Fort TejonBrochure and Map |
Brochure and Map of Fort Tejon State Historic Park (SHP) in California. Published by California Department of Parks and Recreation.
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Fort Tejon
State Historic Park
Our Mission
The mission of California State Parks is
to provide for the health, inspiration and
education of the people of California by helping
to preserve the state’s extraordinary biological
diversity, protecting its most valued natural and
cultural resources, and creating opportunities
for high-quality outdoor recreation.
Walk among Fort
Tejon’s buildings, sites,
and ruins. Imagine the
lives of the soldiers
and civilians, and
understand the struggles
of early life in California.
California State Parks supports equal access.
Prior to arrival, visitors with disabilities who
need assistance should contact the park at
(661) 248-6692. If you need this publication in an
alternate format, contact interp@parks.ca.gov.
CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS
P.O. Box 942896
Sacramento, CA 94296-0001
For information call: (800) 777-0369
(916) 653-6995, outside the U.S.
711, TTY relay service
www.parks.ca.gov
Fort Tejon State Historic Park
4201 Fort Tejon Road / P.O. Box 895
Lebec, CA 93243
(661) 248-6692
© 2007 California State Parks (Rev. 2016)
Soldier reenactment, 1994
A
t the top of Grapevine Canyon, the
adobe buildings of Fort Tejon State Historic
Park guard a beautiful, tree-lined meadow.
Between 1854 and 1864, this U.S. Army fort
protected people in the surrounding region
from the social and cultural conflicts between
American settlers and California Indians.
Fort Tejon, at an elevation of over 3,500
feet, is situated in the rugged Tehachapi
Mountains near Tejon Pass on I-5. Summer
temperatures are often in the high 80s
and can exceed 100 degrees. Winter
temperatures can dip to freezing, with the
possibility of snow. Grapevine Canyon is
known for occasional strong winds.
EARLY HISTORY
Prior to the establishment of Fort Tejon,
the Emigdiano group of Native Californians
called this area home. An inland group of
the coastal Chumash people, the Emigdiano
lived in a large village at the bottom of
Grapevine Canyon and had one village,
Sausu, along Castac Lake. Unlike the coastal
groups, they had little contact with European
explorers and settlers before the mid-1800s.
Founding of a Fort
The gold discovery drew thousands
of people to California in the 1850s.
Confrontations between the Emigdiano,
would-be miners, and land-hungry settlers
were frequent. The U.S. government tried
to mitigate the situation by establishing
reservations, including the Sebastian
Reservation at the southern end of the
San Joaquin Valley in 1853.
Because the animals were in poor
condition and expensive to feed, the camel
herd was transferred after less than a year to
the Los Angeles Quartermaster Depot. There
they were used in a failed experiment to cut
the expense of messenger service between
Los Angeles and Fort Mojave. The animals
were then moved to the Benicia Army
Arsenal and eventually sold at auction.
The Closure of Fort Tejon
Living History program participants
For almost ten years, Fort Tejon provided a
source of employment, protection, and social
In July 1854 Lieutenant Alfred Latimer and
activities for local residents. The foremost
a small detachment of dragoons established
duties of the dragoons
a camp at the reservation. However, the new
stationed here were to
camp lacked water, forage for horses, and
protect and control the
timber for construction. That August, Major
native Emigdiano living
J.L. Donaldson, the Quartermaster, moved
on the Sebastian (also
the post to the top of Grapevine Canyon, 17
known as the Tejon)
miles southwest of the reservation. This site
Reservation, and to
contained everything necessary to sustain a
deter raids by the
large military outpost.
Paiutes, Chemeheuvi,
The First U.S. Dragoons arrived on August
Mojave, and other
10, 1854, and began construction of more
desert-dwelling
than 40 military buildings. A small civilian
groups. The
community developed just south of the
dragoons’ widefort to provide supplies and labor to the
ranging patrols
military. In 1858 the Overland Mail Company
covered most
established a station in the sutler’s (trader’s)
of central and
store at the fort.
southern
California and
The Camel Experiment
sometimes
During the late 1850s, the U.S. Army
extended as
experimented with camels, hoping to
far as Utah.
improve transport across the arid west; in
Volunteer portraying
1859 camels were brought to Fort Tejon,
a dragoon.
where the Army took charge of them.
With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861,
the dragoons were sent to guard Los Angeles
and later transferred east to fight in the war.
In the summer of 1862, violence erupted
between the encroaching white settlers and
the Owens Valley Paiute, who wanted to
protect their lands. Three cavalry companies
of California Volunteers forcibly moved
the Paiute to the Sebastian Reservation,
but the authorities there refused to accept
responsibility for them. In 1863, several
hundred of these Indians were brought to
Fort Tejon, which was then being used by
the California Volunteers. With little or no
food, clothing, or other support, the Indians’
ranks were thinned by disease, starvation,
and desertion until the summer of 1864,
when they were transferred to the Tule River
Indian Reservation. That year the U.S. Army
closed Fort Tejon, formally ending its career
as an active military post.
FORT TEJON TODAY
In 1940, through the persuasive efforts
of Kern County citizens, the Tejon Ranch
Company deeded five acres — the
fort’s parade ground, the foundations,
and remnants of the original adobe
buildings — to the State of California as a
state park. Restoration began on the adobe
buildings in 1947
and continues to
this day. The original
barracks building, the
reconstructed officers’
quarters, and various
other structures stand
as reminders of Fort
Tejon’s military history.
California poppies are
among the many wildflowers
found in the park.
NATURAL HISTORY
The plant and animal life here is unique,
due to the park’s geographical location
at the confluence of several ecological
regions, including the Mojave Desert, the
Central Valley, the Sierra Nevada, and
Southern California. The natural vegetation
is dominated by oak woodlands that provide
forage and shelter for a variety of wildlife,
including the endangered California condors,
scrub jays, and red-shafted flickers who
feed on acorns.
The presence of a year-round creek in
an otherwise arid climate attracts many
animals to the park. The riparian woodland
and freshwater marsh along Grapevine
Creek are home to myriad birds and
reptiles. Almost all of the mammals found
in the area — including blacktailed deer,
blacktailed hare, Beechey ground squirrels,
bobcats, badgers, and opossum — frequent
these wetlands during the summer for water.
The park’s meadows and grasslands are
home to insects, seed-eating birds, and
small mammals. As a result, the area is
fertile hunting ground for raptors, coyotes,
and gray foxes.
Reconstructed Quartermaster building
The land the park sits on is
highly active geologically. This area
experienced one of the greatest
earthquakes ever recorded in U.S.
history. In 1857, an earthquake of
approximately 7.9 to 8.2 magnitude
struck here along the San Andreas Fault,
leaving an amazing surface-rupture scar
more than 220 miles long.
ACCESSIBLE FEATURES
Various buildings and exhibits, including
the visitor center, officers’ quarters, picnic
tables, restrooms, and parking near the
visitor center/park office are all accessible.
An interpretive trail around the historic
grounds is generally accessible.
Accessibility is continually improving. For
updates, visit http://access.parks.ca.gov or
call the park.
PLEASE REMEMBER
• The park is open daily from sunrise to
sunset. The visitor center and historic
buildings are open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• The park is closed Thanksgiving,
Christmas, and New Year’s Day.
• Contact the park for information on
scheduled Living History demonstrations.
• State law prohibits disturbing or removing
any natural, cultural, or historic features
in the park.
• Stay on designated trails or mowed areas.
• The park has no designated hiking or
bicycle trails.
• Do not drive off designated roads.
• Pets must be kept on a leash.
to Bakersfield
Freeway
State Hi sto ri c P ark
Le
Paved Road
be
c
Ro
Rd
Rd
c
er
be
Fort Tejon
gi
Le
Di
Legend
ad
Interpretive Path
Park Buildings
Visitor
Center
Locked Gate
area shown in
enlargement
Commissary/
Hospital
Campground: Group
S TAT E
Peter Lebeck
Grave
Visitor
Center
to Los
Angeles
Parking
H I S T O R I C PA R K
Picnic Area
Officers’
Quarters
Ranger Station
Orderlies’
Quarters
Officers’
Quarters
F O RT T E J O N
S TAT E H I S T O R I C PA R K
Se
This park is supported
in part through the
Fort Tejon Historical Association
P.O. Box 895, Lebec, CA 93243
www.forttejon.org
Post
Cemetery
Group
Camp
Barracks #2
Band
Quarters
Barracks #1
Restrooms
NO
PUBLIC
ACCESS
d
F O RT T E J O N
Jail
R
Bridge
Guardhouse
c
Wells
be
Accessible Feature
Junior Officers’
Quarters
Le
Historic Sites
Post
Bakery
rv
i ce
Ro
ad
(G
ro
up
C
p
am
und
gro
ss Only)
Acce
Kitchens and
Mess Halls
Quartermaster
Building
F
t
or
Te
j
on
Ro
ad
Tule Elk
SNR
NEARBY STATE PARKS
• Hungry Valley SVRA, 5301 Peace Valley
Rd., Gorman 93243 (661) 248-7007
• Arthur B. Ripley Desert Woodland SP
20998 Lancaster Road, Lancaster 93536
(661) 942-0662
• Tule Elk State SNR, 8653 Station Road
Buttonwillow 93206 (661) 764-6881
© 2007 California State Parks (Rev. 2016)