Santa Clarita Valley History In Pictures
> BEALE'S CUT
Beale's Cut Toll House
Newhall, California

Toll house set up by Gen. Edward F. Beale and his partners below Beale's Cut, which they completed in 1864. This is where they extracted fees from the captive audience that passed between the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys.



Click to enlarge.

Blooming Almond Tree Marks Site of Old Toll Gate House.

The almond tree at the site of the old toll-gate house south of the Fremont Pass is in full bloom. The toll gate house, built of adobe, long since disappeared, and only a monument, erected by the San Fernando Women's Club marks the entrance to the cut, aside from the almond tree.

So far the tree and the site has escaped destruction from the road builders, but it is probable that in time, the whole site will be covered.

At the time the Beal [sic] cut was built, the county supervisors granted a toll franchise, which extended three miles each way from the cut, so no one could avoid the tolls by going around it. Tradition has it that one sheep owner took 3,000 sheep across to the west of the cut, only to find a United States Marshal awaiting him at Saugus, to collect the 10 cents a head.

The toll feature of the pass is said to have disappeared long ago, and after that many people paid to have their loads helped by additional horse power, which custom was continued until 1911, when the tunnel was completed [sic; 1910], and the road paved. This put all forms of extra help out of business, the tunnel serving more or less satisfactorily for 27 years, until its destruction three months ago.


AP2306: 9600 dpi jpeg from copy print.
BEALE'S CUT

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J.J. Lopez Story

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1890-1910

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South View
ca. 1900/1910

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Postcard 1911

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FILM: Broken Ways 1913

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Man Walking 1910s/20s

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"3 Jumps Ahead" 1923

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FILM: The Devil Horse 1932

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Toll House 1938

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"Stagecoach" Scene 1939

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Landmark Effort 1940

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"Cowboy Serenade" 1942, Not Beale's Cut

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Hiking Guide 1964

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