Today in SCV History, July 30, 1921, a film crew from William Fox Studios arrived in Placerita Canyon and intentionally set an old two-story house ablaze for the filming of the silent Western Trailin’.

The dramatic fire served as the climactic scene in Trailin’, starring legendary cowboy actor Tom Mix.

The house, located on the Wertz Ranch, sat within what was then the Santa Barbara National Forest, now part of the Angeles National Forest. Because of the wildfire risk, the production was required to have a forest officer on site, along with a team of firefighters, before filming could begin.

Twenty men stood by with chemical extinguishers, shovels and burlap sacks to quickly contain any sparks that might spread into the surrounding hills.

In the film, Mix portrays Anthony Woodbury, a New York aristocrat who finds himself fleeing a posse after being wrongly accused of murder. 

The movie’s dramatic conclusion reveals that the man Woodbury believed had killed his father is actually his biological father, with the emotional scene unfolding against the backdrop of the burning house.

Trailin’ premiered in theaters later that December.

The exact location of the Wertz Ranch remains uncertain. Still, historical records place it somewhere on a Standard Oil lease in Placerita Canyon, likely near the boundary of the national forest.

Arkinson B. Wertz moved to the canyon in 1918 and operated the ranch with his family. His son, Henry, became well known for renting horses to film productions, and the property had already been used by Universal and Pathé as early as 1919.

The production of Trailin’ demonstrates that Placerita Canyon’s connection to the film industry began well before 1928, stretching back at least a decade earlier with silent Westerns, working cowboys and early Hollywood film crews.

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

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