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William Wolfskill
1798-1866William Wolfskill crossed the Mojave Desert in the winter of 1830-1831 while leading a trapping expedition from New Mexico to California. Traveling with George C. Yount and about twenty other men, he reached the Los Angeles area in February 1831. Their journey helped establish the northern alignment of the Old Spanish Trail, which became an important trade route between New Mexico and California.
Born in Madison County, Kentucky, on March 20, 1798, Wolfskill grew up largely on the Missouri frontier. In 1822 he traveled to Santa Fe with William Becknell's second trading expedition. During the following years, he trapped beaver, traded livestock, and traveled through New Mexico and northern Mexico. He also worked with Ewing Young, whose trapping ventures eventually carried him into California.
Across the Mojave
In September 1830, Wolfskill's party left New Mexico for California. According to H. D. Barrows, the men intended to trap in the Tulare and Sacramento valleys, but winter conditions forced them south. Their journey carried them through present-day Colorado and Utah before they descended toward the deserts.The party reached the Mojave villages along the Colorado River near present-day Needles. From there, they crossed the desert, followed the Mojave River corridor, and passed through Cajon Pass toward the Southern California settlements. These trails connected watering places that Native travelers had known and used long before the trappers arrived.
Wolfskill did not open the first commercial route between New Mexico and Los Angeles. Antonio Armijo had completed that journey in 1829-1830. Wolfskill and Yount helped establish a more northerly alignment that became the principal route of the Old Spanish Trail. Their visit to the Mojave villages, however, should not be taken as the course followed by every later caravan. Traders used several desert approaches that connected with the Mojave River.
The Old Spanish Trail developed from Native paths and earlier exploration routes. Pack caravans carried blankets, serapes, and other woolen goods west from New Mexico. Traders returned east with horses and mules purchased from California ranches.
From Trapper to Grower
After reaching California, Wolfskill tried sea otter hunting. According to Barrows, he and several companions built a schooner named Refugio at San Pedro and hunted along the Baja California coast. The venture brought limited success.Wolfskill gradually turned to vineyards and orchards. In March 1838, he moved onto the Los Angeles property that became his longtime home. In January 1841, he married Magdalena Lugo. That same year, he planted an orange orchard that helped establish California's commercial citrus industry.
His interests also extended north. On May 24, 1842, Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado granted him Rancho Rio de los Putos along Putah Creek, in present-day Yolo and Solano counties. His brother John settled and developed the ranch. William transferred half the property to John in 1849 and the remainder in 1854.
Wolfskill died in Los Angeles on October 3, 1866. His life connected the Santa Fe trade, the trapping frontier, the Mojave crossing, and the growth of California agriculture. In Mojave history, his importance rests chiefly on the 1830-1831 expedition and its place in the development of the Old Spanish Trail.
References
Barrows, H. D. "William Wolfskill, the Pioneer." Annual Publication of the Historical Society of Southern California and of the Pioneers of Los Angeles County, vol. 5, no. 3, 1902, pp. 287-294.Camp, Charles L., editor. George C. Yount and His Chronicles of the West. Old West Publishing Company, 1966.
Hafen, LeRoy R., and Ann W. Hafen. Old Spanish Trail: Santa Fe to Los Angeles. Arthur H. Clark Company, 1954.
National Park Service. "Old Spanish Trail Timeline" and "History & Culture," Old Spanish National Historic Trail.
Old Spanish Trail Association. "William Wolfskill."
University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. "The Wolfskill Grant."
Wilson, Iris Higbie. William Wolfskill, 1798-1866: Frontier Trapper to California Ranchero. Arthur H. Clark Company, 1965.
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