The Kawaiisu, who called themselves the nu-oo-ah, meaning the People, were the first Native American tribe to reside on the land now called Tehachapi. The origin of the name itself, Tehachapi, is not known, however speculation suggests it could possibly be derived from the Kawaiisu word meaning “hard climb” or from the Nuwa word “tihachipia”.

In 1854, Tehachapi Valley’s first white settlers arrived from Texas and three years later moved to the area now known as Brite Valley. John Moore and Amanda Brite were these first permanent settlers and the legacy remains in the name. As more people settled, it wasn’t long before they began farming the land, growing hay and grains, and raising cattle. The lumber trade was established and flourished. Among those responsible for these developments were William C. Wiggins, Grant P. Cuddeback and George Cummings.

Peter D. Greene and John Hendrickson arrived on the scene to try their hand at gold mining; however they eventually realized there were other valuable rocks to be mined in the Tehachapi Mountains. Rich deposits of limestone were discovered and soon being mined and processed.

Sometime in the mid-1860s, a small town know as Williamsburg, but also referred to as Tehichipa for part of this period, was established where the Golden Hills are now located. A second site, known then as Greenwhich and situated close to Williamsburg was established by Peter D. Greene. By 1876, Southern Pacific Railway had reached the valley and established its own community, naming it Tehachapi. The area was chosen by the rail company because of its large level area of land within the mountains making it suitable for switching the rail cars and engines. The nearby Tehachapi Loop was built to enable passage of rail cars from the San Joaquin Valley, through the mountains and on to destinations to the east. The accessibility that the newly established rail travel afforded appealed to the people living in the outlying communities and eventually most of them began moving into Tehachapi.