Sly Park
Sly Park, located 40 miles east of Sutter’s Fort and 10 miles east of Pleasant Valley, California, was one of the gathering places for discharged members of the Mormon Battalion. These men were preparing to travel to the Salt Lake Valley to join leader Brigham Young and the pioneers who were arriving there. In July 1846, 500 men, all members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), had volunteered in Council Bluffs, Iowa, to serve 1 year in the United States Army under the leadership of General Stephen W. Kearney and to help the United States in the war with Mexico. These men of the Mormon Battalion marched 2,000 miles from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to California-the longest infantry march within the United States. They arrived on January 29, 1847. By then, the war with Mexico was over, and they were discharged in Los Angeles on July 16, 1847.
About 100 ex-soldiers traveled north and remained to work for Captain John Sutter on various projects around the Sacramento Valley. Some of them discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill in January 1848, which began the western gold rush.
The men, who were anxious to leave California to join their families and friends in the Salt Lake Valley, searched for a suitable site during the summer of 1848 where everyone could meet and plan the trip. They found a spot named Pleasant Valley, about 8 miles southeast of Placerville, where they assembled wagons and made other preparations to travel.
While traveling further east, several of the men found a pleasant mountain meadow with a stream near Pollack Pines that was ideal for grazing cattle. One of the men, James Calvin Sly, carved his name on a tree trunk, which became a landmark and gave the area its name, Sly Park. Sly Park became the final rendezvous point for the group. The party included 43 men, 1 woman, 1 small cannon, 17 wagons, 150 horses, and 150 head of cattle.
These former members of the Mormon Battalion turned their backs on the rich gold fields for their families and their church. They pioneered the first road over the Sierra Range at Carson Pass.
This is Daughters of Utah Pioneers historic marker #547, erected by the James Calvin Sly Camp and Placer Company DUP in 2008 at the Jenkinson Lake Trail Head and Waterfall Trail Head off Mormon Immigrant Trail at Pollock Pines, California.
