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| Landmark #555 | Shasta County | Visited: Sept. 27, 2014 | Plaque? YES! 🙂 |
| What is it? | A plaque marking the river crossing of the first wagon road from Yreka to Red Bluff! |
| What makes it historical? | THE GUIDE SAYS: Established by Samuel Lockhart in 1856 as a link in the first wagon road from Yreka to Red Bluff, the Lockhart Ferry crossed below the confluence of the Fall and Pit Rivers near this spot. After a massacre in December 1856, the ferry was reestablished in 1857 below Fall River Falls.
OTHER TIDBITS: Sam Lockhart and his brother, Harry, built the ferry, but when they left town for more supplies, members of the Pit River tribe stepped in and massacred the three remaining settlers because they had been treating the local women poorly! Because these three white men had been killed, a group called the Yreka Volunteers assembled to massacre every Native American living in the Falls River Valley! Every single one! Members of the posse shot, stabbed, and scalped hundreds of people, then left poisoned flour for the remainder to eat when they were starving! Posse members then brought home Pit River scalps, severed ears, and even children as trophies! So, out of fear of the Native Americans, the ferry had to be moved, when really, any Native Americans who were left had way more to fear from the atrocities of the white settlers! |
| How can I Help the Helpers? | HERE’S HOW:
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| Where is this place? | LISTED DIRECTIONS: On State Hwy 299 (P.M. 91.3) NW of Long St 0.3 mi W of Fall River Mills, CA ANNOTATIONS: From Los Angeles: ~616mi (992km) — 10.3hrs |
| When should I go? | Whenever the mood strikes you! |