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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