This advertising postcard attracted my attention, both for the bright drawing on the face and for the whimsical suggestion that the end of the pioneer trails to the West would be the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.

The gleaming building, hovering in the heavens of the postcard drawing, is the “New Palace Hotel” – the original Palace Hotel was destroyed in the earthquake of 1906.

This successor, also a luxurious building, still stands; it covers an entire city block and has been the site of numerous historic and celebrated events in San Francisco history.

It is listed in the “Historic Hotels of America”, a designation of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Readers may find the Wiki article interesting – both for the detailed listing of incredible amenities of the original and for the description of the chicanery that led to the acquisition of the property by a US Senator from California.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_Hotel,_San_Francisco

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The postcard was mailed from San Francisco to Mrs. Wolcott Fairchild of Oriskany Falls, New York.

Oriskany Falls, named for a waterfall on a nearby stream, is a village in Oneida County of central New York.

When the postcard was mailed, the population of Oriskany Falls had already begun to decline from its peak of about 1000 in 1920.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriskany_Falls,_New_York

The postcard was sent by Ethel, who seems to have stayed at the Palace Hotel – she underlined the name that is printed on the face (I inadvertently removed the underlining when making digital repairs to the face.)

We don’t know if Ethel considered that she was retracing the trek of hearty emigrants of the last century when she and her companions traveled to San Francisco.

The postcard shows yoked oxen pulling a covered wagon – a trail guide on horseback seems to be waving the pioneer family onward.

I suspect that the postcard was given to guests as a souvenir of the Palace Hotel and as a public relations initiative -as the mailed postcard might be seen by many others.

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On the reverse, Ethel comments, “Also the end of our trail, now starting back to New York State.”

The message was sent “Lovingly”.

The postcard was preserved by Mrs. Fairchild in excellent condition (although it had received a few marks from handling in the mail,)

One hopes that Ethel and her party returned safely to New York and that she was able to share more stories of her travels.