Wells Fargo, KTEH Television Lead
In Heralding a ‘Forgotten Journey’

Documentary, Celebrations Hail Historic Achievement

SAN JOSE, CA – Events in Santa Clara Valley in late May and early June will herald a remarkable but little-remembered pioneering achievement, the first covered wagon crossing of the Sierra Nevada mountains and the opening of the overland trail to California. The events, co-sponsored by Wells Fargo and KTEH Television of San Jose, will debut a public television documentary chronicling the success of the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy party in 1844, produced by John Krizek of Van Nuys, California.

On Wednesday, June 6th , the Santa Clara University's sesquicentennial celebration will host the West Coast premiere of the documentary. One of the wagon train’s members was a Santa Clara University founder. A Thursday, May 31st, celebration at the Microsoft facility in Mountain View, CA will bring together descendants of the families who made the crossing, many of whom settled primarily in what is now Silicon Valley.

Entitled Forgotten Journey: The Stephens, Townsend, Murphy Saga, the documentary will be aired by KTEH for the first time on June 21, followed by a national release to public television. Forgotten Journey depicts the odyssey of a wagon train of 50 people whose successful arrival in California was in direct contrast to the tragedies of the Donner party of two years later, although the latter is much better remembered. (With two births on the trail, the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy party actually numbered 52 upon its arrival in California.)

As well as joining KTEH in sponsoring the two Santa Clara Valley events, Wells Fargo will help with three others. The first, on Friday, May 18th, will be in Council Bluffs, Iowa, launching point of the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy party. Forgotten Journey will also be shown on Iowa public television and a monument will be dedicated to mark the place where the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy started. Also scheduled are recognition at a Saturday, May 26th, awards ceremony in Nevada City, California, and a Thursday, June 7th, showing of the documentary to the Society of California Pioneers in San Francisco.

"As California's oldest bank and the largest bank headquartered in the state, we realize the importance of preserving history," said Beverly Smith, Wells Fargo Vice President and Historical Services Manager. "By studying the American frontier and making its story known, we remember the company's continuing focus on helping our communities grow."

With Krizek as its executive producer, Forgotten Journey was four years in the making. The story was adapted from a small historical book written by Jim Rose, of Nevada City, then head of the Nevada County Landmarks Commission, who assisted in the production. Videographer-producer Kit Tyler writer-producer Miles Saunders, both Emmy award-winners, joined Krizek on the production team.

Their work brings long overdue recognition to Elisha Stephens, Dr. John Townsend and Martin Murphy Sr., the three leaders of the wagon train, and other members of the party. Of the three leaders who directed the 2,000-mile trek, only Murphy prospered in subsequent years. The city of Sunnyvale is the site of a ranch owned by Martin Murphy Jr., who had a role in founding Santa Clara University and the College of Notre Dame in Belmont, CA. A ranch owned by Martin Murphy Sr. was located in San Martin, CA.

Stephens, conversely, died a pauper in the Bakersfield area in 1884. Dr. Townsend, the first licensed physician to practice in California, and his wife, Elizabeth, were stricken by cholera and died within 24 hours of each other while treating victims of an epidemic of the disease in San Jose in 1850.

Wells Fargo is a $280 billion diversified financial services company providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance through more than 5,400 stores, the Internet (www.wellsfargo.com) and other distribution channels across North America and elsewhere internationally. Wells Fargo contributed more than $11 million in 2000 to non-profit organizations in the Bay Area.

KTEH serves a 14-county area, which reaches to Monterey, and has a weekly audience of more than 800,000 households – more than 1.8 million people. Its audience is among the 20 largest for a public television station nationwide.

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