By Harrison Irving Scott
Californian Historian
From Volume 43 Number 4 Summer 1997
A Publication of the CONFERENCE of California Historical Societies
Discovery
It was 1955. I was 18 years old and had just started to work for Pacific Telephone. I needed transportation to go back and forth to work, and my parents helped me purchase my first car, a brand new 1955 Ford. I didn’t need much of an excuse to get behind the wheel to enjoy my new-found freedom. I stumbled upon the deserted, twisting Ridge Route winding across the top of the mountains between Castaic and State Highway 138.
This old road, located at the extreme northern boundary of Los Angeles County, has long silently awaited an unknown fate. It was left to the mercy of the elements in 1933 when the Ridge Alternate replaced it with a more direct path through Violin Canyon. The traffic on the Old Ridge Route virtually stopped, and within a short time many of the gas stations and tourist stops along its path had burned to the ground.
I find my way back to the historic road
Six years ago, while heading north over the new I-5 Route to visit my parents in Visalia with my son as passenger, I immediately recalled my 1955 adventure when my son commented that the first road over the mountains must have been a real challenge for the early cars. Having some spare time, we left the freeway at Templin Highway and headed east in an attempt to locate the original road. In a mile or so we found it, and cautiously followed it north, ignoring the sign which states that it is not a through road! Although in bad shape, it was passable, and we were able to drive all the way to Highway 138. Here we came upon a county crew resurfacing the northern end of the road.
I interrupted their work momentarily to ask if this was still officially designated a county road. They didn’t know, stating that they only maintained the pavement up to the national forest boundary. With this limited offering of information, I recall thinking that someone should look into the possibility of preserving this remaining stretch of the original Ridge Route. I wondered how you could go about saving a road when there is no agreement on where it begins or ends. I later found that it is generally defined as that section of highway which winds over the Tehachapi Mountains between Castaic on the south and extending north to the bottom of the Grapevine grade.
The more I looked at the Ridge Route, the more I realized how this single highway affected the development of California.
I began gleaning information from old newspapers and magazines, going to universities, libraries, contacting historians and searching through endless reels of microfilm. As I collected documents and pictures, I became more excited about the history of the road. Before I realized it, I became a “someone,” who, with others, would help to preserve this remaining, virtually undisturbed, example of early highway construction.
The time came to find out what the requirements are for submitting a preservation nomination. I contacted the California State Office of Historical Preservation, and to my surprise learned that I could not submit nomination papers. There was a technicality. My project area was for the major part on U.S. national forest land. In addition, I was told that it is much more difficult to qualify a road, as opposed to a stationary site. After so much effort, this setback rendered my hopes a devastating blow. For the first time I had doubts that I could accomplish my goal.
I contacted the Angeles National Forest headquarters and ultimately presented my intentions to Michael McIntyre, Forest Archaeology Supervisor. He told me that the Ridge Route had always been a candidate for historic recognition; however, no one had pushed to bring it about. Mike referred me to Doug Milburn, his colleague and fellow archaeologist. Perhaps we could work jointly toward nominating the Ridge Route for the recognition it deserved.
Since I could not singularly submit the paperwork, I jumped at this opportunity. Doug and I have worked together diligently for five years, I continuing to collect information and Doug inputting the information onto the various nomination forms. It was not an easy task, considering his limited time as the constraints of the recently tightened budget hit the national forests. I truly thank both Doug and Mike for allowing the project to move forward.
Beginnings of the State Highway System
At this point it is necessary to review early events which to the Ridge Route’s birth. In 1895, the State Bureau of highways was created. Governor James H. Budd appointed three highway commissioners, R.C. Irvine of Sacramento, Marsden Manson of San Francisco and L. Maude of Riverside.
These three officials purchased a team of horses and a buckboard wagon and proceeded, during the next year and a half, to cover the state, logging some 7,000 miles. Upon their return they submitted a report to the governor recommending a system of state highways which would connect all large centers of population. Every county seat would be reached. Their recommendation included the utilization of existing county roads to the fullest possible extent.
Specifically was suggested a direct route from Los Angeles to the San Joaquin Valley to replace the roundabout Midway Route.
The California Legislature of 1897 dissolved the Bureau of Highways and created a Department of Highways. The members of the new department made exhaustive studies of road construction practices and economics. Members of the department toured Europe to observe methods used in England, France and other countries. (Even then, justified extended trips on tax dollars!)
Their findings on such factors as drainage, and roadbed and pavement construction, were based on fundamental engineering policies. At the outset, modern highway development in California was on a firm foundation.
In 1907, the Department of Engineering was organized, but due to lack of funds, no road construction began. A resolution in 1911 designated three men as an executive committee to the Department of Engineering to be known as the California Highway Commission. These three gained immediate control over all state road and highway activities, with the Tehachapi receiving special priority. Before the Tehachapi barrier succumbed to the Ridge Route, there was a strong political movement afoot to carve California into two states.
In 1909, the State authorized a bond issue of $18 million for the purpose of constructing a state highway system. The voters approved the bonds the following year. Los Angeles purchased the bonds when the Commission was unable to market the securities in the East.
In 1912, an intensive survey was begun with 18 months taken in laying out the Ridge Route The preliminary study, made by W. Lewis Clark, Division Engineer at Los Angeles, dissipated all doubt as to the feasibility of a direct route over the mountains. To Highway Commissioner N.D. Darlington of Los Angeles belongs the chief credit for the selection and the construction of the route.
Since travel to the south first began there had been only two routes followed. The Tehachapi, (midway route) mentioned earlier which was due east from Bakersfield to Mojave, then south through Lancaster to access Mint or Boquet canyons. The other being the ‘”Tejon Pass Route,” which used an old wagon road to climb up the Grapevine grade from the Bakersfield side to Quail Lake (today Hwy 138), then east roughly following the San Andreas rift to the head of either San Francisquito (Tumer Pass) or Boquet canyons. The Tejon Route was considerably shorter than the Tehachapi Route but neither pass could be called direct, for both curved widely to the east to reach the heads of the canyons while the objective point was at most due south. It may be of interest to note that the “Grapevine” refers to the 6.5 mile stretch of road between Fort Tejon and the bottom of the mountain giving entrance into the San Joaquin Valley'”
Early Exploration by Europeans
The first white man through this area was a Spanish officer and acting governor of Alta California in 1772, Don Pedro Fages. He noticed an abundance of Cimarron grapes growing wild in the area north of what is now Gorman. He named the place Canada de Las Uvas, or Grapevine Canyon. Grapevines were so prevalent the wagoneers and soldiers had to hack their way through. Wild grapes still grow on the sides of I-5 in the pass.
Another association of the name Grapevine was established during early highway construction. The engineers had to abandon the original wagon road up the canyon from the valley floor when Grapevine Creek overflowed during a torrential cloudburst in 1914. The highway alignment was rebuilt on the east side of the hill with a series of switchback loops to gain elevation. Thus the appearance of a grapevine.
The name Tejon originated during an expedition in 1806 from the Santa Barbara Mission into the San Joaquin Valley led by Lieutenant Francis Ruiz. His diarist, Father Jose Maria Zalvidea, first recorded the word Tejon to designate the area. A dead badger (tejon in Spanish) had been found in the canyon.
The name Tejon formerly belonged to another pass 15 miles further east. Lieutenant Robert Stockton Williamson of the Pacific Railroad surveyed the area in 1853. His party crossed the Tehachapis by “one of the worst roads he ever saw.” Hearing of a better road further west, he scouted it and found it would be far more practicable for wagons if the bulk of the traffic henceforth went that way. The name Tejon was transferred west to today’s “Tejon Pass.”
Fort Tejon was established August 10, 1854 as part of General Edward Fitzgerald Beale’s recommendation to provide protection for the Indians in the area. During it’s active years the fort was a center of social activity.
Beale was the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for California and Nevada, and later in life, Surveyor-General for both states. He was called upon to survey the stage route through the Tehachapis and for his work was rewarded with a huge piece of Kern County territory, approximately 300,000 acres which today comprises the Tejon Ranch.”‘It was the Tejon route via San Francisquito Canyon that the Butterfield Overland Stage took on its journey to San Francisco from Tipton, Missouri. At that time, Tipton was the farthest extension of the railroad west of St. Louis.
The stage fare between Los Angeles and Fort Tejon near the top of the Grapevine was $12.24 The first mail stage from St. Louis stopped at Fort Tejon on October 8, 1858, enroute to San Francisco. With the outbreak of the Civil War, the U.S. government abandoned Fort Tejon, in 1864.
The challenge of early crossing by automobile
From the southern end of the Ridge Route, the early motorist heading north from Los Angeles had to deal with the Newhall Pass also known as Fremont Pass. General Fremont gave it prominence when he took this route in 1847 to confront the Mexican forces in the San Fernando Valley. This is the southern approach to Beales’s Cut as well as the divide which separates the Santa Susana Mountains on the West from the San Gabriel Mountains on the east.The early motorist would venture up the grade to the top of the pass which was described in a club tour book as a 30 percent grade!
It was here at the top of the pass that General Beale, federal Surveyor-General of California and Nevada, and a capable engineer, in 1862 dispatched a crew of Chinese laborers to deepen an earlier 1858 cut established for the Butterfield stage.”‘ Beale’s laborers cut a 12-foot wide passage through 60 feet of sandstone to reduce the climb by 50 feet.
This cut was also referred to as “The Narrows.” In 1904, to further lessen the grade, men with picks and shovels once more laboriously deepened the cut and the roadbed was graded and oiled. The first automobile went over the pass in 1902 Beale’s Cut was the only way over the pass until the Los Angeles County Road Department constructed the 435-foot Newhall tunnel just west of Beale’s Cut, opening in October, 1910.
The road through the tunnel was only two lanes, and loaded trucks often scraped the sloping walls inside unless directly in the center of the tunnel. This obviously created a traffic hazard. The tunnel was dark as well as low and narrow, 17.5 feet wide and 17 feet high at the center. For this reason the state awarded a contract in May, 1938 to “daylight” the tunnel.”‘
Breaking ground on a new pass road
A choice of four already existing routes was offered the Commission, and each was successively rejected. Soledad Canyon, the route of the Southern Pacific, was subject to frequent washouts. San Francisquito Canyon, the most westerly pass, was too steep and narrow. Boquet Canyon offered too many drainage problems. Mint Canyon was judged too long and costly.
In their stead, the route chosen was practically a direct line between Newhall and Bakersfield. This proposed route went straight up to the top of the mountains where it would go mile after mile. Before 1914, there was not even a vestige of a trail near the proposed highway.
Construction work on the Ridge Route started in 1914, with the 40 miles of heavy construction between Castaic School and the Los Angeles-Kern counties boundary divided into three contracts. Section B of Route 4 carried the highway from Castaic School a distance of 12.8 miles to a point halfway up the summit. This section was let to Mahoney Brothers, railroad contractors of San Francisco.
Section C carried the road from the point left off by Mahoney for 14.5 miles farther, to the summit of Liebre Mountain. Section D was composed of the remaining 12.7 miles to the southerly border of Kern County. Sections C and D were assigned to Lee Moor Contracting Company, railroad and grading contractors of El Paso, Texas.
It is noteworthy to mention that many early maps and documents refer to distance from or to the Castaic School.The late Jerry Reynolds, historian of the area, informed me prior to his passing that Castaic School was located on the southeast corner of the Lake Hughes Road and the Ridge Route, approximately where a fire station is currently located.
Supplies were hauled in by mule team from railroad sidings in Newhall and Lancaster. Mule team scrapers called Fresno scrapers, were the primitive devices pulled by teams and manipulated by teamsters on foot. They gnawed their way through the mountains. In those days, the contractor who bid low on a highway job had to begin by purchasing a lot of horseflesh.
Construction was started in the middle and pushed toward both ends. Grades were not to exceed six percent; however, several seven percent grades existed. One million cubic yards of earth were removed to complete the Ridge Route, with steam shovels brought in for larger cuts.
One such evacuation was “Swede’s Cut,” also known as the “Big Cut” or “Culebra Excavation.” My extensive research shows them all, beyond a doubt, to be the same. Prior publications have suggested them to be separate sites, but this is not the case. The State referred to the cut as Culebra (Spanish for snake), probably because of the “snaking” of the highway across the top of the mountains. This cut was dug to a depth of 110 feet, the largest on the entire route.
Although a Tehachapi-Mojave alignment, the Midway Route, would have been less expensive to build, it would have been much longer. The Ridge Route shortened the distance between Bakersfield and Los Angeles 58 miles, as compared with the old path over the Tehachapi. The new road was 24 miles shorter than by the way of Boquet Canyon. At a cost of $450,000, the unpaved road was opened to the public in October, 1915. The opening of the Ridge Route did not mean the elimination of the Boquet and Mint Canyon roads on the run to Bakersfield. Los Angeles County continued to maintain these roads.
The Ridge Route reached its highest elevation of 4,233 feet on the Los Angeles side just south of Sandberg’s Summit Hotel.
The reason the roadbed followed the ridge contours was to save grading costs at a time when highway expenditures were tightly budgeted. Due to the elevation and circuitous nature of the new highway, the speed limit was set at 15 miles per hour. The speed limit for heavier trucks with solid rubber tires was 12 miles per hour.
There was no joke about the speed limit edict issued from the Sheriff’s office. It was set at 15 miles an hour and vigorously enforced. It took about 12 hours driving time under normal conditions to make the Los Angeles to Bakersfield trip.
Before the road was thrown open, the Automobile Club of Southern California was given only 24 hours notice to post warning signs along the new highway. The work for which two weeks had been allotted was accomplished between the glowing and dimming of the morning sun. From the instant a motorist set his wheels onto the Ridge Route he found himself in a forest of warning signs. It was the most gigantic feat of road sign posting ever achieved anywhere. In only 36 miles there were 697 curves. Adding up all the turns it worked out that the motorist drove around 97 complete circles between Castaic and Gorman. Considering the entire route of 48.31 miles, there are 39,441 degrees of curve, roughly equating to 110 complete circles.
Unfortunately, the constant merry-go-round caused many motorists to lose the contents of their stomachs. The old Ridge Route was one of the most nerve-racking, perilous roads ever built. Thirty-two persons were killed on it between 1921 and 1928.
Charlie Dodge of Bakersfield told me that trucks hauled heavy loads of pipe from Los Angeles to the oil fields in Bakersfield. One of the more dependable trucks was the four cylinder chain-driven Mack “Bull Dog.” It had a stub nose and a large radiator which minimized boil-over. Unfortunately, the radiator was in close proximity to the cab, and the heat produced on the steep climb would encourage drivers to navigate their trucks from the running board.
Motoring behind the slow pace of a fully loaded truck would test the patience of drivers. Some would attempt to pass, and the canyons below the road lay testament to their fate. For the truck drivers going down hill, it was vitally important to shift into the proper gear to control the descent, as the mechanical rear-wheel brakes would not stop a fully loaded truck.
The most notorious curve on the road was Deadman’s Curve, located .5 mile north of Fort Tejon. The hillside below Deadman’s Curve became known as the “junkyard” because it was so littered with the broken remains of cars that lost control on the downgrade curve.
My 99-year old foster mother recalls traversing the Ridge Route in 1918 with her brother and sister on a trip to Yellowstone. They were in an Overland touring car with removable side curtains. Her brother was driving and her older sister sitting in the front passenger seat would lean out, attempting to peer around the blind curves for oncoming traffic.
The road surface was rock and shale when it first opened, providing an excellent foundation for the temporary surface of oil and gravel. Road experts claimed the Ridge Route to be one of the most scientifically constructed mountain roads in the World. A comment of 1916 reads, ‘”The Ridge Route has already become a great and powerful influence in promoting the unity and integrity of hither to fore divided sections of the state, and in discouraging state division agitation.”
Paving
Two years after the road opened, the Highway Commission solicited bids to have the Ridge Route paved. It had been necessary to allow the great fills to settle thoroughly. There were various bids received but on December 31 , 1917 the Commission had received only one bid in response to its advertisement for paving all three sections. Fred Hoffman of Long Beach offered to do the job for $575,130.
The engineers felt that the bid was too high. They calculated the paving job should cost no more than $378,879. They did not enter into a contract, especially as it was doubtful that the contract could be completed under war conditions.
The Commission decided to go ahead with the paving itself in 1919 using day laborers. They completed the job at a cost of $700,000, and claimed a savings of $100,000 had it been done by contract even though they had not asked for, or received, any bids since the Hoffman bid of December 31, 1917. Judging from numbers alone, it would appear that Hoffman’s bid was obviously below the Commissioner’s cost, but then again, the Commission had delayed the paving for yet another year.
Work started on the south end of the route near Castaic Wash.While work was being done on the first eight miles, a detour was in place.Once paving started on the Ridge itself, it was necessary to close the route in February, 1919.
The road was paved with 4.5 inches of concrete with reinforced twisted iron bars laid transversely 18 inches apart, and bound on either side with rods laid lengthwise. Substantial concrete curbs were constructed at all dangerous points, six inches wide and ten high to protect reckless drivers and also to assist with drainage problems. The high curbs were installed in locations where it was impossible to anchor wooden rails. The high curbing acted as a deflector to the narrow tired vehicles should they get too close to the edge of the cliff.
The paving completed, the road reopened November 15, 1919. The entire job was finished except for a ten mile stretch between Lebec and Rose Station on the Kern County side. This section was oiled. A lack of funds prevented this section from being paved until a July bond issue was passed. The following spring would see this section completed. During the paving of this strip, a detour of one and one-sixth miles was necessary in the vicinity of the famous Grapevine Circle. The detour was a 20 percent climb and the road was adobe, a dangerous soil when wet. Three accidents happened on the detour in the first week, and motorists were warned by guards at both ends not to attempt the steep detour unless using low gear and having good brakes. Early cars without vacuum-feed fuel systems would be advised not to attempt going up the detour as the engine would ultimately be in a higher position than the gas tank. After the Grapevine was paved and the detour eliminated, motorists still faced a healthy seven percent grade. Many truck drivers would wait until evening before tackling the climb to reduce the possibility of overheating.
Residents, and service stops, along the Ridge Route
In the early years of the road, various establishments quickly appeared along the highway. The information on these sites is extremely limited. Pictures are even more scarce.
Originally, Doug Milburn an I had planned to nominate for the National Register that portion of the Ridge Route originating at Castaic and ending at Highway 138 to the north. Unfortunately, various land owners adjacent to the road objected, fearing historical status would impact their properties. A public meeting was held and petitions submitted objecting to our effort. I tried to reassure those present that we were only nominating the highway, which in no way would affect their property. This did not resolve their concerns.
At this point, to expedite the process, we truncated our nomination to include only that portion of the road which is entirely on National Forest property. I believe it is necessary to point out to the reader that many property owners remaining along the remote segments of the road are reclusive in nature, viewing outsiders with apprehension. An exception was the generous cooperation extended by Sam and Gloria Azhderian , prominent members of the Castaic community.Their help was instrumental in collecting information on the Castaic end of the road.
Let’s step back in time and motor north from the Castaic School house on the old road. We will climb 2.4 miles. On the right side of the road we would have seen “Queen Nell’s Castle,” Cornelia Martinez Calahan’s home. She and her late husband homesteaded here in 1909. In 1914, she deeded some of her property to the State for the new road.'” She had a small green wooden shack and sold gasoline and cold “pop” to motorists. The highway originally veered west at this point and was destroyed with the construction of the southbound lanes of the 1-5 freeway.
Approximately one mile north we reestablish the original alignment.
Today Nell’s homestead is marked by a few remaining pepper trees and two tall side-by-side wooden power poles. Her shack was actually located in the middle of our realigned road at this location. Some locals referred to her as the “witch of the Ridge Route,” possibly due to the shack she lived in but more likely because she was a self determined soul. One newspaper account describes Nell having “lowered her shotgun” to greet General Petroleum workmen when they pushed their pipeline through the area.
Another account of January, 1925 reads, “Mrs. Callahan who resides on a ranch west of the Ridge Route was arrested by the local police Wednesday. She is charged with assault and battery on Mrs. C. Pierce, mother of Mrs. Pierre Davies of Castaic. The accused furnished bonds and her trial is set for January 16.”
Tourists well served by convenience stops
The next establishment, 5.3 miles from the Castaic school house was the Ridge Road House. It was mentioned in a 1926 touring guide thusly: “Reputed very fair, lunch.” Sam and Gloria Azhderian own the property today; in fact, they recently completed their new home directly above the old site. Sam told me that the garage and restaurant were on the west side of the highway and the foundations are still visible. Ridge Road House sold Richfield gasoline and advertised with a high pole and a sign sporting a race car perched on top of it. Across the road on the east side was a grouping of green and white sleeping cabins among a grove of pepper trees. The foundations were removed by Azhderian when he purchased the property.
The station was owned by Porter Markel and his sister Ruth. Prior to the Markel’s tenure, “Ridge Road Garage now owned and operated by Jimeson & Wiesman,”according to a newspaper clipping of September, 1920.
They did not have indoor plumbing. A large water tank remains,located on a small hill behind the Azhderian’s new home.
Azhderian remembers traveling the road when he was a small child. His parents had a farm in Fresno and would take their Dodge Brothers truck down to Los Angeles quite often. Some of the other trucks on the highway were the old Mack trucks, the Sterlings, the Fageol and the Reos. He recalls the chain-driven rigs giving a sharp snap when they pulled out, and the constant string of lights along the road at night.
During the Depression, according to Azhderian, the Lebec Hotel would allow motorists to camp on the lawn in front of the hotel if they could not afford to pay for a room. The road tested the endurance of the early vehicles, with many breakdowns and people begging for help and extra water along the route.
One mile north of the Ridge Road Garage on the left (west) side was Martin’s, a small gas station operated by Mildred and Martin Deceta. Ed Adkins’ sister Mildred married Martin Deceta, amd Martin’s sister Ignacia Deceta married Ed Adkins. May Jean Deceta, Mildred’s daughter, married James E. Graves of Castaic. Until recently, Mildred lived alone, occupying the original building which at one time was a two-story unpainted structure. Martin’s was sometimes pronounced “Marteen’s” because he was a Frenchman. The 1926 touring guide simply states: “Garage, gas and water.” When the Ridge Road alternate opened, the Decetas went back to ranching.
The View Service Station was the next establishment. It was on the right, or east, side of the road and did indeed command a sweeping view of the San Gabriel Mountains. Early maps seem to place the gas station near the intersection of Warm Springs Road and the Ridge Route. The dirt surfaced Warm Springs Road is north of Templin highway, just before you reach the forest boundary gate, and today it leads westerly to a small grouping of homes down the canyon. At one time, Warm Springs Road continued east down into the canyon to access various campgrounds. That section no longer exists, being under water since the construction of Castaic Dam.
In conversation with James E. Graves, mentioned earlier in association with the Martin site, I learned that the true location of the View Service Station is a bit farther north than this intersection. A small clump of bamboo today marks the location at odometer mark 10.2 miles. Although indicated on a couple of early maps, virtually no information is available regarding this site.
It is under this section of the old Ridge Route that the outlet from Pyramid Lake connects to the Castaic power plant through the 7.2 mile, thirty-foot diameter, Angeles Tunnel.
At 12.4 miles we reach the National Forest Inn which was situated on government-owned land. All that remains today are cement steps on the west side of the road. It was described in a 1932 highway beautification pamphlet with this unkind caption: “The sort of filling station that gets into a national forest and is no addition thereto.”
Unlike Sandberg’s, which was constructed of logs, the National Forest Inn sported neatly trimmed white clapboard buildings. It was built by a gentleman named Courtemanche. A news clipping of 1925 indicates a Joe Palmer as proprietor of the National Forest Inn garage. The 1926 touring guide indicated that there were nine rooms in cottages, most with running water, from $1 to $2, lunch 75 cents; garage; camp 50 cents. A 1926 topography map spots a ranger station at this location. All of the accommodations were on the west side of the road. However, there was a large metal building on the east side which housed the highway repair facility and the ranger station.
Above this structure on a hill is a small cement-lined reservoir believed to have been built for fire control. Also, west of the of the reservoir are the foundation remains of an old airplane beacon. The beacon site is also shown on a 1928 topography map of the area.
The National Forest Inn was destroyed by a fire which originated in the garage on October 20, 1932. Mr. Martin owned the resort at the time, and was reported to have lost considerable cash in the blaze.
Immediately north of the National Forest Inn site, if we look to the west, we can see the Ridge Route Alternate and the new I-5 highways. Serpentine Drive is located north of National Forest Inn. Many post cards “imaged” Serpentine climb which at the top entered the largest cut on the road, Swede’s Cut. This cut is also referred to as the “Big Cut,” and “Culebra Excavation,” all referring to the same location. Steam shovels provided the muscle for this lengthy dig.
Farther on at 17.6 miles we find Reservoir Summit. The 1926 touring guide lists garage, lunch, rest rooms and a camp. The same guide of 1928 omits the auto camp. The restaurant, gas station and garage were all located on the east side of the road, The garage was very small, housing a tow truck, and located just south of the restaurant which literally hung over the side of the cliff. It was green with a screened porch. It had a lunch counter with three or four tables. It was a highclass, popular restaurant with men waiters in solid white uniforms. Truckers were welcome.
On the west side of the road was a wider area with a water trough and parking space. On the west side of the road on top of a small hill was the auto camp. On the same hill west of the camp is a large cement-lined water reservoir, originally with a wooden top. It is larger in capacity than the one at the National Forest Inn.
Kelly’s or “Half-Way Inn”
Although not confirmed, my research strongly suggests that the forest service constructed these reservoirs for fire control. I once speculated that the reservoirs were built to provide water for the paving operation of the road. However, documentation indicates all water was hauled to mix the cement.
An early undated map spots a forest station here, which would coincide with the similar arrangement at National Forest Inn, both having reservoirs and forest stations. A 1932 newspaper clipping states, “New fire truck for Ridge Route. The new truck will be stationed at Reservoir Summit.” The reservoir at this location was fed from a natural spring on Liebre Mountain just above Sandberg’s. A water pipe trailing along the road supplied water to other sites as well. My research indicates the spring is still active today, supplying water to the former Los Angeles County fire station at the Pine Canyon-Ridge Route intersection.
Our jouney at 19.7 miles places us as “Kelly’s,” which is how it is indicated on early maps. Others mark it “Half Way Inn.” There was a Kelly Ranch in the canyon to the south, but I have been unable to verify if Kelly’s Ranch had any connection with Half Way Inn. A newspaper clipping of May, 1925 states, “Joe Palmer who maintained the National Forest Inn garage has purchased the Kelly’s place formerly operated by C.O. Cummings.”
A topography map of 1926 reflects the site as Kelly’s. Maps of 1931 and 1933 have it as Half Way Inn. The 1926 touring guide states, “Half Way Inn; rooms, cabins, lunch, small garage.” They sold Richfield gasoline. A 1932 newspaper account references a “Mr. & Mrs. Avis of the Half Way Inn.” The Highway Department had a repair yard and sand tower dispenser here used to sand the road when it got icy. Located on the right hand side of the road leading north, the yard was located on a small knoll. It is difficult to find today, marked soley by power lines crossing above the road and one remaining tree on the knoll.
Continuing our drive toward the summit, we reach Tumble Inn at 22. 1 miles. This site is on the left side of the road; it is listed on topography maps of 1926, 1931, 1933 and 1937.The touring guide of 1928 states: “rooms, dbl. $2, meals, gas, free camp space, water and rest rooms. It is described as a small resort with a far reaching vista. The buildings were constructed of round stones, with the garage and lunch room structures level with the grade of the highway. Steps to a higher terrain located the rest rooms and lodge accommodations. The garage sold Richfield gasoline. At some point in time, the name was changed to “Mountain View Lodge.” During road construction, this site was one of the larger construction camps for workers. Today all that remains is a stone retaining wall and the steps that once led to the sleeping rooms.
Pushing on, at 23.3 miles we reach the Liebre State Highway Camp. Here were various wooden barracks on both sides of the road in addition to two long metal buildings on the west side of the highway. The metal structures were similar to the one located at the National Forest Inn. From this facility, crews maintained the highway.
Venturing to 24.1 miles we see “Granite Gate,” today marked by the large rock situated to the west. At one time prior to shaving the cliff to the east, the road veered closer to the monolith giving the appearance of a passage or “gate.”
Our trip marks 24.6 miles locating “Horseshoe Curve”. A close look at the remaining pavement reveals that at one time the road cut deeper into the cup of a horseshoe.
Sandberg’s Summit Hotel, later called Sandberg’s Lodge, at 26.0 miles, is located just north of Liebre Summit (4233 feet). The hotel stood at 4,170 feet. A three story log hostelry set amid a grove of California live oaks, Sandberg’s was the high class place. There is where one would see the Cadillacs, Packards and Studebakers parked. They had a sign, “Truck Drivers and Dogs Not Allowed.” An early touring guide reflects: “Sandberg’s Summit Hotel, 25 good rooms in hotel and cottages; most with running water and toilet; sgl, $1.50-$2.50; dbl $2-$4; lunch 85 cents, dinner $1.00.”
It was a small tourist community, post office, telephone and all-night restaurant. It had a garage which gave al most complete service. “Labor $2, after 6 p.m. $3; never closed.” It was built by Harold Sandberg in 1914. Various sources have purported him as being Swedish, Swiss-German and Norwegian. Some articles indicate his name as Hermann, others Harold. I checked the 1920 Los Angeles County U.S. Census records and found a Harold Sandberg, native of Norway. There was no Hermann listed. I can add in reference to the name that Dave Cole provided me a copy of an original personalized Christmas card that the Sandberg family mailed; it is signed Harold Sandberg. (Dave is editor of'”The Way of the Zepher,” a magazine of the Lincoln Zepher owners’ club. Dave also has an extensive collection of early maps without which I would have been unable to identify accommodations available at various sites.)
The Sandberg Ranch was a short distance east on Pine Canyon Road, and from here they supplied their hotel with fresh vegetables, poultry and eggs.
Some articles have reported that Sandberg had gambling and prostitution. This is entirely false. A man by the name of Fox acquired the hotel after the Ridge Alternate opened and destroyed the “carriage trade” on the old road. It was Fox that instituted gambling and prostitution in the aging structure.
Lillian Grojean purchased the property from Fox and established a pottery factory in the garage north of the lodge. It was during Lillian’s ownership that some accounts make the claim that messages were being transmitted to the Germans during the Second World War but these accounts appear to be nothing more than legend to embellish Sandberg’s Lodge history. Waiter “Lucky” Stevens purchased Sandberg’s from Grojean in 1950 and told me that although she had some trouble with parking tickets, she had never been arrested for transmitting messages to the Germans. As yet, I have found nothing in newspaper archives to support the transmitter story.
Lucky intended to turn the derelict property into a children’s camp. However, while renovation of the hotel was proceeding, sparks from the fireplace ignited the roof and the hotel burned Apri129, 1961. The only thing remaining today is a stone wall and cement footings where the hotel once stood.
We pull back onto the road continuing north again, past the old county fire station on the right just beyond Pine Canyon Road, and begin our descent into Antelope Valley. At the junction with Highway 138 is an abandoned wooden house and oil tank. This was the site of the General Petroleum Quail Lake Pumping Station. The crude oil was received from the oil fields at Taft. At this site the crude was heated and pumped to Willow Springs Pumping Station and from there on to Mojave where it was loaded into tanker cars for rail transport. It was called the “Bank Line” because the oil was like.money running through it. (This information was provided by Bonnie Kane, local historian in Frazier Park, who is currently writing a book detailing history of the entire Ridge Communities area.)
Just a short distance east of the pumping station we see a rather large complex with an enclosed water tower. This was the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Booster Station built in 1929 to amplify long distance circuits for the telephone cable being laid between Los Angeles, Bakersfield and on to San Francisco. The location was so remote that living quarters were provided for the men and families that operated the station. They also provided electricity to the families manning the oil pumping station, their neighbors to the west.
Turning left onto Highway 138, we pass the Kinsey Mansion, once part of the Bailey Ranch. General Petroleum (Mobil Oil Company) purchased it from the Baileys for a duck hunting location for their employees, directly across from Quail Lake (which in 1919 was identified as Crane Lake)!” This property had a small cottage on it at that time. Later the property was purchased by a Mr. Sattler of Gaffers & Sattlers Gas Ranges. A little farther west was the Bailey Ranch house, which sat just east of some Arizona Cypress trees on the southwestern shore of Quail Lake.
Quail Lake Inn, a short distance west of the Ranch house, also on the right-hand side of the road, hosted a two-storied building with a post office and rooms on the second floor. In back was a family restaurant. They had two gas pumps and a tin garage.
We will turn right off of Highway 138 at our first opportunity, accessing German Post Road, once the Ridge Route, and head toward Gorman. At the top of the rise, with our mileage indicating 32.3 miles, we locate Holland’s Summit Cafe. It was located on the east side and was a trucker’s joint. Tourists did not frequent Holland’s in the early days where trucks jammed the roadside as well as the parking lot. It also had a Standard service station and garage.
At the bottom of this summit was Caswell’s at 33.0 miles. There were ten rooms with running water in cottages, a double, $2, garage, restaurant and a pay camp. The restaurant, garage and gas station were located on the east side of the road with the auto camp and store on the west.
At 36 miles we reach Gorman, previously known as Ralphs’ Ranch. The Ralphs family of supermarket fame purchased 2,700 acres back in the 1890s, which include the township. The 1928 touring guide states, “a small settlement: store, garage, cafe!” Ruth Ralphs, the family’s 74 year-old matriarch who still runs the town post office, said, “We’re getting older and as the family gets larger we need to see to our tax and estate planning.”
North of Gorman the old road is covered over with the present I-5 freeway. About two miles north of Gorman was the small settlement of Chandler, which was located just before the Frazier Park exit. Today it is under the northbound lanes of the freeway. The site was owned by a man named Chandler, and at one time there was a motel, some small houses, a gas station, garage and restaurant. The touring guide of 1926 indicates: Lodging, meals, small garage, reputed reliable and good, labor $1.75 day or night. It is interesting to note that a State Camp and cabins were under construction at this location in 1928.
The last major structure in place during the highway’s glory was the Lebec Hotel. Construction began on January 15, 1921. The hotel was the brainchild of entrepreneur Thomas O’Brien, a saloon-keeper from Bakersfield. Financing for the opulent hotel was provided by Cliff Durant, an automobile manufacturer.
The Lebec hotel was a “complete gambling joint with a ball-room, rooms and apartments” during its heydays from 1925 to 1934. Clark Gable and his actress wife, Carole Lombard, as well as gangster Benny “Bugsy” Siegal, frequented the Lebec Hote1. A 1926 touring guide describes it: “Hotel Lebec is new and high class, 80 rooms, thoroughly modern single $2-$3, with bath $4, coffee shop open 24 hours.”The Lebec Garage nearby was the largest and best equipped on the ridge. Labor was $1.75 an hour, increasing to $2.40 after 6 p.m.
Shortly after the hotel opened, Durant sold his interest to Foster Curry (son of the concessionaire at Yosemite) of San Francisco. Early postcards from this period show the hotel under its brief stint as “Curry’s Lebec Lodge,” once located along the west side of Lebec Road just north of the Lebec off-ramp.
The hotel fell into disrepair and was officially closed on November 13, 1968, in response to health department charges concerning its substandard water system and dilapidated condition. The hotel went into receivership and was purchased by the Tejon Ranch Company. They torched the hotel and demolished the remains on April 27, 1971, only two weeks after acquiring the property. Two tall Italian Cypress trees mark the former location.
The Ridge Route passed directly in front of the hotel and continued toward Fort Tejon and Grapevine, the small community at the bottom of the grade. Just north of the hotel was Shady Inn, located on the present site of the Lebec Community Church. It was one of the most popular auto camps of that era. The 1928 touring guide states: “25 cents, water, comfort stations, lights, tables & benches, shade or shelter, 3 cabins $1 $1.25; noted for good meals, 50 cents.”
Just up the road was Fort Tejon, a supply point, garage and cafe. The ruins of the old fort were one quarter mile to the west.
Two miles beyond the fort was Camp Tejon which had a service station and auto camp. The cost of the auto camp was 50 cents and included water, lights, comfort stations, tables and benches with a community kitchen or cook house. For $1.50 you could rent one of the six cabins at the site.
Another half mile located Combs Service station and repair shop. From this point the early motorist continued down the grade until he reached Grapevine, also known as Grapevine Station. This was a small community of oil pumping station workers, with “good modern rooms” in cottages, dbl. $3, lunch room and soda fountain, one garage, open camp space.
We will end our journey here at the bottom of the Grapevine. When the current I-5 was constructed, the town of Grapevine was isolated from any access and, in effect, disappeared. A few derelict buildings remain. Although the I- 5 freeway destroyed much of the remaining segments of the old road after it left Gorman, we have experienced the encounters of the early motorist.
The original Ridge Route was constructed, graded and paved at an approximate cost of $1,500,000. As traffic increased in volume and speed, the sharpest curves of the Ridge route were “day-lighted” but by 1929 it became apparent that any further major improvement on this highway would not be justified in proportion to the resulting savings to traffic, thus marking the end of the road.
Conclusion
By the time you read this article we should have received word of acceptance for National Register status. The nomination journey has been as long and perilous as our motor venture, and I will breathe a sigh of relief when we receive word from Washington D.C. As relieved, I am sure, as were the intrepid motorists that completed their journey over the mountains on the old Ridge Route.
