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Mount Wilson is one of the more prominent peaks in the San Gabriel Mountains, part of the Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles County, California. more...

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It is the location of the Mount Wilson Observatory and has become the astronomical center of Southern California with 60 inch (1524 mm) and 100 inch (2540 mm) telescopes, and 60 foot (18 m) and 150 foot (46 m) solar towers. It is located at 5,710 feet although surrounding peaks around the mountain can rise slightly above 6,000 feet.

Mount Wilson is also referred to as a metro-media center for its relay broadcasting of radio and television frequencies for the Greater Los Angeles Area.

History

The local inhabitants of the San Gabriels were more than likely the various Tongva tribes of Native Americans who lived in the low-lying valleys. Granite outcroppings along the Angeles Crest show signs of meal preparations with metate pots ground into the surfaces.

The first known exploration of the mountain was performed by Benjamin Davis "Don Benito" Wilson. Wilson, grandfather to Gen. George S. Patton, Jr. was owner of Rancho San Pascual at the time and ran a winery at his home "Lake Vineyard" (ca. 1852) in the area of today's San Marino, California. Wilson hoped to find a suitable wood for his casks, but was disappointed by the poor quality of trees on the mountain. He blazed a trail from an old Indian trail called the Mount Wilson Trail, though it was probably not the same exact roadway we know today. He was surprised to find line shacks at the summit, probably left behind by earlier Spaniards who used to track down destructive grizzly bears. Wilson built a three room cabin along the trail called "Halfway House." Despite Wilson's inability to find adequate wood, the hike became a popular pastime for locals who would make a weekend trip to the summit. Signal fires would be built at the summit to let folks down below know that the hiking party had arrived safely.

Astronomy in the southland

In 1889 Harvard University's Prof. William Pickering along with Alvin P. Clark, famous lens grinder, prepared an experiment with a 4 and 13 inch (102 and 330 mm) telescope at Mount Wilson. University students would operate the telescopes for nighttime viewing, but more often than not they would log in "bad weather, no visibility" and head to town to relieve their boredom. The small observatory was abandoned with plans to build a larger one at a later date.

In 1891 Prof. Thaddeus S. C. Lowe incorporated the Pasadena & Mount Wilson Railroad with the plan of building a scenic mountain railroad to the summit of Mt. Wilson. At the same time land and easement disputes between camp owners Steils and Strain were going on over the public and private use of the Mount Wilson Trail. The courts ruled that the trail was a public thoroughfare and that any blockading would be illegal. At the foot of the mountain, a local contractor Thomas Banbury built a 10 mile (15 km) roadway to be named "The New Mount Wilson Trail," aka "The Mount Wilson Toll Road." Passage fare was 25¢ round trip for hikers and 50¢ for horseback.

Read more at Wikipedia.org