Existing comment:
John C. Fremont's third expedition, to California in 1845-46, brought the "Pathfinder" to the redwood groves of the Santa Cruz Mountains, a coastal range north of Monterey Bay that had traditionally been home to Ohlone Indians. This commemorative postcard captures Fremont in 1888, standing with his wife Jessie Benton Fremont (1824-1902) and their daughter Elizabeth in front of the redwood known as "the Fremont tree," near the banks of the San Lorenzo River. Legend has it that Fremont camped within its hollow in February 1846. Today the tree is part of the Big Trees grove in Henry Cowell Redwoods California State Park. |