Old Santa Susana Stage Road facts for kids
|
Old Santa Susana Stage Road
|
|
A mosaic plaque was built in 1939 to commemorate the historic road.
|
|
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Nearest city | Chatsworth, California |
|---|---|
| Built | 1861 |
| Architectural style | None |
| NRHP reference No. | 74000517 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
|
| Added to NRHP | January 10, 1974 |
The Old Santa Susana Stage Road was a very important path for travelers long ago. It was also called the Santa Susana Wagon Road. This road connected the San Fernando Valley and Simi Valley in California. It went through the Santa Susana Pass, near Chatsworth, California.
Today, you can find parts of this old road in the Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park. There is also a small part in Chatsworth Park South. This road was a main route for stagecoach travel. It linked Los Angeles with inland Ventura County. From 1861 to 1876, it was the main way to travel between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The Old Santa Susana Stage Road is now a special historic place. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Parts of it are also called the Old Stagecoach Trail. These parts are special monuments in Ventura County and Los Angeles.
Contents
History of the Old Stage Road
In 1859, the California government gave $15,000 to make an old wagon road better. This road went through the Santa Susana Pass. Los Angeles and Santa Barbara Counties also helped pay for the improvements.
Mail Delivery During the Civil War
In 1861, the American Civil War began. This war made it hard to deliver mail across the country. Mail service was stopped on the southern stagecoach route. This route went from St. Louis, Missouri to San Francisco.
To fix this, the government hired the Butterfield Company. They were asked to carry mail between Los Angeles and San Francisco. They used the new wagon road over the Santa Susana Pass. The first mail stagecoach went through the pass on April 6, 1861.
This new mail route started near the Cahuenga Pass. It followed an old coast road called El camino Viejo. This road went to San Buenaventura (Ventura) and Santa Barbara. The new route then turned northwest across the San Fernando Valley. It headed towards the Santa Susana Pass.
The Devil's Slide
A very steep part of the road was called the Devil's Slide. This was on the San Fernando Valley side. It was so steep that horses were often blindfolded. Chains were used to help the brakes on the stagecoaches. Passengers usually had to get off and walk down this part.
The Santa Susana Pass stagecoach road was used from 1861 to 1875. It became the main route between Los Angeles and San Francisco. In 1867, a man named William E. Lovett took over the mail contract. He carried mail and people through the Santa Susana Pass. He also ran routes between Los Angeles and San Diego.
The Arrival of Trains
In 1876, the Southern Pacific Railroad opened a tunnel. This tunnel went through the Newhall Pass. It allowed trains to travel from Los Angeles north to San Francisco. Train travel quickly replaced stagecoach travel. After this, the stagecoaches to Santa Barbara used the coast route again. The road through Santa Susana Pass was then mostly used for local trips.
Later Road Changes
A new wagon route was opened in 1895. It went around the difficult Devil's Slide. This new road was first called El Camino Nuevo (the New Road). Later, it was named the Chatsworth Grade Road. This road was used until the current Santa Susana Pass Road was built in 1917.
Today, if you hike in the Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park, you can still see deep ruts. These ruts were made by the wagons on the 'Devil's Slide' section. In 1939, a special plaque was placed in the sandstone rock. It was put there by the Native Daughters of the Golden West. This plaque remembers the Old Santa Susana Stage Road.
Historic Designations
A part of the Santa Susana Pass stagecoach road is a special landmark. It was named Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #92. The City of Los Angeles called it 'The Old Stagecoach Trail' on January 5, 1972.
In 1974, a large area of land was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This area was about 174 acres (0.70 km2) and included the stagecoach road. The stage route was also named Ventura County Historical Landmark #104. This happened on October 24, 1986.
See also
- History of the San Fernando Valley to 1915
- Old Santa Susana Stage Road Historic-Cultural Monument
- Santa Susana Pass
- Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park
- Santa Susana Tunnel
- Spahn Movie Ranch
- Stagecoach Trail in northwest Illinois
