Forks of the Road
Three miles north lies the Mojave River and the site of Forks of the Road. This was the junction of two major travel routes: The Old Spanish or Salt Lake Trail and The Ancient Mojave River Trail. In the 1830s and 1840s the Old Spanish Trail saw regular trade caravans from Santa Fe, bound for Los Angeles via Cajon Pass. The founding of Salt Lake City in 1847 and Mormon San Bernardino in 1851 brought renewed traffic, as did limited numbers of 49ers during the Gold Rush. The Mohave River Trail was an ancient trade route between the Native American tribes of the Colorado River and the California Coast. In 1849 it became the basis for a military road linking Fort Mojave in Arizona with Drum Barracks in Los Angeles. This is now commonly known as the Mojave Road. Never a specific spot, the Forks of the Road is better understood as a large braided network of individual tracks.
Marker is on National Trails Highway west of Minneola Road, on the right when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
