Tuolumne City Memorial Museum
Field Trip Program
To West Side Lumber
Company - Camp Niagara
Saturday, August 6th,
2005 at 9:00 AM
Meet at the Museum
>> Revised and
updated August 7, 2005 <<
For further info, E-mail
to: >>> FieldTrip@TuolumneMuseum.org
Camp Niagara GPS Coordinates:
North 38° 00.438' / West 120° 00.510'
The TCMM Historical Research Committee has scheduled a
Field Trip Program to WSLC Camp Niagara, off Cottonwood Road (3NO1),
in the Stanislaus National Forrest. Be
sure to bring along your binoculars, camera, hiking boots, GPS, FRS radio, CB
radio, Ham radio and a “brown-bag” lunch for nourishment, a trash bag, a chair
and maybe a (ant-resistant) picnic blanket to sit on. Bring along your own water for drinking,
and of course, “bug” repellant. Please
remember, whatever you pack into the forest, you must pack out - “leave no
trace.”
Camp Niagara is
an easy 26-mile drive (about 45 minutes) from Tuolumne through some of the most
beautiful scenery of the Stanislaus
National Forest! You will not need a four-wheel drive
vehicle. This event is open to everyone
and to all ages, and there is no charge.
Our field trips are always interesting and informative. We will drive on a paved road all the
way. The altitude of Camp Niagara
is 5,247 ft. The walk to the main
campsite on the old WSLC right-of-way is about half-a-mile from the parking
area and is not a difficult walk. If you
bring a dog, be sure to keep it on a leash for its own safety.
The field trip meeting time is at 9:00 AM in the TCMM Courtyard for
handouts and a map. [The museum rest
room will be available.] We will depart promptly
at 9:29 AM. We should be back to the Tuolumne Museum by approximately 2:00 PM. [Special
notice: If you want to attend the
Memorial Service in Tuolumne for Henrietta Nelson Ronten, you may leave the
field trip at any time (about 1:00) in order to return to Tuolumne
for the Memorial Service at 2:00 PM. You
may wish to stop by the museum to “freshen-up.”]
TCMM Docent and WSLC Historian, Art Kauppi,
will lead the trip into Camp
Niagara. A brief history of Camp Niagara from Art
Kauppi is “.....it came to life in 1957 when talk had it that the
end-of-the-line Camp 45 was going to close before the 1958 season was over--timber
harvested from that site was depleted. Camp Niagara
had always been in the shadow of Camp 45 prior to this, operating for the most
part as a second ‘side’ (cutting area).
As early as l954 the camp hosted major and support structures making it
capable of self-sufficiency. A 72-foot
long cookhouse had been constructed and was operational. The CCC also had a field-camp located
there. A reload area was located about
1/3 mile west of the campsite for transferring cut logs from trucks to rail
cars. Niagara had two glorious seasons
of self-importance before operations were cut back in l959 to Camp Clavey
and the adjacent Buffalo
reload area at milepost 40. The most
imposing structure at Camp
Niagara--the 318' long,
55' high bridge (trestle) spanning Niagara Creek, partially remains as a mute
reminder of the significance of this camp to the life of the West Side Lumber
Company.”
RSVP is necessary. We must limit our participants to a manageable
amount. Telephone the Field Trip
Coordinator toll-free at
(000-000-0000. Car-pooling is recommended. You will be contacted ASAP
and given further information. On
Saturday morning, 8-6-05, this toll-free telephone number (000-000-0000) will be forwarded to a cellular telephone in
the lead vehicle, so you can call for last minute information on Saturday
morning, in case of inclement weather or any USFS road closures. If you are coming from a long distance, check
in by telephone. Be advised:
there are no “facilities” after you leave the Tuolumne Museum.
[Technical notice:
Amateur Radio operators will find the field trip coordinator on the Duckwall Mountain repeater, 147.975 (-) MHz,
CTCSS tone 100. There is great coverage
at Camp Niagara for emergencies.] [“Family Radio Service” radios (FRS) tuned
to channel one, no tone, will be of great help to you so we can communicate
between cars and point out items of sightseeing interest during the trip.] [Citizens Band (CB) radios tuned to channel
two will be monitored during the trip.]
[There is no cellular service east of Tuolumne.]
Niagara Bridge, July 2005
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