On August 2, 1956, The Newhall Signal and Saugus Enterprise announced plans for what was being called the “largest housing development in the Santa Clarita Valley.”

This development at the time was a 213-home neighborhood in “Happy Valley” just west of downtown Newhall.

The project was led by Newhall native Ted Lamkin, who had recently returned from a vacation in Yosemite with a full plan in hand.

The development would stretch across the former Miller Ranch property, featuring a mix of flat and gently rolling lots, and even include an equestrian trail around the hills. At the northeast corner of the tract, Lamkin set aside nearly 13 acres for what would become Peachland Elementary School.

The same aerial view of Happy Valley from 2024. (Google Earth)

Initial sales were expected to begin in early 1957, with 50 large lots hitting the market first. The entire development was expected to be completed within five years.

Lamkin and his partners formed five corporations to manage the project, and while they wouldn’t be building the homes themselves, they planned to work closely with individual buyers to support high-quality construction. Strict rules would also be in place to ensure the neighborhood kept a consistent, upscale look.

Lamkin wasn’t just a developer; he was also a passionate local historian and photographer, often working alongside A.B. Perkins to preserve Newhall’s early stories.

To read yesterday’s Today in SCV History, click HERE.

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