of] pure salt water".

In 1843 the lake was incorporated in a land grant which formed 22178 acre Rancho Castac. In 1854, Fort Tejon was founded in the Grapevine Valley about 5 mi northwest of the lake, to command the main route (via Tejon Pass) between the Central Valley and Southern California. The Rancho Castac was eventually acquired by Edward Fitzgerald Beale, who founded Tejon