Mount Lowe is a mountain on the southern fold of the San Gabriel Mountains. Originally named Oak Mountain, it was renamed for Professor Thaddeus S.C. Lowe, who is credited for being the first person to set foot on and plant the American flag at its peak, and who built the Mount Lowe Railway to its foot in 1896. The record of the naming was made official by Andrew McNally, the famous Chicago map printer and summertime resident of Altadena, who promised to print "Mount Lowe" on all his maps. Mt. Lowe was established as an alternate route for the Mount Lowe Railway when attempts to procure rights of way to the more prominent Mount Wilson had failed.