Fort Tejon, Military heritage site in Grapevine Canyon, US.

Fort Tejon is a military heritage site in Grapevine Canyon, California, set between two mountain ranges. The grounds include restored barracks, officer quarters, and other wooden buildings spread across roughly five acres.

The U.S. Army founded Fort Tejon in 1854 at the urging of Indian Affairs superintendent Edward Fitzgerald Beale. It served as headquarters of the First U.S. Dragoons until July 1861, then was reoccupied by California volunteers in 1863 and abandoned on September 11, 1864. The post lay along the Stockton–Los Angeles Road and from 1858 was a Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach station.

The name Tejon refers to the pass, not to an animal. Peter Lebeck, a French-Canadian trapper killed by a grizzly bear, is buried on the grounds under a marker, and the nearby town of Lebec takes his name. The Fort Tejon Historical Association stages Civil War reenactments here, and the reconstructed quartermaster building holds materials used in dragoon-life and war demonstrations.

The grounds are open year-round and offer paths to the main buildings along with rest areas. Visitors should bring suitable footwear for walking on uneven terrain.

The site once served as the western endpoint for experiments with camels as transport animals in arid regions. These trials brought animals from the Mediterranean to California and tested their suitability in desert conditions.