A Monorail to the Sespe?

An odd footnote to the Bakersfield & Ventura story:

In 1927 one P.S. Coombs, a self-styled developer of uncertain credentials, appeared in the small Southern California farming community of Fillmore with a plan.

Claiming to be backed by financial interests in Chicago, Coombs announced the construction of a resort at Sespe Hot Springs (pronounced SESS-pea), located in the rugged mountains 10 miles north of Fillmore. The springs are said to be the warmest in California, and were long reputed to have curative properties, but reaching them was problematic, requiring a long, round-about trip over bad roads, through Ojai and into the back country.

Coombs would solve the access problem by building a monorail -- yes, this was in 1927 – he even had drawings of the thing. Coombs’ monorail would wind its way along Sespe Creek, through Devil’s Gate, a narrow, rocky gorge just north of town, and on to the resort. Maybe, it was hinted, even farther – perhaps all the way to Bakersfield on the other side of the mountains.

Old timers who knew the mountains may have had some doubts about building anything through Devil’s Gate, but there were plenty of gullible citizens to buy stock in the enterprise. A billboard was erected, a groundbreaking ceremony held, and stock sold. Then, predictably, Coombs disappeared, taking the investors’ money with him.

Source:

Jarrett, Edith Moore. Old-Timer's Tales of Fillmore. Ventura, Calif.: Ventura County Historical Society, 1983.