Why Is The Grapevine Called The Grapevine
So why is it called "The Grapevine"? In 1772, searching for a shorter pass between San Diego and Monterey, Acting Governor of Alta California Pedro Fages discovered a canyon pass that led southbound towards the Santa Clarita Valley. It's been called the Grapevine for a long time. But it appears that it has to do with early travelers encountering grape vines along the path of the original road through the mountains, the Ridge Route.
Grapevine is an unincorporated community in Kern County, California, United States, at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley. [1] The small village is directly adjacent to Interstate 5 and consists mainly of gas stations, motels and other roadside services. At its northern end, Grapevine Canyon has long provided a vital line of communication between Southern California and the Central Valley.
The canyon rises from the plains of the great valley into the Tehachapi Mountains and up to Tejon Pass, following the seasonal cascades of Grapevine Creek. The road was eventually signed as U.S. Route 99, but its path from Wheeler Ridge to Fort Tejon also gave it another name that remains to this day.
Grapevine sits at the foot of a steep grade known as "the Grapevine" that lies in the Grapevine Canyon through Tejon Pass. The small village and steep grade are named for the canyon in which the trail passes through and after wild grapes that grow along the original road. The Spanish name is La Canada de las Vvas which means Grapevine Ravine.
Why do we call this stretch of the I-5, "The Grapevine"? Take a deep dive into the history of this stretch of road from the naming by the Spanish, to the stage coach road and the first automobile. Why is grapevine called the grapevine? The settlement was named Grapevine because of its location on the Grape Vine Prairie near Grape Vine Springs, both of which were named for the tart, wild Mustang grapes that blanketed the area. Following the signing of the treaty, settlement began in the area that would become the city of Grapevine.
They called this the "grapevine telegraph" to distinguish it from the wire telegraph, because of the coiling tendrils of the grapevine that resembled wires. Before there was the Grapevine, there was the Old Ridge Route, a 697.