Tragedy Spring in southern El Dorado County, California, became historically significant after the 1848 deaths of Mormon scouts Daniel Browett, Ezra H. Allen, and Henderson Cox during the opening of the Mormon Emigrant Trail over Carson Pass. Riding ahead from Pleasant Valley with their animals, muskets, and mined gold, they were later found in a shallow grave near the spring, apparently killed and robbed. Their companions reburied them and created a memorial that remained the site’s best-known remembrance for decades. Later preservation efforts established a small forest park, and after major damage in 2021, restoration work has continued.