State Historical Landmark NO. 472

BOX CANYON 

Plaque Inscription: The old road, known as the Sonora, Colorado River, or Southern Emigrant Trail and later as the Butterfield Overland Mail Route, traversed Box Canyon just east of here. On January 19, 1847, the Mormon Battalion under the command of LieutenantColonel Philip St. G. Cooke, using hand tools, hewed a passage through the rocky walls of the narrow gorge for their wagons and opened the first road into Southern California.

Location: On County Road S2 (P.M. 25.7), 8.6 miles South of State Highway 78, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, San Diego County.

GPS Coordinates: 33º00.35 N - 116º27.21 W

Full text and lyrics available on ‘Along The Southern Emigrant Trail’