Ewing Young - California

California

In the spring of 1830, Young led the first American trapping expedition to reach the Pacific Coast from the Mexican Santa Fe de Nuevo México Province. Young's journey to the west with traveling companions crossed eastern Alta California, present-day Arizona, then the Colorado River and the Mojave Desert. They arrived at the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel near the Pueblo de Los Angeles in the settled Alta California province, present-day Los Angeles in Southern California. After recuperating there, the group visited the Mission San Fernando Rey de España in the nearby San Fernando Valley, and headed further north into California's great Central Valley via its southern San Joaquin Valley section. It was the first United States trapping expedition to do so.

Once there the group moved north to the Sacramento Valley, where they encountered Peter Skene Ogden of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). The two groups jointly trapped the valley before Young’s group moved on to San Francisco Bay to trade their pelts. After this they went south to Pueblo de Los Angeles and then back to Taos before the end of 1830. At the time of his return to Taos with the proceeds of this expedition, Young was established as one of the wealthiest Americans in Mexican territory.

Over the next few years, Young and his group continued traveling to Alta California to trap and trade. In 1834 in San Diego, Young encountered Hall J. Kelley, the great promoter of the Oregon Country from Boston. Kelley invited Ewing Young to accompany him north to Oregon, but Young at first declined. After re-thinking, Young agreed to travel with Kelley and they set out in July 1834.