Book Description

In The Long Road to Tehachapi and The Formative Years, Judy Barras has captured the history of rural and small town life that was experienced all across America, describing the people and facts in a way that gives them a true authenticity. The rich history of the area that came to be known as Tehachapi begins with the first known people in the area, Native Americans, who are thought to have been here for 8,500 years. Spanish missionary Father Francisco Garces was the first known white man to pass though, in 1776.From the beginning of time, men have roamed far from their homelands, exploring foreign lands in search of fame, land, gold, freedom, and a new life. When word of the new, unspoiled promised land of the West spread across America and abroad, settlers from the rapidly growing eastern and mid-western states began to migrate, escalating in the mid-1800s. Others emigrated directly from Europe. Those that settled in Tehachapi sought to fulfill their ambitions, as told by Barras.The completion of the world famous Tehachapi Loop brought the railroad in 1876, establishing the settlement of Summit, later to be renamed Tehachapi. The small settlement grew from the first building, a nine by sixteen foot telegraph shack, to a bustling frontier town in no time, incorporating as a town in 1909.In the tradition of small town America, Tehachapi became the embodiment of many a family's dreams and hopes, from the first ranchers and gold miners to those who saw the potential for businesses, creating a safe place for their families. Here are the stories of ordinary families, prosperous ranchers and businessmen, natural disasters, a few oddball and colorful characters and other factors that created modern day Tehachapi.