The Dragoon Era Program

The Dragoon Era Program at Fort Tejon Historical Park is sponsored by the California Department of Parks & Recreation and theFort Tejon Historical Association.

Come and take a step back in time and see California as it was in 1856. At Fort Tejon State Historical Park vistors can witness life at this U.S. Army post of the far west. Fort Tejon was a crossroads for many converging and competing cultures of the 1850s. Vistors are invited to view the living history demonstrations of everyday life of the common soldier and civilian men, women and children at this mountain outpost.

The Dragoons at Fort Tejon patrolled a wide area and had many responsibilities. They settled disputes involving Indians in the Tule and Kern River districts. They toured the Owens Valley, the San Gabriel Valley, and Mojave River country to "overawe" the Indians of those regions and to protect the miners and prospectors. In 1858 a small subpost was established at San Bernardino, and in 1860, Camp Cady (downstream from present day Daggett on the Mojave River) was manned for a time by Dragoons from Fort Tejon. The Dragoons were even sent to Los Angeles on occasion to maintain order there. In June 1861, despite protests from local ranchers, the Dragoons were transferred away from Fort Tejon, and with their departure the civilian population melted away overnight.

Some of the living history demonstrations depicted at the western outpost of the U.S. Army in 1856 are:

1850s Army Barracks

Artillery Drill

Blacksmithing

Adobe Brick-making

Open Hearth Cooking

Needle Craft

Laundry Military Drill

Carpentry Shop

Officer's Quarters