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Overview

Lang served as a busy point along the Southern Pacific Railroad following the completion of a 6,940-foot-long tunnel dug through the San Gabriel Mountains in 1875-1876. A cattle rancher, John Lang, served as the town's namesake. In 1871, he erected a hotel and health spa on his property nearby to therapeutic hot springs. Two years later, a stage stop was established in Lang, to serve stage drivers hauling silver and other minerals from the Cerro Gordo mines in Inyo County to Los Angeles, CA. During 1875-1876, Chinese-American laborers weathered cave-ins and difficult physical conditions to dig the 6,940-foot-long San Fernando Tunnel through the San Gabriel Mountains, enabling trains to link San Francisco and Los Angeles using a San Joaquin Valley route. Near Lang, Charles Crocker, one of the owners of the Southern Pacific Railroad, drove a golden spike in the tracks to commemorate the completion of the tunnel and San Joaquin rail line on 09/05/1876.

Eight years later, the Southern Pacific Railroad built its first station at Lang, the first of four located in town.

Demolition

This first Southern Pacific Railroad station stood about three years, before burning in 1887.

PCAD id: 1671