Mountain pass over the Sierra Pelona in Los Angeles County, California, United States
San Francisquito Pass
is a
mountain pass
in the
Sierra Pelona Mountains
, located northeast of
Green Valley
and
Santa Clarita
, in northern
Los Angeles County
,
California
.
Geography
[
edit
]
San Francisquito Pass on far left road,
1922 AAA map.
The pass, at the elevation 3,655 feet (1,114 m), is at the head of
San Francisquito Canyon
. San Francisquito Canyon Road, crossing over the Sierra Pelonas here, leads to
Elizabeth Lake
in the
Leona Valley
to the north, and
Saugus
to the south.
History
[
edit
]
San Francisquito Pass was on the
El Camino Viejo
, an alternate land route to the
El Camino Real
for reaching northern Spanish and Mexican colonial
Alta California
. It connected the
Pueblo of Los Angeles
and
San Fernando Valley
with the
San Joaquin Valley
. The El Camino Viejo horse and wagon trail next crossed the
Tehachapi Mountains
into the San Joaquin Valley at
Old Tejon Pass
.
[1]
The route's successor, the
Stockton - Los Angeles Road
, used San Francisquito Pass and
Fort Tejon Pass
(west of Old Tejon Pass). The
Butterfield Overland Mail
route (1857-1861) followed the Stockton?Los Angeles Road between the San Fernando and San Joaquin Valleys, and used both passes. It had a stagecoach stops at
King's Station
(southern canyon) and
Widow Smith's Station
(near pass) in San Francisquito Canyon.
San Francisquito Pass was used by the major inland north-south routes until the opening of the
Ridge Route
in 1915.
Present day
[
edit
]
The pass continues to be used by San Francisquito Canyon Road, which crosses it for local and scenic use in the present day.
[2]
The pass and a section of the road are within the northwestern
Angeles National Forest
.
Los Angeles County realigned most of the upper part of San Francisquito Canyon Road in the 2000s. The original narrowest and curviest segment remains.
[3]
The bypassed old section is a hiking route along
San Francisquito Creek
, passing through the historic
St. Francis Dam
site and ruins.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
United States. War Dept, Joseph Henry, Spencer Fullerton Baird, United States. Army. Corps of Engineers,
"Reports of explorations and surveys: to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, Volume 5"
, A.O.P. Nicholson, Printer, 1856, pp.28-29
- ^
Mildred Brooke Hoover, Hero Eugene Rensch, Ethel Grace Rensch, 3rd Edition revised by William N. Abeloe, Historic Spots in California, 3rd Ed., Stanford University Press, Stanford, 1966, pp.167-168
- ^
Socalregion.com
External links
[
edit
]