Newhall Pass is a mountain pass in Los Angeles County, California, USA. Historically called San Fernando Pass and Fremont Pass, it separates the Santa Susana Mountains from the San Gabriel Mountains. It links the San Fernando Valley to the Santa Clarita Valley and is a main entry to the Los Angeles area.

The pass was discovered in 1769 by Gaspar de Portolà. It was initially named for General John C. Frémont, who was thought to have passed through it in 1847 on his way to sign the Treaty of Cahuenga, but he actually went slightly east of the pass on the El Camino Viejo.^[1] The steep pass was made easier for stagecoach traffic with a deep cut made by Phineas Banning in 1854 as part of a road he built to provide service to Fort Tejon.

Beale's Cut in 1872

Beale's Cut

In 1863, the cut was deepened to by General Edward Fitzgerald Beale, landowner and surveyor. This slot-like roadway was called Beale's Cut, and it appeared in many silent western movies. Newhall Pass remains a main traffic route, as the Newhall Pass interchange of Interstate 5 (Golden State Freeway and State Route 14 (Antelope Valley Freeway), as well as Sierra Highway, Foothill Boulevard, and San Fernando Road travel through the pass, and the Southern Pacific Railroad goes through the area via the San Fernando Tunnel. The Sierra Highway crossing was once the Newhall Tunnel, built by Los Angeles County in 1910 to replace the cut.

Newhall Tunnel ca. 1920

Newhall Pass is named after businessman Henry Newhall, whose land holdings formed the basis of the city of Santa Clarita.

References

External links

• History of Beale's Cut (Photos, text, TV shows)
• Beale's Cut in the Movies
• Comprehensive Filmography
• Bird's-eye view of the cut on Windows Live Local

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