Camp Cajon will mark its 105th birthday on July 4

Camp Cajon, a defunct motor camp along Route 66 in Southern California’s Cajon Pass, will celebrate 105 years on July 4 with two guided hikes, a program on its history and information from local historical groups. 

Mark Landis, a historical columnist for the San Bernardino County Sun, had the details on the event, which runs from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Independence Day.

Camp Cajon originally opened July 4, 1919, as a rest stop for motorists traveling on National Old Trails Road, from the Mojave Desert to San Bernardino, and onward. National Old Trails Road became Route 66 in 1926, and that famous route became known as America’s Mother Road, stretching 2,448 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles.

The idea for Camp Cajon was conceived in 1917 by William Bristol, a local orange grower, author, poet, and community leader. Bristol believed that Camp Cajon’s location in the heart of the Cajon Pass would be an ideal spot for motorists to stop and rest.

Bristol was a skilled stone mason and artisan, and he created a unique style for the heavy stone and concrete facilities at Camp Cajon. He developed the idea of having sponsors donate items such as picnic tables, stoves, and barbecue pits. Each sponsor paid to have a cast-iron tablet with an inscription placed on their donation.

The camp became a nationally known rest stop, and the facility was a model for other motor camps across the country. Camp Cajon operated from 1919 to 1938, when it was badly damaged by a flood that swept through Southern California.

About 80 years later, several historic-minded groups built a replica of the camp’s original entrance monument, a stone’s throw from the original site. The new monument was dedicated on July 4, 2019, exactly 100 years after the original camp’s opening.

Since then, an original 1919 Camp Cajon picnic table, an informational kiosk with details about Camp Cajon, a California Highway “C Marker” and a replica of a Route 66 mileage post were added to the site.

In addition to Route 66, Landis said other historic roads and trails near the site include the Old Spanish Trail, the Mormon Road, the John Brown Toll Road, the National Old Trails Road and the Pacific Crest Trail.

Camp Cajon at 3355 Wagon Train Road in Phelan, California, just south of Highway 138.

(Image of new Camp Cajon monument and a Ford Model T from the Camp Cajon page on Facebook)