The Cajon Pass: A little history...

The wagons carrying the boiler departed Los Angeles July 17, 1861, and they arrived in Holcomb Valley on August 13, of that same year. 

Despite the fact that he constructed the road with the help of his financial backers, it is Brown who is linked with the Cajon Pass toll road in the annals of history.  And, it was Brown who would be faced with heart-ache, beginning during December of 1861 when torrential rains flooded San Bernardino County.  The storms lasted through mid-January of 1862, and they destroyed the toll road.  One witness, who had been hiking in the area noted that new lakes had appeared throughout the area, and that the road was gone.

The seemingly untouched wilderness in the Cajon Pass.
Cleghorn Range.
Photo by Scott Schwartz.
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The Cajon Pass: A little history...

The first freight item to be transported along the new road was an eight-thousand pound boiler, which had to be brought from Los Angeles to Holcomb Valley.  The boiler was needed for the ore-crusher at the quartz-mill. 

 

The Brown toll road, today.
Photo by Scott Schwartz.
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The Cajon Pass: A little history...

Despite the difficulties, the toll road was completed by the middle of the summer.  High (for the time)  toll rates were established.  For example; the charge for a man with his horse was twenty-five cents.  “Loose” cattle or horses cost five cents per head to herd along the road.  A wagon pulled by several horses cost one dollar.

Some of the strange "clearings" appear in the photo of the Cleghorn Range, in the Cajon Pass.  One wonders if humans have ever set foot in these areas.

Photo by Scott Schwartz.  All rights reserved. 

Rugged country in the Cajon Pass...

Nonetheless, the road, which started near present-day Devore, passed through Cajon Canyon, and would take travelers through present-day Crowder Canyon (once known as Coyote Canyon), up into the high desert

Given the unforgiving terrain, the workers building this new toll road had a tough job ahead of them.  The road was to wind its way through Cajon Canyon.  There are spots in which huge boulders are scattered about, and the Canyon is very narrow in places.   Plus, the terrain is very hilly, with steep inclines and loose rocks strewn all over.  Indeed, even today’s established off-road trails in the area pose challenges for drivers, for the same reasons.

The Cleghorn Mountains, in the Cajon Pass.
Image by Scott Schwartz.
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The Cajon Pass: A little history...

Interestingly, the State of California had already passed an act which authorized John Brown, Henry M. Willis, and George Tucker to build a toll toad, back on April 17^th.

The author's vehicle in the Cajon Pass.  Although the trail pictured is a gas-line access road(which still requires the use of four-wheel drive to negotiate), the ruggedness of the surrounding country can be seen in this image.                                 

Drone-image by Scott Schwartz
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The Cajon Pass: A little history...

It was thought that construction of the Holcomb Valley Road would cost $2000.  However, committee member Mellus, investigate alternate routes for the road, and his findings indicated that the cost would be less than $2000.  What’s more is that the money had already been raised!

Today, various power-line and gas-line access roads snake through the Cajon Pass.
At one time, however, traversing the Pass was a major undertaking.
Image by Scott Schwartz.
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The Cajon Pass: A little history...

By the end of April, 1861, potential “subscribers” to the Holcomb Valley Road had formed a committee, on which sat the “movers and shakers” of the time:  John Rains, W.T.B. Sanford, and a Los Angeles merchant by the name of Francis Mellus. 

The Cleghorn Range, in the Cajon Pass.
Image by Scott Schwartz
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The Cajon Pass: A little history...

The other planned road would connect the high desert with the valley below.  This road would be constructed as a privately-operated toll road.

This photograph shows a trail that parallels the 15 Freeway.  It may once have been part of one of the old Cajon Pass "turnpikes," although I am not sure.  

Image by Scott Schwartz.  All rights reserved.

The Cajon Pass: A little history...

In reality, the improvement and construction of two roads was being considered.  One of these roads was intended to link the Holcomb Valley mines with the Cajon Pass, and would be built with funds collected through "subscriptions” – money collected from those who would eventually use the road.

This video ("Cajon Pass-rugged country") gives us an idea of the difficulties involved with crossing this terrain- especially with fully-loaded wagons!

The Cajon Pass: A little history...

This situation was becoming critical, because heavy equipment and supplies were needed in burgeoning mining settlements such as Holcomb Valley; indeed, the teamsters hauling this equipment were so desperate, according to an April 6, 1861 Los Angeles Star article, that they were offering $5 per load to anyone who would build a “turnpike road.”

The author's vehicle is dwarfed by the vastness of the area.
This image was taken near what was once a toll road, which ran through the Pass.
Photo by Scott Schwartz.
All rights reserved.

The Cajon Pass: A little history.

One of these rough wagon trails was improved in 1850 by freighting -company owners Phineas Banning and W.T.B. Sanford.  This trail, known as “The Sanford Trail”, meandered through the western side of the Pass. Although the Sanford Trail was slightly more passable than the pack trail it replaced, the Sanford Trail was still narrow and treacherous in places, and the steep grade was very difficult for large wagons.

The treacherous Cajon Pass.
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The Cajon Pass: A little history...

With the deployment of the Mormon Battalion in the area, people felt safer while coming through the Cajon Pass, and traffic volume increased. Most travelers used the Old Spanish Trail, but the route was so difficult that at least one party of gold-hunting travelers-led by a Captain Jefferson Hunt-actually had to disassemble their wagons, and carry them in pieces through the Pass.  It is believed that the Mormon Battalion did the same thing when it came through the pass.

This image of the Cleghorn range indicates the ruggedness of the country that early travelers had to contend with.
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The Cajon Pass: A little history...

Indeed, the first wheeled vehicles would not gouge ruts into the Cajon Pass until 1847-48, when members of the Mormon Battalion passed through here.  The only official religion-centered battalion in U.S. Army history, the Mormon Battalion was composed of volunteers who agreed to enlist in the Army in order to aid the United States in the war against Mexico.  At one point, detachment of the Battalion built a fort near Cajon Canyon (the spot is now known as “Mormon Battalion Mountain”, and it’s located within the boundaries of Glen Helen Regional Park) in order to protect travelers through the Pass from Indian attacks.

Cleghorn Mountains, east side of the Cajon Pass.
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The Cajon Pass: A Little History....

All of these men had one thing in common; none of them made use of one of mankind’s most useful inventions, during their journeys through the Cajon Pass:  the wheel.  Or, more specifically, wheeled vehicles.

Scott Schwartz

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The Cajon Pass: A little history...

The famous Mexican explorer/merchant, Antonio Armijo- who led the first commercial caravan from New Mexico to the San Gabriel Mission - likely came through the Cajon Pass during 1829-1830, with his load of blankets and other merchandise for trade in Alta California.

Pictured at left, is the rugged country in the Cleghorn Mountains, on the east side of the Cajon Pass.

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The Cajon Pass- a little history...

Military Governor Pedro Fages may have been the first white man to travel through the Cajon Pass, during his pursuit of Spanish Army deserters in 1772. The famous frontiersman, Jedediah Strong Smith was the first American to travel through the Cajon Pass, as he worked his way West from Salt Lake City, during 1826.    He traversed the desert and came into the San Bernardino Valley through the Cajon Pass.

The concrete ribbon of the I-15 snakes through the Cajon Pass.
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The Cajon Pass...

In Spanish, “cajon” means “box.”   “Cajon” formed part of the name that was officially given to the area that is now known as the Cajon Pass, by Padre Joaquin Pascual Nuez, in his 1819 diaries.  He actually referred to the area as “ex-Caxon de San Gabriel de Amuscopiabit”, which was the name of the Native American settlement that was then located in the area.

Cajon Pass, looking toward Crowder Canyon
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