Historical Marker Program

California Road

Roger Mills County
Location: at junction of US-283 and OK-33, 14 miles north of Cheyenne
Coordinates: 35.797609, -99.723281
Material: Aluminum
Sponsor(s): Oklahoma Historical Society and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation
Topics: Military; Transportation; Westward Expansion, 1803–1861

In April 1849 Capt. Randolph Marcy, commander of Fort Towson, received orders to escort the Fort Smith and California Emigrating Company through Indian Territory. The expedition departed from Fort Smith, Arkansas, and generally followed the Canadian River, past towns and trading centers as well as geographic features such as the Antelope Hills located northwest of this marker. Although the company asked for a military escort to California, Marcy’s detachment accompanied them as far as Santa Fe, New Mexico, before returning to Fort Smith via a southern route through Texas and Indian Territory that was later utilized by the Butterfield Overland Mail.