On October 12, 1915, the United States government officially changed the name of the Surrey post office, and, by extension, the small community around it, to Saugus.

The story of Saugus goes back nearly three decades earlier. When the Southern Pacific Railroad built its station at this location in 1888, there were little more than a few outbuildings. The depot was named Saugus in honor of Henry Mayo Newhall’s birthplace in Massachusetts. With no dining cars on trains at that time, passengers ate in the station diner, known first as Tolfree’s and later renamed Saugus when new operators took over in the 1890s. Travelers who missed the last train could spend the night in one of the four rooms upstairs.

By 1891, a post office was added inside the station, but for reasons lost to history, the federal government called it Surrey, after the county in England. The mismatch created confusion, especially as the area grew.

A turning point came in 1906 when Ore W. Bercaw became the station agent and postmaster. Seeing opportunity across the highway at the junction where the Santa Paula branch line split off, he opened a general store, relocated the post office from the station, and began building what would become a small town. Within a few years, the Surrey Inn and other establishments gave shape to the budding community.

By 1915, with the railroad modernizing and no longer housing diners or guest rooms inside the depot, the need for a unified name became clear. To eliminate the duplication of Saugus at the station and Surrey across the road, the post office officially adopted the Saugus name on October 12, 1915. The following year, the famed Saugus Café, already using the station’s name, moved across the street into its own building, cementing “Saugus” as the community’s identity.

To read yesterday’s Today in SCV History, click HERE.

KHTS FM 98.1 and AM 1220 is Santa Clarita’s only local radio station. KHTS mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, and features along with your favorite adult contemporary hits. Santa Clarita news and features are delivered throughout the day over our airwaves, on our website and through a variety of social media platforms. Our KHTS national award-winning daily news briefs are now read daily by 34,000+ residents. A vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community, the KHTS broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. The station streams its talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Follow @KHTSRadio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.