Welcome To Oak Grove Station

Welcome To Oak Grove Station. . Oak Grove is an important location in southern California history. It is located in a flat, green valley at the base of Palomar Mountain. Through the valley passed the southern Immigrant trail, later to become known as the Butterfield Trail., A stage station was built here and became a horse changing and food stop when the Butterfield Stage line began operation in 1858. John Butterfield’s stage line hauled mail and passengers from St. Louis to San Francisco via Oak Grove. The trip covered 2,800 miles and took about 24 days., The stage rolled through here until the Civil War heated up in 1861. In the spring of that year it became unsafe to operate the stage by the southern routes, so the service was discontinued and moved north., In the fall of 1861, Oak Grove became the location of an Army post known as Camp Wright. The Union army feared a Confederate invasion might use the Butterfield Trail to capture California. To prevent this, a detachment of 250 men was sent to Oak Grove to protect the State. The camp was disbanded in 1866., Shortly after the U.S. Forest Service was formed in 1905, a Ranger station and tree nursery were built here. The Oak Grove Ranger Station was the District Ranger’s office and served as the main base for fire suppression activities and backcountry patrols., Since the turn of the century the Forest Service has been and continues to be important part of this area’s history.