The Ranger Cabin

Louis Newcomb was one of the original ‘mountain men’ of the San Gabriels, and connected with Wilbur Sturtevant early on. They went into business together with the goal of building a toll-road from the Big Santa Anita up and over the mountains into the Antelope Valley. Newcomb built the first part of the trail up to what we now call Newcomb’s Pass, a considerable achievement over difficult terrain. But all that time digging apparently gave him time to think, and he realized that there was no way to make money unless somebody would eventually sit at the trail and collect the toll from both directions. That wasn’t how he wanted to spend his time.

The early work that Louis and Wilbur did to develop the mountains contributed to the federal government establishing what we now know as the Angeles National Forest. Newcomb was hired as one of the first forest rangers, and built the hand-hewn log Ranger Cabin in 1903, just a stone’s throw from Wilbur’s “Swiss Dining Pavilion” (Sturtevant Lodge) built in 1897. Careful eyes will locate some of the antique hardware of the Cabin that is visible in historic photos from the turn of the last century. It is open to the public most every weekend.