Monday, February 14, 2011

Fort Tejon State Historic Park

In the mountains separating Los Angeles from the Great Valley of California lies the site of the historic Fort Tejon. 
The fort was active for only ten years, from 1854 to 1864.  Except for the barracks, only foundations remained when the land was acquired from the Tejon Ranch Company in 1940.  The barracks, above, was restored and other buildings recreated.
In the barracks you can see the austere life led by the dragoons stationed here.  Their bedrolls lie on the floor under the pegs on which they hung their uniforms.
The commanding officer and his wife had more comfortable quarters, two rooms down and two up with a kitchen behind the house.  The junior officers shared a similar house two officers to a house each getting one upstairs and one downstairs room and sharing a kitchen. 
In one of the quartermaster's shops was a very substantial treadle operated sewing machine which I assume was used to sew leather as it was in the tack room. 
They even recreated the poultry yard, complete with chickens.
The fort was established to protect American miners and settlers from the native Americans who were not too keen on seeing their land usurped by these invaders.
An interesting exhibit in the barracks shows the various uniforms used during the period.  I was surprised to see how much they changed in just ten years time and how fancy the uniforms of enlisted men were.

The first Saturday of each month the park features Living History Demonstrations.  Twice a year there are civil war re-enactments.  You can find a calendar of events at the link.


 Find more about our wonderful world at That's My World, Tuesday, hosted for us by Klaus, Sandy, Wren and Sylvia.

19 comments:

Linda Reeder said...

This ia a very interesting trip back in time.

Sylvia K said...

I do so enjoy visiting places like this and your photos and information are the next best thing to being there! Terrific post for the day and another interesting look at your world! Enjoy your week!

Sylvia

Gaelyn said...

Nice tour. I'd really enjoy the living history.

jabblog said...

Fascinating place! It's always so interesting to see places where history has been made.

Reader Wil said...

How interesting, Martha! Yes if they could do without electricity, so can we. When we were younger my husband and I went camping in our holidays. First with the children, who still love camping out, later together with a caravan trailer. Then I had to do the laundry by hand.

Penelope Notes said...

Glad you shared this interesting piece of history, Martha. The barracks are austere but also appealing in some ways. Very simple yet very practical and solidly built by the looks of your informative photos. :)

eileeninmd said...

Great tour and your photos are wonderful.

EG CameraGirl said...

Someone has taken great care to share the past with us! And you have taken it one step beyond by taking photos of the fort and posting them on your blog. Thanks!

Barbara said...

Great piece of history and so fascinating, I enjoyed the tour - thanks.

Unknown said...

Interesting post Martha. Dragoons are heavy cavalry. I would have thought they would have deployed light cavalry for that duty. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Barb said...

Martha, That Header is wonderful! I like your walk through History, too.

Kay L. Davies said...

Very interesting, Martha. They've done a very good job of recreating the fort, complete with uniforms and bedrolls, although I wouldn't want to sleep that way.
-- K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

I just love visiting old forts. It always amazing how hard life must have been for the troops, especially the enlisted men.

Pat said...

Very interesting, Martha! I love visiting historic sites like this. I'll have to add it to our list of "must-sees!"

Esther Garvi said...

I love historical sites too, and although I would love to visit, it won't be for long - so thank you for sharing! I love it when they keep houses intact and you really get to see how people lived and what their world was all about...

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

I love this kind of touring. That Tejon Ranch still seems like it is about half of the State! Can't imagine how many acres it must once have been.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

I love this kind of touring. That Tejon Ranch still seems like it is about half of the State! Can't imagine how many acres it must once have been.

Anonymous said...

I enjoy visiting "living history" sites. Thanks for the tour!

Saralee said...

Martha & Friends- Hi. I recently found out Fort Tejon is on the California State Park kill list. It is said to close in September, I am trying to rally ALL of the visitors who enjoyed their time spent at this historical park. Please "like " us on Facebook, there are links to write the governer and senator to try to save this local treasure.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001504279894#!/pages/Fort-Tejon-State-Historic-Park/198348116851094
Thanks for you time and support. Sara Fuess