Traveling an 1860s Wagon Road: The Historic John Brown Toll Road Through Cajon Pass

In 1861, John Brown Sr. along with two business partners, built a wagon road through the Cajon Pass that would become the main route into Southern California through the the area for the next 60 years. The road would eventually even get paved and be used as an early automobile route through the mountains as part of the National Old Trails Road, the nation's first ocean-to-ocean highway.

The road was constructed by a team of 30-40 men in just a few months, largely by hand, and opened up Southern California to travel directly from the east.

By 1926, the John Brown Toll Road was bypassed by Route 66, and over time was largely forgotten. Some of the road is no longer passable to cars, and has become part of the Pacific Crest Trail, but the upper portion of the road can still be traveled.

In this video we explore the road, check out 1860s road construction, railroad history, and what remains of the National Old Trails Road. We also do not see any rattlesnakes.

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