Site information:

Rest Area, N-bound I-15, 30 mi NE of Barstow

35.032274,-116.470305

Plaque information:

State plaque

Plaque text:

Mojave Road

Long ago, Mohave Indians used a network of pathways to cross the Mojave Desert. In 1826, American trapper Jedediah Smith used their paths and became the first non-Indian to reach the California coast overland from mid-America. The paths were worked into a military wagon road in 1859. This 'Mojave Road' remained a major link between Los Angeles and points east until a railway crossed the desert in 1883.

Plaque placed by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with Billy Holcomb Chapter of E Clampus Vitus, Bureau of Land Management and Mojave River Valley Museum Association. October 9, 1988.

Plaque addendum:

Also sponsored by:

Friends of the Mojave Road (road restoration)
California Assoc. of Four Wheel Drive Clubs, Inc
California Off-Road Vehicle Association, Inc
Phantom Duck of the Desert Club
Sports Committee District 37 AMA, Inc

Registered 3/19/1985