Paulette asked: >I was wondering if they were trying to encourage people to move there...< Paulette: I have yet found no item about "why" they moved there. I do know that my Hinds brothers (Edward 21yr & Archibald age 15) that left Ft Smith in a five wagon wagontrain in 1851 or 52 were in the Salinas Valley area for one year before moving to the Tulare Co. area. In Tulare they grew dry land wheat at a place called Hinds Prairie and raised cattle near Exeter which provided beef for the Calif. miners. They drove the beef to Stockton from the Tulare area by way of the Friant- Stockton trail that went along the Sierra Nevada foothills. The main roads went along the foothills because the San Joaquin Valley flooded in the spring. Edward returned several times to the VanBuren area which was noted in the VanBuren newspaper. In 1860, he returned to AR to marry Catherine "Kate" Rudy then they returned to CA where they raised their children.. Regards, Nan 71532.734@compuserve.com