{"nrhp_refnum":"75000222","name":"Nobles Emigrant Trail","other_names":["Fort Kearney","South Pass","Honey Lake Wagon Road"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"E of Shingletown in Lassen Volcanic National Park","address_restricted":false,"city":"Shingletown","county":"Shasta County","state":"CA","lat":40.55256955450005,"lon":-121.3678791066719,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-10-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Transportation","Communications"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A roughly 24-mile stretch of the 1850s emigrant wagon road, officially the Fort Kearney, South Pass and Honey Lake Wagon Road, crossing the northern part of Lassen Volcanic National Park in Shasta and Lassen Counties, California.","why_significant":"The trail was a shortcut variant of the California Trail, blazed and promoted by William Nobles in 1851-52. It cut about half the distance of the Applegate-Lassen route and carried emigrants to California until the Central Pacific Railroad was completed in 1869. The form rates it as regionally, not nationally, significant in transportation, commerce and communications.","narrative":"Crossing about twenty-four miles of what is now Lassen Volcanic National Park, Nobles' Emigrant Trail survives as a narrow, overgrown path through trees and brush. Officially the Fort Kearney, South Pass and Honey Lake Wagon Road, it was blazed by William Nobles, a Minnesota blacksmith and wagon builder who found the route in 1851 after joining a search for a legendary Gold Lake with Peter Lassen. His route cut roughly half the distance of the Applegate-Lassen trails. Nobles promoted it to Shasta businessmen, who paid him to show the way, and later lobbied Congress, which appropriated $300,000 for improvements. The road served emigrants heading to California until the Central Pacific Railroad was completed in 1869. Its promotion was largely commercial, meant to bring traffic and trade to Shasta and the northern Central Valley. A mudflow from the 1915 Lassen Peak eruption destroyed about a mile and a half of it. Listing recognizes its regional significance in transportation, commerce and communications.","period_of_significance":"19th Century","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition marked good and altered; the trail is generally visible as a narrow, overgrown path through trees and brush. No historic structures are associated with it, and part is suitable for hiking. About 1.5 miles were destroyed by the 1915 Lassen Peak mudflow.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.552155-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/75000222.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000222/d3b023a387-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000222/d3b023a387-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"National Park Service","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nobles_Emigrant_Trail_Plaque.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">National Park Service</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nobles_Emigrant_Trail_Plaque.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861933","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobles_Emigrant_Trail","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7045838"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/shasta-county/nobles-emigrant-trail-75000222/"}