Location: Kern County, California
Named after a sawmill that once stood on the south slope of this mountain. It was reached by two roads, one for uphill traffic and one for down–remnants of both are still there.
The Los Padres has long been called a “timberless forest”, but small-scale logging of Bigcone Spruce (Pseudotsuga macrocarpa) existed here to serve local needs-with a total cut of approximately 200,000 board feet (1880-1904). William S. Brown notes that “even in an area where sawn boards were scarce [this product] proved unsatisfactory to local settlers in Lockwood Valley and neighboring areas”. However some of the trees felled were 36 inches in diameter and 125 feet tall.
Called “Sawmill Mountain #1” on original HPS List — #2 was in the Tehachapi’s.
This is the high point of the San Emigdio Mountains.
Name first appears on GLO Santa Barbara National Forest (east half) map (1918).
Peak was on the original 1946 HPS Peak List. Weldon Heald climbed this peak in 1939.
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