Frontier Army Days

THE DRAGOON ERA PROGRAM

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

DRAGOON EVENTS FOR 2008

January 5th, Saturday 10am to 3pm
February 2 & 3, Saturday & Sunday 10am to 3pm (California's Civil War)
March 1st, Saturday 10am to 3pm
April 5th, Saturday 10am to 3pm
May 3rd, Saturday 10am to 3pm
June 7th, Saturday 10am to 3pm
July 4th - Fourth of July Celebration of 1856, 10am to 2pm
August 2nd, Saturday 10am to 3pm
September 6th, Saturday 10am to 3pm
October 4th, Saturday 10am to 3pm
November 1st, Saturday 10am to 3pm
December 6th, Saturday 10am to 3pm

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: