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3.8 Cultural Resources

the El Camino Viejo (The Old Road). 11 Later, Pedro Fages, commander of the Presidio of San Diego, in
1772 traveled through Castaic Junction and Soledad Canyon in search of deserters from the army.

The Rancho San Francisco 12 which includes the western half of the Santa Clarita Valley) and the upper
reaches of the Santa Clara River figured in three important episodes in Southern California, two of which
are landmarks in the economic history of the state. The first is the documented discovery of gold in
Placerita Canyon in 1842 by Francisco Lopez, Manuel Cota, and Domingo Bermudez. An existing oak tree

near this location became known as the Oak of the Golden Dream.

The upper Santa Clarita Valley was also the first location of true oil drilling in Southern California,

exploration for which began about 1865, when oil seeps were discovered in Pico Canyon. Subsequent
exploration led to the discovery of oil in Rancho San Francisco and throughout the Valley. The crossing of
the Southern Pacific Railroad through the region, along with the development of the Newhall oil field
and the Pioneer Oil Refinery (the predecessor of Chevron Oil) in 1874 (it was moved to its present

location in 1876), initiated an oil boom in the area. The third major local historical event was the failure of
the St. Francis Dam and the resulting flood of the river valley on March 12 and 13, 1928. The flood caused
at least 450 deaths and destroyed 990 homes and large areas of orchards. 13

American explorer John C. Fremont, who would later challenge Abraham Lincoln for the Republican
nomination of US president, arrived at Castaic Junction with his “Buckskin Battalion” in 1847, after
following the future route of State Route (SR) 126 from Ventura. After camping for two days in the Santa

Clarita Valley, he crossed into the San Fernando Valley near the present alignment of Sierra Highway.
Near the current Universal Studios Hollywood, he accepted the surrender of California from Gen Andres
Pico. The crossing through the mountains occurred at what is now known as Fremont Pass. In 1854,
Phineas Banning made a 30-foot cut in the pass to allow the first stagecoach through the pass.

The Butterfield Overland Stage took the “Great Southern” or “Oxbow” route from St. Louis to San
Francisco over Fremont Pass from 1858 until the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. In 1863, under a

construction contract awarded by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, General Edward F.
Beale’s workers cut a 90-foot-deep passageway through the pass between the present alignments of SR-14
and Sierra Highway to improve the roadway. Beale had also constructed a toll house when the pass was

11 City of Santa Clarita (1999).
12 California Office of Historic Preservation, “California Historical Resources,” http://ohp.parks.ca.gov
/ listed_resources/default.asp?num=556, (2009).
13 Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society, “Welcome to the St. Francis Dam,” http://seis.natsci.csulb.edu
/ VIRTUAL_FIELD/Francesquito_Dam/franmain.htm, (2002).

Impact Sciences, Inc. 3.8-4 One Valley One Vision Revised Draft Program EIR
0112.023 County of Los Angeles Area Plan
November 2010