The Santa Clarita Valley

By Kim Stephens, Dr. Alan Pollack and E.J. Stephens

Born in 1987 as the nation's first new city with a population greater than 100,000, Santa Clarita, California, has a fascinating history that stretches back to the rugged Wild West era. Hollywood recreates this history in Santa Clarita and its surrounding valley, to the delight of movie fans worldwide.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: May 5, 2014
• ISBN: 9781439645055

Book preview

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INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the Santa Clarita Valley of yesterday and today.

Southern California’s Santa Clarita Valley (SCV) is home to over a quarter-million residents who enjoy its mild Mediterranean climate, ample parks and green space, vibrant business environment, low crime rate, and close proximity to both the beach and the high desert. It is no wonder that the SCV consistently ranks among the best places to live in America.

The SCV stretches from north to south from the Angeles National Forest to the San Fernando Valley. The city of Palmdale lies at its eastern edge, and the Heritage Valley in Ventura County borders it on the west. Surrounded by the San Gabriel and Santa Susana Mountains, the SCV encircles the city of Santa Clarita—made up of the districts of Valencia, Newhall, Saugus, and Canyon Country—along with the communities of Castaic, Stevenson Ranch, Val Verde, Agua Dulce, and Acton.

While it is true that the Santa Clarita Valley is situated just minutes from the northern border of Los Angeles, please do not dismiss it as simply a bedroom community for the megalopolis to the south. The SCV has a rich history stretching back centuries.

A Native American tribe known as the Tataviam lived in the area for centuries before being subjugated by the Spanish, who arrived in 1769. During the Spanish Mission era that followed, the valley served as a cattle ranch for the friars. After Mexican independence, the area became the 48,000-acre Rancho San Francisco, owned by the Del Valle family.

Gold was discovered here in 1842, which predated the more famous strike at Northern California’s Sutter’s Mill by six years. Unlike its northern counterpart, the SCV’s gold discovery created no noticeable rush and was largely overlooked by the press.

Americans took control of the valley after the land grab known as the Mexican-American War, which resulted in statehood for California in 1850. The valley’s strategic location made it a vital transportation link between the cities and pueblos of Northern and Southern California.

During the Civil War, Edward F. Beale deepened a previously dug pathway between the SCV and the San Fernando Valley to 90 feet. It became known as Beale’s Cut and was used for cattle drives and as a pathway for wagons and stagecoaches for decades.

Auctioneer and railroad speculator Henry Mayo Newhall later bought the remnants of the old Rancho San Francisco and, in 1876, established the town bearing his name as a stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad. During that same year, one of the world’s longest railroad tunnels was dug nearby, and at the valley’s Lang station, the Southern Pacific’s rail lines between the two halves of California were first