On Sept. 2, 1932, a fire destroyed the San Francisquito Canyon home of famed silent film cowboy Harry Carey, causing thousands of dollars in damage. According to reporting of the time from the “Newhall Signal and Saugus Enterprise,” the blaze began when a ranch employee entered a shed with a lit lantern to draw gasoline from a tank. The fumes ...

On Sept. 1, 1887, the Castaic Train Station was dedicated, opening to the public at Castaic Junction.  At that time in history, the “station” was little more than a passenger shelter, a modest wooden structure erected by the Southern Pacific Railroad at Castaic Junction, near where State Route 126 runs today. In a 1909 photograph, two young women, May McDonald ...

Twenty-five years ago today, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Hagop “Jake” Kuredjian was killed in the line of duty after responding to a “shots fired” call during a shootout in Stevenson Ranch. Kuredjian, 40, was among the deputies who responded on Aug. 31, 2001, after a suspect opened fire while federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) agents ...

On August 30, 2009, two Los Angeles County firefighters lost their lives while fighting the Station Fire, a wildfire that burned for more than three weeks and ultimately became the largest wildfire in Los Angeles County history.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Los Angeles County Fire Dept. (@lacountyfd) The Station Fire began on August ...

On August 29, 1916, George Montgomery Letz was born in Brady, Montana. Raised on a ranch and trained as a cowboy, he would eventually make a lasting impression on both Hollywood and Santa Clarita.  Best known for his leading roles in Western movies during the 1940s and 1950s, Montgomery’s ties to the Santa Clarita Valley are permanently represented in the ...

On Aug. 28, 1962, one of the most destructive wildfires in Santa Clarita Valley history swept through the region, destroying Gene Autry’s famous Melody Ranch movie town and scorching thousands of acres across the Santa Clarita and San Fernando Valleys. The fire is questioned as the second of two blazes to strike the SCV that day. The first erupted just ...

On Aug. 27, 1964, Walt Disney Productions debuted “The CalArts Story,” a short film presenting the vision for what would become the California Institute of the Arts, seven years before the school opened its permanent campus in Valencia. The film first screened at the Hollywood premiere of “Mary Poppins,” offering a glimpse of an ambitious future for the arts in ...

Two men were killed and eight others injured when an explosion occurred at the Bermite Powder Company in Saugus on Aug. 26, 1969.  Early reports indicated the blast occurred when a 30-gallon barrel of magnesium was moved in the mixing room at the south end of “Building 339,” according to witness statements.  The explosion, which occurred at 9:57 p.m., completely ...

On this day in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the act creating the National Park Service. Its first director, industrialist and conservationist Stephen T. Mather, had made his fortune in the borax mines of Tick Canyon near Agua Dulce. The Santa Clarita Valley played a role in this story. In 1905, prospectors Louis Ebbenger and Henry Shepard discovered a rich ...

On August 24, 1974, Pyramid Lake in Castaic, one of the most infamous reservoirs along Interstate 5 in Los Angeles County, officially opened. The name “Pyramid Lake” originated from Pyramid Rock, a distinctive pyramid-shaped formation created when engineers cut through the mountains while constructing the old highway route. Pyramid Lake was created as part of California’s massive State Water Project. ...