{"nrhp_refnum":"02001391","name":"Stevens Trail","other_names":["Rutherford's Road"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded Iowa Hill, canyon of North fork Of American R., until at Secret Ravine, top of ridge of Colfax","address_restricted":false,"city":"Colfax","county":"Placer County","state":"CA","lat":39.113322541500054,"lon":-120.91328262375086,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2002-11-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Commerce","Industry","Engineering"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 6.19-mile historic pedestrian and pack trail in Placer County, California, linking Colfax and the town of Iowa Hill by way of the North Fork American River canyon. It was surveyed under John Rutherford and completed by Truman A. Stevens, and saw its main historic use from 1870 to 1895.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the trail as a well-preserved example of a gently graded Sierra foothill trail, built with rock-supported embankments, cut granite faces and rock-lined culverts. It carried miners, homesteaders and pack trains between the two towns, and a toll bridge crossed the river. The surrounding viewshed is described as essentially unchanged for more than 130 years. The truncated text does not include the significance section, so the exact criteria argument is not visible.","narrative":"Stevens Trail is a 6.19-mile footpath that links Colfax with the former mining town of Iowa Hill, descending into the North Fork American River canyon and climbing out the other side. John Rutherford surveyed it, and Truman A. Stevens finished it and gave it his name. Its main years of use were 1870 to 1895, when miners, homesteaders and pack trains travelled it and a toll was collected at a suspension bridge near Secret Ravine. The trail has a gentle grade with no switchbacks, supported by rock embankments, cut granite faces and rock-lined culverts, many still working. Placer County declared it a public road in the 1950s. Today it is a popular hiking route starting at a Bureau of Land Management parking lot. The bridge was destroyed in 1914, and about 1,400 feet near the Colfax end were replaced by a logging road in 1920, but the nomination reports that the remaining alignment and its views are largely intact.","period_of_significance":"1870-1895","architect_builder":"John Rutherford (surveyed and owned); Truman A. Stevens (completed the trail)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as mostly undisturbed, with over 95% of the observed trail in excellent condition; the river bridge was washed away, and it is used as a popular hiking trail.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.363583-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/02001391.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860412","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/placer-county/stevens-trail-02001391/"}