When Capt. Townsend led his Rough and Ready Company down the Oregon and California Trails and across the Sierra Nevadas via the Truckee route, arriving in September of 1849. he was accompanied by at least 9 other hardy pioneers.

Shown above is a photo of most of those men.   Townsend (1810-1888), himself, is the tall man standing in the back row on the far left. It is believed that the man on the far right of the back row is Peter Van Matre (1825-1884), who eventually settled on a 1000 acre ranch in Trinity County.  Seated on the far left is believed to be John Lincoln Richards (1826-1896), who settled on a 2000 acre ranch outside of Sacramento. The other members of the party are known to history only by their last names: Putnam and Carpenter from New York, and Holt, Colgrove, Hardy and Dunn from Wisconsin. Not included in the photo is a Reverend Pope, from Iowa, who also accompanied the party.

PHOTO ABOVE: The Rough and Ready Company

Rough and Ready Chamber of Commerce l  P.O. Box 801 l Rough and Ready, California 95975

The Great Republic of Rough and Ready

The Rough and Ready Company