Patterson & Western Railroad
Patterson & Western Railroad
The narrow gauge railroad winding some 25 miles from Patterson through Del Puerto Canyon operated from Sept. 20, 1916 to Aug. 14, 1920. During World War I, the railroad brought the much needed minerals of magnesite, manganese chrome and quicksilver down the rugged canyon to the processing plant. The railroad served dozens of mines. There was a 3,000 foot tramway up to a mine high on the side of the canyon. The furthermost terminal was the station of Jones, believed to be 3.8 miles west of this monument. After the railroad was abandoned, men on depression relief program later prisoners from the county road camp labored to build a road to San Antone Valley. Clampers, Bill Logan and Ore Minniear with the help of a bulldozer, were the first to drive from Patterson to San Jose in 1942.
Dedicated July 28, 2001
Estanislao Chapter No. 58, E Clampus Vitus
Wes Williams, Head Vigilante
& Patterson Township Historical Society
Clamper Year 6006
“Credo Quia Absurdum”