Land and Industry

Land and Industry. In the Late 1800s. , While the Vasquez Rocks area had not seen long term settlement since the decimation of the Tataviam village in the early 1800s, changes in transportation and industry painted a different picture by the century's end. While Agua Dulce was decades away from becoming a town, small numbers of families began settling in the area. And through advancements in overland transportation, the railroad, mining, and access to private land ownership, the end of the 19th century paved the way for the immense changes coming in the 20th. , , Overland Transportation and Stage Routes , By 1871, stagecoaches ran weekly between LA. and the booming Cerro Gordo Mine. Routes ran near the Vasquez Rocks region included San Francisquito, Bouquet, and Soledad Canyons. Only 2 miles away, Soledad was the closest to the Rocks, but prone to flooding. Therefore, a closer bypass route ran along today's Escondido Canyon Road, next to the Rocks. , , The Railroad , By 1874, Southern Pacific Railroad was underway to link Northern and Southern California and the Transcontinental Railroad. On September 5th, 1876 at Lang Station (five miles to our southwest), a large celebration marked the completion of this connection. , , Private Land Ownership and Early Families , With the connection of the railroad came interest in local land ownership. In the latter 1880s, a small number of American settlers began to acquire land in the Vasquez Rocks area, which had become available after a long process of survey, assessment, and assignment after California became a state. Parcels that had been tied up in railroad grants were also released, with some becoming US Forestry land, and others available for private ownership. , , Mining , Prospective mining in the Agua Dulce area grew due to other local mining successes, overland trail access, and increasing options for private land ownership and mineral claims. While substantial mining in here didn't come until the early 1900s, the successes of the nearby Acton/Soledad District goldmines drew long-term settlement closer to Agua Dulce. , , , photo captions: , · While no photographs of historic stagecoach runs in this area are currently known, this image of Monte and Ellie Montana driving their antique stagecoach near Vasquez Rocks (c. 1970s) offers a glimpse of what it would have looked like. , , · With Parker Mountain as a backdrop, Central Pacific Railroad’s 4-6-0 Engine No. 210 and its tender are pulling rail cars from which ties are being offloaded in nearby Acton in the 1870s. , , · View of Lang Station in 1936. In 1871-73, homesteader John Lang built a hotel and stage stop for freighters out of Cerro Gordo mine on his property. A small train depot, built in 1884, was the first of four iterations, with the final depot (pictured here) demolished in 1969. This station served as a lifeline for those in the Agua Dulce area. , , · Homesteader Albert Mellen and his grandchildren on his nearby Escondido Canyon ranch (1890s). , , · James Robertson's 1891 land deed for 160 acres, including the northwestern portion of today's park. , , · An 1880 government survey map of the Sierra Pelona Valley (Agua Dulce) area. , , · One of the earliest known photographs of Vasquez Rocks, taken an 1898 and labeled as Escondido Cañon, from the Mellon family scrapbook. , , · California Governor Henry T Gage (left) with mine superintendent Ed Brough (right) at Gage's successful Red Rover (gold) Mine in Acton (c. 1890-1912). , , Images courtesy Melen-Bly family, SCV Historical Society, Leon Worden, the Blum family, and the Bureau of Land Management.