By Cris Alarcon, InEDC Writer. March 30, 2026<\/p>\n
Long before kayaks skimmed the surface of Jenkinson Lake<\/span><\/span>, the basin below was a wide, open meadow known as Sly Park\u2014rich in grass, water, and history. Local accounts, including a recent family recollection shared by Maria Neilsen, affirm what historians have long documented: the valley once supported cattle drives, ranch operations, and early travelers moving through the Sierra Nevada.<\/p>\n “Cattle ranchers used it to pasture cattle especially on the way to mountain ranges for summer”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Neilsen wrote, echoing records of seasonal grazing routes that predate the reservoir by decades.<\/p>\n The story of Sly Park begins in earnest in 1848, when a group of discharged members of the Mormon Battalion<\/span><\/span> crossed the Sierra Nevada in search of a route back to Utah.<\/p>\n Led in part by James Calvin Sly<\/span><\/span>, the party entered a lush, meadowed valley that Sly described as \u201cpark-like.\u201d He named it \u201cSly\u2019s Park,\u201d a term that endured long after the expedition moved on.<\/p>\n From this encampment, the group carved what became known as the Mormon Emigrant Trail<\/span><\/span>\u2014one of the earliest wagon roads over the Sierra via Carson Pass. This route would soon carry thousands of Gold Rush emigrants into California.<\/p>\n Not all chapters of this journey were triumphant. Just miles from Sly Park lies Tragedy Spring<\/span><\/span>, where members of the party discovered the bodies of three missing scouts in July 1848.<\/p>\n The men\u2014Daniel Browett, Ezra Allen, and Henderson Cox\u2014had been killed under unclear circumstances. Contemporary accounts noted \u201ca newly-made mound\u201d and signs of violence, including arrows and scattered belongings.<\/p>\n Despite uncertainty over whether the attack was carried out by Indigenous groups or others, the surviving party honored the dead by constructing a rock cairn that still stands today. A section of an inscribed tree marking the site is preserved at Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n By the late 19th century, Sly Park had transitioned from trail stop to working landscape. In 1882, Henry Alfred Stark established what became one of the valley\u2019s most prominent ranches.<\/p>\n After his death in 1898, his family\u2014often referred to as the \u201cStark brothers\u201d\u2014continued operations into the early 20th century. Between 1900 and the 1920s, the ranch functioned as a small economic hub:<\/p>\n Neilsen\u2019s account aligns with documented ownership transitions: the Stark family maintained control until roughly the 1920s, when the property changed hands\u2014eventually being acquired for water development purposes.<\/p>\n The transformation of Sly Park from meadow to reservoir reflects a broader shift in California\u2019s priorities during the mid-20th century. Facing recurring water shortages, Walter E. Jenkinson<\/span><\/span> championed the idea of damming the valley.<\/p>\n In 1951, construction began on the Sly Park Dam under the guidance of the El Dorado Irrigation District<\/span><\/span> and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. By 1954, the valley had filled with water, creating Jenkinson Lake\u2014named in Jenkinson\u2019s honor.<\/p>\n Local memory, like that shared by Neilsen\u2019s family, places dam construction in the late 1950s, reflecting the extended timeline of infrastructure completion and community impact.<\/p>\n Today, the Sly Park Recreation Area<\/span><\/span> draws thousands of visitors each year. Few realize that beneath the lake lie the remnants of a once-bustling ranching community\u2014homes, barns, and the foundations of a waystation that served generations of travelers.<\/p>\n When water levels drop, fragments of this past reappear: stone foundations, old road traces, and even Indigenous grinding holes from the Maidu and Miwok people, who inhabited the region for thousands of years before American settlement.<\/p>\n Sly Park stands as a rare convergence of California history\u2014where pioneer trailblazing meets modern infrastructure. The legacy of James Calvin Sly<\/span><\/span> represents the 19th-century push westward, while the work of Walter E. Jenkinson<\/span><\/span> reflects the 20th-century demand for water and growth.<\/p>\n Together, they shaped a landscape that continues to serve the region\u2014both as a historical landmark and a vital resource.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Before Jenkinson Lake, Sly Park was a thriving ranching valley and a key stop on a historic pioneer trail. New family accounts bring its forgotten past back into focus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12175,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"7","parallax":"1","layout":"no-sidebar-narrow","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"float","share_float_style":"share-normal","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_popup_post":"1","show_comment_section":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"1","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"1"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0","subtitle":"Newly surfaced family accounts shed light on Sly Park\u2019s ranching past before the waters rose"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
\nThe First Trailblazers: The Mormon Battalion\u2019s 1848 Passage<\/h2>\n
\nTragedy at the Springs<\/h2>\n
\nRanching Era: The Stark Family and Early 20th Century Life<\/h2>\n
\n
\nFrom Ranch to Reservoir: The Vision of Walter Jenkinson<\/h2>\n
\nEchoes Beneath the Surface<\/h2>\n
\nA Landscape Defined by Two Eras<\/h2>\n