Noble's Emigrant Trail - Historic Bear Creek and the Dersch Homestead Site

Filmed on location April 18, 2023.

On this episode of Exploring Shasta County History, Jeremy, dives into the history surrounding the historic Dersch Homestead at Bear Creek. Come check out what's left of Noble's emigrant trail a trail which was blazed and routed William H. Nobles opened in 1852 as a safer route and an easier alternative from the Lassen Trail led travelers, wagons, pack trains and freight trains using this route into Shasta County.

RESOURCES:

1850 U.S. Census

1852 California State Census

1860 U.S. Census

Solomon D. Baker, Declaration of Homestead dated March 27, 1862

Coroner’s Inquest Report – Mrs. William Allen dated September 10, 1864

Coroner’s Inquest Report - Helenor M. Jones dated September 21, 1864

Horrible Massacre By Indians - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, September 10, 1864

Another Indian Murder - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, September 17, 1864

Our Indian Difficulties - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, September 17, 1864

Volunteers -  The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, September 24, 1864

More Indians Killed - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, October 8, 1864

Indian Raid - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, August 25, 1866

Correspondence - The Red Bluff Independent newspaper of Red Bluff, August 29, 1866

Indians Overtaken and Killed - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, September 1, 1866

Death of Mrs. Dersch - The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, September 1, 1866

The Settler’s Vengeance - The Red Bluff Independent newspaper of Red Bluff, September 5, 1866

1867 California Voters Registration

1870 U.S. Census

1880 U.S. Census

BP-005.1 Baker, Solomon Dodge Pioneer Plaque File on file at Shasta Historical Society

The Good Old Times In McClean County, Illinois written by Dr. E. Duis. Published by Bloomington. ©1874 pages 206-207.

DP-009 Dersch, George Pioneer Plaque File on file at Shasta Historical Society.

Our Storied Landmarks – Shasta County, California, written by May H. Southern, published by Balakshin Printing Company, ©1942.

Shasta Historical Society Pioneer Record - George Dersch, dated: March 23, 1943

Shasta County, California A History by Rosena Giles, published by Biobooks, ©1949.

Our Pioneers - The Dersches by Beverly Steele, Ridge Rider News newspaper of Shingletown, January 4, 1993

Our Pioneers - The Dersches Part II by Beverly Steele, Ridge Rider News newspaper of Shingletown, January 11, 1993

Our Pioneers - The Dersches Part III by Beverly  Steele, Ridge Rider News newspaper of Shingletown (no date)

Wintu Trails by Helen Steadman Hogue. Published by Shasta Historical Society ©1977. Printed by Redding Printing Company Inc.,

Noble’s Emigrant Trail - Dry Creek Twin Bridges

Noble's Emigrant Trail - Dry Creek Twin Bridges. A zoomed in view from Dry Creek Bridge. This photograph was taken by Jeremy Tuggle on April 15, 2023.

The historic Noble's Emigrant Trail, a trail which was blazed and routed by William H. Nobles opened in 1852 as a safer route and an easier alternative from the Lassen Trail led travelers, wagons, pack trains and freight trains using this route into Shasta County, California. At the historic site of Dry Creek in eastern Shasta County, and just to the west of the historic Dersch Homestead site are twin bridges belonging to the route which were built in 1924 with the date etched into their concrete. These bridges were made of reinforced concrete slab arches, arched rails and girder beams, which makes them unique and one of a kind in the State of California, designed by C.R. Wiegel.

They were erected by the Severtson Construction Company over the eastern and western channel of Dry Creek at that location. They are a short distance east of the historic site of Fort Reading. To the naked eye they appear to be identical in shape and size, however, their measurements are not exact, bridge one measures at 44 feet long and 20.6 feet wide while bridge two measures at 34 feet long and 20.7 feet wide.

About twenty-seven years ago, Shasta County deemed them to be unsafe for passing motorists. Today, they are fenced off to public access with no trespassing signs around them which is why I'm blogging about this historical site rather than filming a YouTube video about it. Today, historic signs mark each bridge over Dry Creek but remain visible from a distance. A nearby road called Noble's Trail Road retains the name of the historic route as well.