Savage Trading Post is

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

No. 527 in

El Portal, California El Portal (Spanish for "The Gateway") is a census-designated place in Mariposa County, California, United States. It is located west-southwest of Yosemite Village, at an elevation of . The population was 372 at the 2020 census, down from 474 a ...

California State Route 140 State Route 140 (SR 140) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California, 102 miles (164 km) in length. It begins in the San Joaquin Valley at Interstate 5 (California), Interstate 5 near Gustine, California, Gustine, and runs east into ...

in Mariposa County. James D. Savage was 49er

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face (mining), face; cutt ...

and trader, in 1849 he built a

Log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a minimally finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first-generation home building by settl ...

. In the Log cabin, he started a

general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...

and

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

along the

Merced River The Merced River (), in the central part of the U.S. state of California, is a -long tributary of the San Joaquin River flowing from the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada into the San Joaquin Valley. It is most well known for its swift and st ...

. After just one year the

Mariposa War The Mariposa War (December 1850 – June 1851), also known as the Yosemite Indian War, was a conflict between the United States and the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous people of California's Sierra Nevada in the 1850s. The war wa ...

started. In the spring of 1850 James (Jim) Savage started trading at Mariposa Creek in the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; Spanish language in California, Spanish: ''Valle de San Joaquín'') is the southern half of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. Famed as a major breadbasket, the San Joaquin Valley is an importa ...

and he had employees run his Trading Post. In December 1850 the war came to Savage Trading Post and it was set on fire. James Savage was the leader of the

California Militia The California National Guard (Cal Guard) is part of the National Guard of the United States, a dual federal–state military reserve force in the state of California. It has three components: the California Army National Guard, California Air N ...

Mariposa Battalion Mariposa Battalion was a California Militia unit formed in 1851 to defeat the Ahwahnechee and Chowchillas in the Mariposa War, a part of the California genocide. After a force under Mariposa County Sheriff James Burney was found unequal to the ...

that traveled to the

Yosemite Valley Yosemite Valley ( ; ''Yosemite'', Miwok for "killer") is a U-shaped valley, glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California, United States. The valley is about long a ...

in 1851 to hunt down the Ahwaneechees and their leader

Chief Tenaya Tenaya (died 1853) was a leader of the Ahwahnechee people in Yosemite Valley, California. Background Tenaya's father was a leader of the Ahwahnechee people (or Awahnichi). The Ahwahneechee had become a tribe distinct from the other tribes in th ...

. The Mariposa Battalion won the battle and thus ended the war. The Mariposa Battalion also became the first non-

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

to see the beauty of Yosemite Valley.

Lafayette Bunnell Lafayette Houghton Bunnell (March 13, 1824 – July 21, 1903) was an American physician, author, and explorer. He is most well known for his involvement with the Mariposa Battalion, the first non-Indians to enter Yosemite National Park, Yosemite ...

wrote about his visit to the Yosemite Valley. A copy of Savage Trading Post was built at the site of the original and is

No. 527.

James D. Savage

Jim Savage (1823–1852) was also an American soldier in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

. Savage and his family move to California in 1846. Savage wife died shortly after childbirth on the wagan train trip west near

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; Washo language, Washo: ''dáʔaw'') is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest a ...

. In California Savage, sign up and joined

California Battalion The California Battalion (also called the first California Volunteer Militia and U.S. Mounted Rifles) was formed during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) in present-day California, United States. It was led by U.S. Army Brevet (military) ...

led by

John Fremont John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

. Savage took part in the later part of the

California Campaign California () is a state in the Western United States that lies on the Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the south ...

till April 1847. In the California Battalion, he learned some local languages from the Native Army Scouts. With these new language skills, he set up a trading post in the San Joaquin Valley as he lived with local Indian tribes. local Indian tribes called him "El Rey Güero"("The Blond King"). As more California pioneers moved into California, relationships changed. In December 1850 the Trading Post was burnt and his clerks at the post were killed. The

governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The Governor (United States), governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constit ...

, John McDougall put Savage in charge of the Mariposa Battalion. After the war, Savage returned to trading. Savage was killed in August 1852, by Walter Harvey, who had massacred Indians.Bingaman, 8.Lafayette Bunnell, ''Discovery of the Yosemite'' (New York: F. H. Revell Company, 1892), 65.

External links

''Discovery of the Yosemite'' (1892) by Lafayette H. Bunnell.
Yosemite Research Library link which contains auxiliary information on Bunnell and his account.

References

{{reflist 1849 in California 1849 establishments in California California Historical Landmarks History of Mariposa County, California

James D. Savage

See also

External links

References