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| Landmark #668 | San Joaquin County | Visited: April 4, 2015 | Plaque? YES! 🙂 |
| What is it? | A plaque in front of an elementary school! |
| What makes it historical? | THE GUIDE SAYS: Here was the terminus of the Oregon-California Trail used from about 1832 to 1845 by the French-Canadian trappers employed by the Hudson’s Bay Company. Every year Michel La Framboise, among others, met fur hunters camped with their families here. In 1844 Charles M. Weber and William Gulnac promoted the first white settlers’ colony on Rancho del Campo de los Franceses, which included French Camp and the site of Stockton.
OTHER TIDBITS: California became a popular destination for trappers after Jedediah Smith discovered a bounty of beavers in 1826! Lots of trappers from the US and Canada swarmed to this part of the state, which really upset the Mexican authorities. They unsuccessfully tried to get these families to leave, but as many as 400 families stayed to settle French Camp, the oldest non-Indian settlement in San Joaquin County! It’s also worth noting that these trappers unwittingly introduced malaria into the mosquito populations of Central California, and it decimated the Bay and Valley Miwok tribes! |
| How can I Help the Helpers? | HERE’S HOW:
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| Where is this place? | LISTED DIRECTIONS: On Elm St at French Camp School French Camp, CA 95231 ANNOTATIONS: From Los Angeles: ~332mi (535km) — 5.6hrs |
| When should I go? | Whenever the mood strikes you! |