BLM NEWS RELEASE
ELKO – At least 250,000 emigrants made the trek across North America along the California Trail, but what happened once they reached California?
Steve Beck, Director of Public Programming for Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park in Sacramento, will answer this question in “The End of the Trail.” This free presentation takes place on Thursday, Sept. 1, at 7 p.m. at the California Trail Interpretive Center.
Making the emigrants’ experience come alive is the goal of the California Trail Center. In this presentation, Beck will uncover the fates of some of the more notable emigrants to pass through the fort. It was at Sutter’s Fort that James Reed organized the rescue of the Donner Party and Reed’s family who were trapped in the Sierra Nevada. The Sutter’s Fort Archives is the repository of the Patty Reed Lewis Collection and the largest collection of original source Donner Party material in existence.
The California Trail Interpretive Center, operated by the Bureau of Land Management, is eight miles west of Elko at Hunter exit 292. The center is open Wednesdays through Sundays, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., through Sept. 4. Visit www.californiatrailcenter.org or www.blm.gov/cv5c or call (775) 738-1849 for more information.
