Hugo Neighborhood Association & Historical Society
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Hugo Neighborhood Association & Historical Society |
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DIARIES AND JOURNALS Applegate Trail Routes Of Interest The goal is to collect and record information about Hugo’s emigrant trails, especially its two historic General Land Office (GLO) 1856 roads (i.e,. Applegate Trail).1&2
Hugo’s Applegate Trail routes of interest cover approximately 17-18 miles from Louse Creek in the south to Grave Creek in the north. The daily diaries of two emigrants, Virgil Pringle and Lester Hulin give us glimpes of the trail through our area of interest in 1846 and 1847 respectively. Virgil Pringle wrote: Wednesday, October 14 - Travel 12 miles of good road and camp on Rogue River, a beautiful pure stream about fifty yards wide, but shut in by mountains. 12 milesThursday, October 15 - Move down the river 10 miles and camp. Plenty of Indians about, but none come near. Lose some cattle by them. 10 miles Friday, October 16 - Cross the Rogue River about 4 miles from the last camp. Ford good. Camp on right bank. Saturday, October 17 - Travel 8 miles, road good and a good camp which is not common, the country being mostly burnt. 8 -2,218 miles Sunday, October 18 - Have some bad road that takes till after dark to go 6 miles. 6 miles Monday, October 19 - Move one mile to a camp, having none last night, and spent the day burying Mr. Crowley’s daughter, who died yesterday evening, age about 14 years. 1 mile. Virgil Pringle crossed the Rogue River at Vannoy Creek and traveled north on what was named the "Road to Illinois Valley via Van Noys Ferry" on the 1856 GLO map. Martha Leland Crowley was buried close to Grave Creek, thus the diary entry of October 18, 1846 described the travel through the Hugo area. Lester Hulin wrote: M. 18th. Followed down the river (with some of our too neighborly indians) about 12 Ms and camped. T. 19th. In about one M we crossed the river and left it after following it about 50 MS in all. Passed among the bluffs and camped after a distance of about 12 MS. Some of the Indians are yet following us. Their room is better than their company. W. 20th. Upon leaving camp we soon came to a fine creek. Then bad roads ensued (rough hilly and sideling) but by night we were in a valley with good camping ground at hand. Distance 8 Ms. Lester Hulin traveled north on what was named the "Road from Willamette Valley to Jacksonville" on the 1856 GLO map. The fine creek mentioned on October 20, 1847 was JumpOff Joe Creek. The emigrants had to do some sideling or sidehilling through the Hugo area to get over the Mt. Sexton pass. The good camping ground mentioned here was approaching Grave Creek where Martha Crowley was buried the year previous. Levi Scott recalled : "The second day after we crossed Rogue River, we came to a place where the road cutters had done nothing, and it was impossible for us to pass with wagons. So the train was brought to a halt. I went forward, and after searching for a long time I found a place where we could pass by cutting through the thick bushes for about a furlong. The place where the horse trail passed was too rough, and could not easily be made passible for wagons. We went to work on the line I had blazed out, and cut our way through the woods, which brought us out near the Tetalum, or Louse Creek, as it is now called by the realistic unpoetical people who live along its banks.In two or three days after passing this place, we reached the Jump-off-Jo, where the road cutters had again done nothing, and we were compelled to stop and cut our way through to the open ground beyond, which occupied us for several hours, working all the available force of the company. Three days from here we struck the head of a small branch running into Grave Creek which we followed down to its junction, through heavy timber and thick bushes. The road had been so poorly opened that the train was frequently compelled to stop and remove obstacles that ought to have been cleared away by the party in advance of us." Levi Scott was on the "Road from Willamette Valley to Jacksonville" in 1846. It has been proposed that the reason Virgil Pringle’s wagon train company traversed the "Road to Illinois via Van Noys Ferry" was because they heard of the delay that Levi Scott speaks about in the area of Louse Creek. The small branch mentioned above is Rat Creek.
More Information Want more information? Contact an officer of the Hugo Neighborhood, or a member of the Trails Committee on how you can become involved in this trail project. Hugo Neighborhood Association & Historical Society’s Mission This information brochure is one of a series of documents published by the Hugo Neighborhood Association & Historical Society (Hugo Neighbor-hood). It is designed to be shared with neighbors for the purpose of helping protect our rural quality of life by promoting an informed citizenry in decision-making. The Hugo Neighborhood is an informal nonprofit charitable and educational organization with a land use and history mission promoting the social welfare of its neighbors. Land Use & History The Hugo Neighborhood’s land use mission is to promote Oregon Statewide Goal 1 — Citizen Involvement, and to preserve, protect, and enhance the livability and economic viability of its farms, forests, and rural neighbors. It will act, if requested, as a technical resource assisting neighbors to represent themselves. Its history mission is to educate, collect, preserve, interpret, and research its local history and to encourage public interest in the history of the Hugo area. Volunteer membership dues are $10.00 annually per family and normally used for paper, ink, envelopes, publications and mailings. Make checks to the Hugo Neighborhood and send them to our Treasurer. Send us your e-mail address if you want to know what we are doing. Email: hugo@jeffnet.org |
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© 2011 Hugo Neighborhood Association & Historical Society |
