"The Alta California Pacific Coast and Trans-Continental Rail-Road Guide," 1871

Fergusson, J.C. (editor):
THE ALTA CALIFORNIA PACIFIC COAST AND TRANS-CONTINENTAL RAIL-ROAD GUIDE.
EARLY AND RARE TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA AND THE WEST
San Francisco: Fred MacCrellish & Co., 1871.

View or listen to a scanned copy of this 1871 railroad guide
(from the Internet Archive) [pdf, 379 pages].
[Also available as a modern leather bound reprint.]

"An early transcontinental railway travel guide to California and the Western United States. Issued two years following the completion of the transcontinental railway, this entertaining and informative guide is interleaved with pages of advertisements from businesses in San Francisco, Calistoga, Sacramento, Denver, New York City, St. Louis, and Omaha printed on papers of various colors and contains a large folding 'Map of the Central Pacific Railroad and its Connections' and a map of 'Rail & Stage Route to Big Tree Groves and Yosemite' tipped to the rear of the Central Pacific Railroad map.

Organized from West to East, (the first railway travel guide in the United States to do so, according to the editor), the guide provides 'a minutely detailed account of every city, town, railroad station mining district, mountain, valley, lake river, hunting and fishing ground along the trans-continental railroad.' Detailed information about the towns of the Pacific Coast and the Southwestern United States is provided, as well as more extensive descriptions of California's principal cities, mining and agriculture. There are detailed sections on California's wine, coastline, and redwood forests, as well as guidance for California settlers, and for tourists hunting buffalo, antelope and elk in the various states and territories where the game was found. Other western states and territories profiled in this guide include Oregon, Nevada, Kansas and the territories of Colorado, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Montana, Washington, Wyoming, and Kansas. The guide also provides historical context for each city, state, or territory – including a description of Wyoming vigilantes and its first women jurors. ...

OCLC locates copies of this rare travel guide to the American West at just four institutions: the American Antiquarian Society, the University of Michigan, the New-York Historical Society, and the University of Nevada at Reno.

Description
[8],[xii],293,[7]pp. plus folding map, approximately 27½ x 6¾ inches; map tipped to rear of folding map, approximately 6 x 3¾ inches; rail schedules; and eleven engraved plates from original drawings and photographs. Brown publisher's cloth ruled in blind, spine gilt. ... COWAN, p.206. OCLC 191224073, 58672074."

Courtesy William Reese Company ... "among the leading specialists in the fields of Americana and world travel, and also maintain a large and eclectic inventory of literary first editions and antiquarian books of the 18th through 21st centuries." William Reese Company's Email: website@reeseco.com; William Reese Company's Tel: (203) 789-8081

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Courtesy William Reese Company.

Summit Camp National Historic Landmark

New National Historic Landmark:  "Summit Camp (Placer and Nevada Cos., Calif.) is the archeological remains of the largest and longest occupied Chinese railroad construction camp on the transcontinental railroad (1865-1869). It is also an influential 'type site' in the emergence of Chinese diaspora studies in the field of historical archaeology in the mid-20th century." —National Park Service

Summit Camp designated National Historic Landmark:  "Summit Camp has been designated a National Historic Landmark in recognition of the property’s national significance in the history of the United States. Located on the Tahoe National Forest at Donner Pass, Summit Camp includes the archeological remains of the largest and longest occupied Chinese railroad construction camp on the transcontinental railroad (1865-1869). It is also an influential research site in the emergence of Chinese diaspora studies in the field of historical archaeology in the mid-20th century." —Tahoe National Forest

New National Historic Landmark in California recognizes Chinese railroad workers:  "Summit Camp is located along Donner Pass Road, just past the Donner Summit Bridge. From the roadway looking south and up the mountain is where the camp was located. According to the National Park Service, between 1865-69, this was the largest and longest-occupied Chinese railroad construction camp, which was focused on blasting and building tunnels through the Sierra Nevada mountains as part of the transcontinental railroad. ... Just above Summit Camp is a retaining wall known as the China Wall and the tunnel where trains passed through for decades ... " —Sergio Robles

Courtesy Google Alerts