A Look Back at the History of the SCV

1842

While you may associate gold with Sutter’s Mill, legend has it that the first gold was discovered here, in good ol’ Santa Clarita…Placerita Canyon to be exact.
As the story goes, after herding cattle, rancher Francisco Lopez took a nap under an old oak tree on March 9, 1842.  Dreaming of gold and riches, Lopez woke up hungry and looking for food.  Legend has it that he dug up some wild onions under a nearby tree, and hanging from the roots of the onions were nuggets of gold.  It must’ve been quite a birthday surprise, as the rancher was celebrating his 40th birthday that day.
This was the first documented discovery in the state.  While it didn’t cause quite as much of a stir as the California Gold Rush in 1848, their findings did spark interest from nearby.  The oak tree where Lopez found gold was named Oak of the Golden Dream and is a California Historical Landmark located inside Placerita Canyon State Park. The canyon where the oak tree stands has also become a backdrop for western movies featuring some of the famous actors such as John Wayne, Harry Carey and William S. Hart.

1864

Looking for a better passage to Fort Tejon, Phineas Banning dug out a 30 foot gash back in 1854.  It wasn’t until ten years later, when General Edward F. Beale deepened the cut, which elongated the gap to 90 feet in height.  Beale’s Cut provided a more efficient passageway, and has appeared in many silent western movies.  The cut is located just parallel to Interstate 14 through Newhall Pass and can be seen from Sierra Highway.

1876

After drilling three wells, French immigrant Charles Alexander Mentry struck oil on the fourth.  Persistence paid off, and on September 26, 1876, oil came gushing out of Pico No. 4, producing many barrels and making it the first commercially successful oil well in the western United States.  With a 114 year run, it was also the longest running oil well in the world. Located four miles west of Lyons Avenue off of Interstate 5, the oil boom town, otherwise known as “Mentryville”, was home to as many as 100 families who managed the flow of oil that eventually trickled after 1938, and ceased operation in 1990.

1887

Saugus Train Station opened on September 1, 1887 when the spur line to Ventura was completed by Southern Pacific Railroad.  Due to the hungry travelers and their growing appetites, the Tolefree’s Saugus Eating House was established, and later taken over by Martin and Richard Wood, who changed the name to what we now know as The Saugus Café.  In 1905, The Saugus Café relocated and moved across the tracks, where it currently resides.  One of the popular eateries nestled along Railroad Avenue, The Saugus Café is among the oldest restaurants in Los Angeles County.

1915

Now known as Melody Ranch Motion Picture Studio, the studio first opened in 1915, producing numerous films before being sold to the famous cowboy, Gene Autry in 1952.  Legendary actors including William S. Hart, Roy Rogers and John Wayne, to name a few, all filmed their westerns at Melody Ranch.  In 1962, a fire swept through Placerita Canyon, causing destruction to the main western street.  In the early 1990’s, Gene Autry sold the ranch to the Veluzat brothers, who brought Melody Ranch Studio back to life with the restoration of the main street.  The studio is a 22-acre back lot and has been home to famous westerns such as The Lone Ranger, Wyatt Earp, Gunsmoke, Annie Oakley and more recently Deadwood, Last Man Standing and Magnificent Seven.  Melody Ranch is also home to the City of Santa Clarita’s Cowboy Festival, which attracts more than 10,000 visitors each year.

1925

William S. Hart, was an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer.  In 1890, he landed leading roles in plays such as Romeo and Juliet and Othello to name a few, and made more than 65 silent films, becoming one of the first great stars of the motion picture western.  In 1921, Bill made his home in the Santa Clarita Valley, purchasing a small ranch house and surrounding land in Newhall.  Over the years, he used the ranch house, otherwise known as the Horseshoe Ranch, as a weekend getaway home.  Eventually he acquired 230 acres of land and in 1925, built a custom home with the help of architect Arthur Kelly.  The beautiful Spanish Colonial Revival Mansion sits atop the hill and was named “La Loma de los Vientos”…The Hill of the Winds.
The mansion served as Bill’s retirement home as well as the home for his younger sister, Mary Ellen.   In his will, he gave the property to the County of Los Angeles to be enjoyed by the public at no charge. Insights to Bill’s life are revealed throughout the mansion and, in 1962, Walt Disney donated a herd of American bison, where they roam the hillsides.  All of Bill’s animals, including his many horses and dogs are buried on the property.

1928

Just two and a half minutes before midnight on March 12, 1928, the St. Francis Dam, which held back 12 billion gallons of water and built just a few years prior, collapsed.  The water roared down San Francisquito Canyon and then along the Santa Clara River some 50 miles through Piru, Fillmore, Santa Paula and Saticoy, before reaching the ocean.  The collapse of the St. Francis Dam is considered to be one of the worst American civil engineering disasters of the 20th century, causing massive destruction, killing over 450 people and leaving many homeless.

1929

Robbed and derailed, Engine No. 59 was turned on its side on the evening of November 10, 1929.  According to historians, Engine No. 59 rounded the bend at Bouquet Junction and crashed on its side.  Just as passengers calmed down, a gunman, who was later identified as Thomas E. Vernon, a.k.a. Buffalo Tom, robbed them of their valuables, and vanished.  Buffalo Tom was captured after he derailed another train in Wyoming.  The Great Saugus Train Robbery ended up being one of the last great train robberies in the west.

1932

Old Town Newhall is home to the popular Santa Clarita Fourth of July Parade, a tradition since 1932.  For over eight decades, the people of the SCV have paraded through the streets of downtown Newhall to honor the independence of the great nation we live in. Thousands of spectators of all ages line the streets bringing a community together, a tradition that is still celebrated today.

1932

In the 1920’s and 30’s, western film actor, Harry Carey built and owned the Tesoro Adobe, calling Santa Clarita his home.  Harry Carey is noted for making well over 200 films in the days of silent films, often sharing the screen with John Wayne, William S. Hart and others.  
The original home burned in a fire and was replaced by the current adobe home in 1932 prior to being sold in the mid 1940’s.   In 1952, the Clougherty family purchased the Tesoro Adobe property and used it as a vacation home until the turn of the century.  In June of 2005, the County accepted the donation of the Tesoro Adobe Historic Park from Montalvo Properties LLC, the developer of the Tesoro residential community surrounding the park.  The site is currently two and a half acres.  
The adobe home is one of seven buildings at the park, and there is also a small adobe stable and an even larger wooden stable that Universal Studios built in exchange for using the ranch in the early 1930’s.

1981

Western stars are immortalized along San Fernando Road, Newhall Avenue and Market Street, adorned with bronze plaques and terrazzo tile on the sidewalk to honor Western film, stage, television and radio personalities who performed in the Santa Clarita Valley.  The Downtown Newhall Walk of Western Stars began in 1981 and continued annually through 1993, with yearly inductions to honor the stars.  In 2000, the Walk was incorporated into the City of Santa Clarita’s annual Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival, and is currently sponsored by the City of Santa Clarita and the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce.  The Walk brings Western legends to life and commemorates their contributions to Western film history.

1987

Nestled between the San Gabriel Mountain Range to the east and the Santa Susana Mountain Range to the west, you’ll find the largest City ever to incorporate in the history of California….the City of Santa Clarita.  Incorporated on December 15, 1987, the City of Santa Clarita is a general law city with a Council/Manager form of government, consisting of five City Council Members who are elected at-large to serve four-year terms.  Santa Clarita has over 25 City parks, public libraries, and thousands of acres of preserved open space.

1994

The Cowboy Festival made its debut in 1994, honoring the authentic Old West through music, poetry, cowboy gear, food and storytelling.   Each year, thousands of guests attend the Festival to celebrate cowboy culture with a musical lineup of show-stopping talent, Dutch oven peach cobbler, trick ropers, shopping, activities for all ages, and more! The Cowboy Festival includes nearly a week of events beginning on Thursday, April 24, but the main two-day Festival takes place Saturday and Sunday, April 26-27, 2014 at Melody Ranch ™ Motion Picture Studio – the former home of Gene Autry and current backdrop for Quentin Tarantino’s film Django Unchained.