Newhall Pass - Linking California

In 1769, Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portolà discovered Newhall Pass as a link between the San Fernando Valley and the Santa Clarita Valley. Newhall Pass is also called Fremont Pass in honor of John C. Fremont, American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. Fremont passed through this region for the signing of The Treaty of Cahuenga, which ended the fighting of the Mexican-American War in Alta California in 1847. This region was also known as San Fernando Pass, but eventually became known as Newhall Pass in honor of Henry Newhall, a significant businessman in the area during the 19th century. Newhall Pass separates the Eastern San Gabriel Mountains, in which the Wilson Canyon bench is located, and the Western Santa Susana Mountains, in which the Mission Peak bench is located. It is a vital transportation corridor for California through which the Golden State Freeway (5), the Antelope Valley Freeway (14), Foothill Boulevard, Sierra Highway, San Fernando Road, Metrolink's Antelope Valley Line and the Union Pacific Railroad travel. In addition, Newhall Pass is a vital link for Los Angeles’ water and power. The Owens River Aqueduct and Second Los Angeles Aqueduct travel through the east side of Newhall Pass, providing Los Angeles with most of its water. The Pacific Intertie is an electric power transmission line that transmits electricity from the Pacific Northwest to the Los Angeles area using high voltage direct current (HVDC). The Pacific Intertie provides approximately half of peak power for Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (3.1 Gigawatts, enough to serve two to three million Los Angeles households). The intertie originates near the Columbia River outside The Dalles, Oregon, travels through Newhall Pass and connects to the Sylmar Converter Station. The Sylmar Converter station inverts DC to AC and synchronizes the phase with the L.A. power grid.

Newhall pass has played a critical role in California’s history and economy. In 1853, Henry Clay Wiley, a Los Angeles businessman, installed a windlass on top of Newhall Pass to speed the accent and slow the decent of wagons crossing the steep Santa Clara Divide. The steep pass was made easier for stagecoach traffic with a 30-foot cut made by Phineas Banning in 1854 for a road to provide service to Fort Tejon. In 1861, Edward Beale was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln as Surveyor General of California and Nevada. In 1863 Beale had the Newhall Pass cut deepened to 90 feet and it was subsequently named in honor of him. The cut was used by the Butterfield Overland Mail, a stagecoach that operated mail between St. Louis, Missouri and San Francisco. Beale's Cut was decommissioned when the Newhall Tunnel was completed in 1910. The photo of Beale’s Cut was scanned by a negative taken by this website's author’s great grandfather, Frank Bohanon. Much of Beale’s Cut has collapsed, but what remains is visible from Sierra Highway about one mile north from the intersection of The Old Road and Sierra Highway, just after the first bridge under SR 14.