Near this spot, the Bennett-Arcane contingent of the Death Valley '49ers, emigrants from the Middle West seeking a shortcut to the California gold fields, were stranded for a month and almost perished from starvation. William Lewis Manley and John Rogers, young members of the party, made a heroic journey on foot to San Fernando and, returning with supplies, led the party to the safety of San Francisquito Rancho near Newhall.