On Sept. 10, 1963, Mint Canyon School reopened at 16400 Sierra Highway, more than 16 years after the original school was destroyed by fire. The original Mint Canyon School served students in the Mint Canyon School District, which was established on Feb. 12, 1879. When the school burned down in 1947, local children were transferred to nearby Sulphur Springs School ...

On Sept. 9, 1938, Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, who would go on to become Santa Clarita’s first mayor and represent the region in Congress for more than two decades, was born in Los Angeles. McKeon grew up in Tujunga and graduated from Verdugo Hills High School in 1956. After serving a two-and-a-half-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

On this day in 2014, the iconic Colossus rollercoaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain caught fire during its dismantling process. Just weeks after the legendary ride closed to make way for its transformation into Twisted Colossus, flames broke out at the top of the 125-foot lift hill. The fire was sparked by a worker’s tool during the disassembly of the ...

Longtime Newhall resident John S. Fuller, a cornerstone of Santa Clarita’s civic and cultural development, was born September 7, 1933. Fuller moved to Newhall in 1964 and quickly became a leader in both business and volunteer service. He was instrumental in the creation of Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, serving as founding treasurer of the board that raised the funds ...

On September 6, 1922, William S. Hart Jr. was born to silent film star William S. Hart and actress Winifred Westover, just months after the couple’s brief marriage had unraveled. Hart Jr. was born nine months after Hart, then 57, married Westover, 22, on Dec. 7, 1921, at his Hollywood home.  The couple had met while appearing together in the ...

On September 5, 1935, the Western film “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” was released to the public, starring Gene Autry in the leading role, and the majority of the film was shot at Trem Carr’s movie ranch. The film was directed by Joseph Kane and written by Ford Beebe and Alan Ludwig. It was produced by Republic Pictures, which specialized in the Western ...

On this day in 1952, Elizabeth Blum made local history by becoming the first Miss Acton, proudly representing her community at the Antelope Valley Fair and Alfalfa Festival, held from September 4–7 in Lancaster. At just 18 years old, Blum stood among a court of young women from across the Antelope Valley region, each selected to represent their respective communities.  ...

On Sept. 3, 1968, Canyon High School officially opened its doors, becoming the second high school in the Santa Clarita Valley after Hart High School, which opened in the 1940s. The school opened in three phases at a cost of $3.6 million.  Initially, the campus consisted of five buildings and a library, with administrative offices located in portable buildings. C.T. ...

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 ...