It was accessible from Pasadena via Santa Anita Avenue (nowadays the north-south portion of Altadena Drive) which drove right to the front porch of the toll house.

In June 1889, Judge Benjamin Eaton gathered a group of prominent Pasadena businessmen to consider building a wagon road to Mt.

Eighteen of the men agreed to contribute capital and, on July 12, 1889, they incorporated "The Pasadena and Mount Wilson Toll Road Company."

[citation needed] Within a few years, five of the original investors reorganized and refinanced the project, but since the Harvard telescope had been removed and interest in Mt.

Foot and pack animal traffic became so heavy that, in June 1893, the trail was widened to six feet to facilitate two-way travel.

In 1896 they acquired both Strain's and Martin's camps, and in 1901 paid the United States General Land Office $800 for title to 640 acres (2.6 km2) on the mountain top.

In 1905, to accommodate the many new visitors, the toll road company constructed a one-story hotel with cottages situated around the main building for guests staying overnight.

[citation needed] As new, larger telescopes were designed for the Carnegie Observatory, an automobile roadway became necessary to accommodate the trucks hauling parts up the mountain.

Wilson Toll Road closed to the public in March, 1936 and was turned over to the United States Forest Service.

[citation needed] Today, the road is a popular hiking destination leading to Henninger Flats and Mount Wilson.