Lyons Station Stagecoach Stop
Encyclopedia
Lyons Station stagecoach stop, was located in what is now Newhall
was the location of a tavern and stage depot called Wiley’s Station in the early 1850's located in the Newhall Pass on the Stockton - Los Angeles Road
to the northern goldfeilds. It was a regular stop for early California stage lines, and accommodated travelers during the Kern River
gold rush. It was purchased by Sanford and Cyrus Lyons in 1855. The Lyons brothers owned Lyons Station and the land around it where beside running the station, they farmed and raised sheep.
In his book, "Sixty Years in Southern California" Harris Newmark
, writes about his visit to the station in 1856:
Between 1858 and 1861 it became a regular stop for the Butterfield Overland Mail
. Despite being called Lyons Station and being owned by the Lyons brothers, it was strangely referred to as Harts Station in news accounts of the first trip over the route. Over the years Lyon's Station became a combination store, post office and a telegraph office was added after the telegraph line came to Los Angeles in 1861. By 1860 at least twenty families lived in the surrounding settlement.
Newhall, California
Newhall is the southernmost and oldest district of Santa Clarita, California. Prior to the 1987 consolidation of Valencia, Canyon Country, Saugus, Newhall, and other geographically proximate settlements into the conglomerate city of Santa Clarita, it was an independent but unincorporated town...
was the location of a tavern and stage depot called Wiley’s Station in the early 1850's located in the Newhall Pass on the Stockton - Los Angeles Road
Stockton - Los Angeles Road
Stockton-Los Angeles Road, also known as the Millerton Road, Stockton-Mariposa Road, Stockton-Fort Miller Road or the Stockton-Visalia Road was established about 1853 following the discovery of gold on the Kern River in Old Tulare County...
to the northern goldfeilds. It was a regular stop for early California stage lines, and accommodated travelers during the Kern River
Kern River
The Kern River is a river in the U.S. state of California, approximately long. It drains an area of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains northeast of Bakersfield. Fed by snowmelt near Mount Whitney, the river passes through scenic canyons in the mountains and is a popular destination for...
gold rush. It was purchased by Sanford and Cyrus Lyons in 1855. The Lyons brothers owned Lyons Station and the land around it where beside running the station, they farmed and raised sheep.
In his book, "Sixty Years in Southern California" Harris Newmark
Harris Newmark
Harris Newmark was a Prussian-American businessman, philanthropist, and historian. Born in Löbau in Province of Saxony Newmark emigrated to the United States in 1853, sailed from Europe to New York City to San Francisco, and finally settled in Los Angeles...
, writes about his visit to the station in 1856:
- We left Los Angeles early one afternoon, and made our first stop at Lyons's Station, where we put up for the night. One of the brothers[Sanford], after whom the place was named, prepared supper. Having to draw some thick blackstrap from a keg, he used a pitcher to catch the treacle; and as the liquid ran very slowly, our sociable host sat down to talk a bit, and soon forgot all about what he had started to do. The molasses, however, although it ran pretty slowly, ran steadily, and finally, like the mush in the fairy-tale of the enchanted bowl, overflowed the top of the receptacle and spread itself over the dirt floor. When Lyons had finished his chat, he saw, to his intense chagrin, a new job upon his hands, and one likely to busy him for some time.
Between 1858 and 1861 it became a regular stop for the Butterfield Overland Mail
Butterfield Overland Mail
The Butterfield Overland Mail Trail was a stagecoach route in the United States, operating from 1857 to 1861. It was a conduit for the U.S. mail from two eastern termini, Memphis, Tennessee and St. Louis, Missouri, meeting Fort Smith, Arkansas, and continuing through Indian Territory, New Mexico,...
. Despite being called Lyons Station and being owned by the Lyons brothers, it was strangely referred to as Harts Station in news accounts of the first trip over the route. Over the years Lyon's Station became a combination store, post office and a telegraph office was added after the telegraph line came to Los Angeles in 1861. By 1860 at least twenty families lived in the surrounding settlement.