OTHER TIDBITS: Mr. Stoddard and Mr. Waite met on the westward trek from Salt Lake City to San Bernardino! Barely saved from dehydration by a surprise storm, Mr. Stoddard’s party and their mules finally caught up to the better-prepared party of Captain Jefferson Hunt, also headed for San Bernardino! There, the 19-year old Stoddard and 12-year old Waite began their 70-year friendship!

Going through the Cajón Pass was no easy feat for these wagons, because the Santa Fe Trail had been designed for mules and trekkers! So at some parts, they had to dismantle the wagons and pass them, piece by piece, over boulders and down precipices!

After bridging the pass, the party split; Stoddard’s went north to the Mariposa mines, and Waite’s went south to Agua Mansa, where well-meaning Mr. Cristobal Slover gave them some of his bacon, but they ate it so quickly without cooking it that nine of them died from food poisoning!

Mr. Stoddard returned to Salt Lake, got married, then made the trip again to San Bernardino in 1851. He built the area’s first log cabin and set to work delivering freight and mail between Salt Lake City and San Bernardino. He later worked for the California Southern and Santa Fe Railroad Companies!

Mr. Waite helped build the first wagon road through the Pass’ upper narrows, and like his friend, delivered mail at great distances to Fort Tejón and Keyesville. He later worked as editor for the San Bernardino Guardian!

Though the two friends weren’t always able to spend time together, they stayed in touch in later life as members of the San Bernardino Society of California Pioneers, a group that set up historical monuments, camped, fished, and reminisced about the perils and adventures reaching and building the city we now call San Bernardino!

• Volunteer with the San Bernardino County Museum Association!
• Become a member of the San Bernardino County Museum Association!
• Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!

ANNOTATIONS:
Ignore those directions! There’s no such Nature Center! What you want to do is park at the Santa Fe and Salt Lake Trail Monument (2800 Wagon Train Rd, Phelan, CA 92371) and take the trail under the freeway and over a stream until you come to the home of Mike Hartless, the caretaker. There, you can see the monument from outside the fence unless you had the foresight to connect with Mike via the San Bernardino County Museum Association!

From Los Angeles: ~64mi (103km) — 1.1hrs
From Sacramento: ~423mi (681km) — 7.1hrs
From San Diego: ~125mi (202km) — 2.1hrs
From San Francisco: ~420mi (676km) — 7hrs