The Final Journey of Jean Baptiste Charbonneau Part 1
Crossing the Sierra Nevada
The first part of the final journey of Jean Baptiste Charbonneau visits his home of 17 years where he worked among the gold-rich ravines surrounding Auburn, California. The trip begins at the grave of fellow Lewis and Clark Expedition member Alexander Hamilton Willard, buried in Elk Grove, California. It then explores Auburn and crosses the Sierra Mountains via Donner Pass—the likely route taken by Jean Baptiste in May 1866.
On his final journey, Jean Baptiste, two companions, and hundreds of miners and teamsters were traveling east and north along wagon roads eroded by pioneers and miners heading west to California during the previous two decades. You will learn not only of their history, but the Native Americans who called this travel corridor home. The scenery of Donner Pass and the western edge of the “Forty Mile” desert only adds value to the journey.
Part 2 of this series crosses Nevada and SE Oregon to reach the grave of Jean Baptiste. For Jean Baptiste’s life and times, see our 12-page series starting with Jean Baptiste Charbonneau.
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After the expedition’s end, Alexander married Eleanor McDonald, a union that lasted 58 years, with Eleanor surviving him by three years. With Clark’s help he obtained work as a blacksmith for the Lenape Delawares and Shawnees in 1809. He also worked as a courier for Clark during the War of 1812. Eleanor bore twelve children, some of whom moved with their parents to Wisconsin in 1827. In 1852 the extended Willard family joined a wagon train put together at Platteville, and moved to California. Alexander Willard, then 74, crossed the Missouri River for the final time at Council Bluffs, Iowa. He was 86 when he died in Sacramento, the next-to-last survivor of the Corps of Discovery.
His grave remains at the Franklin cemetery at Franklin Boulevard and Hood Franklin Road A plaque placed there by the Daughters of the Founders and Patriots of America recognizes him as the “Giant of Georgetown.”
See also Alexander Willard (1778–1865)
The Auburn Gold Rush Museum captures the history of the Gold Rush era in Auburn, California. The exhibits and tours are approachable by all ages including an area for gold panning. The museum is generally open Thursday–Sunday, 10:30am to 4:00pm. Even when the building is closed, you can take the self-guided grounds tour
The museum building is the town’s old train depot. On May 13, 1865, the Central Pacific Railroad reached Auburn on its way to connect with the Union Pacific to become the nation’s first transcontinental rail line. A year later, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau left the Auburn. Perhaps he wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle that came with daily train service or perhaps he wanted to see the mountains and prairies he visited as a young fur trapper. Or maybe he desired fresh diggings where he could mine and “mine the miners”.
https://www.placer.ca.gov/Facilities/Facility/Details/Gold-Rush-Museum-81
museums@placer.ca.gov
(530) 889-6500
More Auburn museums:
Auburn, California and its gold-rich ravines was home to Jean Baptiste for 17 years. Records indicate he worked several jobs in various locations, and an 1861 directory places him as a clerk at the Orleans Hotel. Thus, a visit to Old Town Auburn puts you into the very streets he walked. Old Town’s charm is served via numerous historic sites, restaurants, lodging, hiking and biking trails, and wineries.
Every Saturday at 10:00am a docent-led walking tour begins at the Placer County Museum at 101 Maple Street. The museum includes the Placer County Gold collection, the renowned Pate Collection of American Indian artifacts, and the original Thomas Kinkade painting “Auburn Centennial”. The Museum occupies the first floor of Auburn’s Historic Courthouse.
Within walking distance are numerous attractions including:
Before Jean Baptiste arrived in Auburn, Thomas Buckner and two others discovered the burned remains of a deadly fight between some miners and Native Americans across from a bar on the Middle Fork American River. Known as Murderer’s Bar or Buckner Bar, Jean Baptiste likely panned for gold here too, but many records indicate that he “mined the miners” by selling them lodging and provision here. William Dennison Bickham was there in 1851:
“Old Charbonneau is now with us on the bar and is as full of life and fun as any boy of 18. He can be heard laughing and making merry at any hour between breakfast time and midnight.”
Today, Quarry Trail is the best way to see Murderer’s Bar. “This wide, level and easy, 5.6-mile trail connects Hwy. 49 to Poverty Bar. It follows the route of an old, Gold Rush-era flume – a man-made channel used to convey and harness the power of river water for hydraulic gold mining operations. Part of this trail was later used as the Mountain Quarries railroad, which transported limestone from the adjacent quarry.” (https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1345 ) Murderer’s Bar is about 1.5 miles from the parking lot.
The Colfax Heritage Museum is appropriately located in the town’s refurbished passenger train depot. The Central Pacific arrived in Colfax in September 1865. By the time Jean Baptiste left Auburn in 1866, the majority of freight wagon traffic had switched to the Donner Pass route to take advantage of the Colfax terminal. Today you will find exhibits on local history, the Grace Hubley photograph collection, archives, and a gift shop.
https://colfaxhistory.org/museum-and-archives/
(530) 346-8599
museum@colfaxhistory.org
At the summit of Donner Pass is an information center with multiple interpretive signs. The Pacific Crest Trail intersects here as does the Central Pacific’s original grade. The tracks have been removed and Tunnel #6—commonly known as Summit Tunnel—is worth the short walk. The tunnel and several more historic feats of engineering enabled mass transportation over the Sierras changing forever Jean Baptiste’s Auburn home.
A highlight of any Donner Party or railroad enthusiast is the Donner Memorial State Museum just off exit 184 on I-80. Part of a state park with campground and day use, the museum explores the history of the area and the people who came into this part of the Sierra, including local Native Americans, the Donner Party, and builders of the transcontinental railroad. Visitors can expect to spend about one hour exploring exhibits. Postcards, posters, maps, and books about the human and natural history of the area are for sale in the Visitor Center.
Known as Lake’s Crossing when Jean Baptiste and his companions were following the Truckee River down from the Sierra Nevada, Reno would be officially founded in 1868 along with the arrival of the Central Pacific. There are many things to see and do in the “The Biggest Little City in the World”. If the casinos fail to spark your interest—or when you are busted—consider visiting:
At the Flying J Travel Center in Fernley, Nevada is an interpretive area explaining the history of the Fernley Swales. Settlers traveling west in the mid-nineteenth century–such as the Stevens-Townsend-Murphy party of 1844, the Donner Party in 1846, and the gold seekers of 1849–crossed Nevada leaving depressions in the soil. Those near Fernley are the last seven miles of the Forty-Mile Desert—an area between the Humboldt and Carson Rivers that had no water and became legendary on the trail. Today, the swales are still visible.
When Jean Baptiste made his finally journey, gold and silver rushes were in full swing at Star City, Nevada and Ruby (Silver City), Idaho. To get to those mines, untold numbers of miners and teamsters followed the old California Trail along the Humboldt River in a reverse migration.
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