*Blog updated 12/24/17*
If you are a fan of historical markers and have traveled throughout the West Coast, particularly in Oregon, California and Nevada, you may have noticed some of them were monumented by an organization under the name ‘E Clampus Vitus,’ more formerly known as the ‘Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus’. This fraternal organization has a history that goes back to the Civil War and its mission is to preserve the the history of the American West. Many E Clampus Vitus (ECV) local chapters are located across the West Coast. The name ‘E Clampus Vitus’ doesn’t have a legitimate meaning or translation and its followers are known as ‘clampers’. These organizations pay particular attention to those towns, former and present, who had a direct connection to gold mining and many of these towns’ roots are traced back to the Gold Rush days of the mid 1800s. The official first E Clampus Vitus chapter was started in San Francisco in 1931 after the organization had pretty much died out after the Gold Rush days. There are currently around 43 ECV chapters that exist in western states. There is no local chapter in my hometown of Klamath Falls, OR but there are two nearby ECV chapters in Yreka, CA (Humbug Chapter #73) and the Umpqua Joe Chapter #1859 in Grants Pass, OR.
Most of the ECV chapters have an official website although many of them are hard to get to unless you click on one particular chapter website that may have a link to other local chapters. Below is a list of ECV website links that I’ve located that contain pages to other EVC chapters or historical markers:
Trinitarian ECV with links to other ECV chapters
ECV Chapter #1 Yerba Buena (great history of ECV)
ECV San Francisco plaques (map form)
ECV Chapters under ECV Gazette
I have created a Google map of all the ECV historical markers I’ve found within 200 miles of my hometown of Klamath Falls, OR in hopes that visitors to my blog may want to view and possibly visit them in person (Please click on the map below to view EVC markers). As I come across more EVC markers in my travels, I’ll update them on the ECV map, so come back and visit often!
