Mb, about a minute on my broadband). Incidentally, the half painted barn is the stage barn where the horses were kept. Other than my car, this could be 1881. All that is missing is a cloud of dust announcing the arrival of the Stage from Ashland via Barrons. Regrettably, my knowledge of the stage line south of the California border is less adequate and it wasn’t much improved by two stops in Yreka where I hoped to gather more information. On my list of to do’s” before I croak is a better understanding of the route between Yreka and Coles. Did it follow the Shasta River as did the early Pacific Highway, did it avoid the river and follow the steep gradients of Anderson’s Grade (I think maybe), or did it go far to the east (I think not)? That information is available, but I have to find it another day. Dave Keep the Show on the Road! 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mobilene Posted April 28, 2009 Report Share Posted April 28, 2009 What great photos! I also learned a lot about stage lines, something that is kind of foreign to me. What's a jehu? Reminds me of a character in the Bible, Jehu, who was known to drive his chariot furiously. (2 Kings 9:20) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennyG Posted April 28, 2009 Report Share Posted April 28, 2009 Bravo! A very nice report and a cool panorama. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Burr - hester_nec Posted April 28, 2009 Report Share Posted April 28, 2009 What's a jehu? Reminds me of a character in the Bible, Jehu, who was known to drive his chariot furiously. (2 Kings 9:20) jehu = could that have evolved into "yahoo"??? Interesting thought. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sit properly Posted April 28, 2009 Report Share Posted April 28, 2009 The term "yahoo" was from Gulliver's Travels. It was a race of "brutes." This was from the 1700's. It was probably just usurped and made into a cheer. "Jehu" went from the Bible to being used to mean any fast driver. This apparently happened in the 1600's. Sadly, there doesn't seem to be a connection. Most of our cheering words (hurrah, hooray, yay, etc) seem to come from the glorious "huzzah!" -Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep the Show on the Road! Posted April 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2009 A “jehu” is the driver, the coachman, the Knight of the Whip. I’m surprised that some of our chronologically advanced members don’t recall your father saying “That XXXX jehu!” in response to the behavior of an errant driver. The term has died out, but it also appears, as you might expect, in colloquial descriptions of drivers in early 20th century magazines and books. It is taken from the bible. I forgot to add a map, so I will add that ASAP. Dave Keep the Show on the Road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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