On March 10, 1890, authorities hunted down and arrested Castaic-area landowner William C. Chormicle following a deadly shooting in Castaic Canyon that left two men dead.

The violence stemmed from a bitter land dispute that had been brewing for months between settlers and railroad interests over ownership of property in the region. 

The first victims of the Castaic Range War were Dolores Cook, 36, a California native, and George W. Walton, 25, who had arrived in the area only months earlier and filed on Section 23, a homestead tract that overlapped land claimed by Chormicle under a Southern Pacific Railroad “permit.”

The underlying conflict stemmed from overlapping federal land grants in Castaic issued decades earlier to the Atlantic & Pacific and Southern Pacific Railroads, grants that were later partially forfeited and returned to the public domain, creating confusion and competing claims throughout the Castaic area.

The disagreement escalated after Chormicle reportedly moved Walton’s lumber away from the construction site and threw it over a fence below his own cabin.

On the morning of Feb. 28, Walton returned with two men, Dolores Cook and his brother-in-law Jose Olme, to retrieve the lumber and begin building. As they prepared their wagons, Chormicle and a neighbor, William A. Gardner, arrived and confronted Walton.

The argument quickly escalated into a physical confrontation, with Walton reportedly striking Chormicle before the men were separated.

Afterward, Walton and his companions continued hauling lumber past Chormicle’s cabin. According to Olme, the lone surviving witness, gunfire suddenly erupted from the building.

Olme said Chormicle and Gardner opened fire from the cabin window with rifles and pistols as the wagons passed by.

Walton was struck multiple times and fell from his wagon, dying almost instantly. Cook, who was following in a second wagon and unarmed, was hit by a bullet that entered through his shoulder and lodged near his heart. Despite efforts to treat the wound, he died roughly three hours later.

Olme narrowly escaped the attack. When the shooting began, Walton’s body fell against him, knocking him to the ground and unintentionally shielding him from the gunfire. He ran alongside the frightened horses pulling the wagons as additional shots were fired, but managed to escape without injury.

Following the shooting, Chormicle and Gardner mounted their horses and fled into the surrounding mountains, sparking a search by local constables and residents.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Martin Aguirre quickly organized a pursuit through the rugged canyons between Castac, Piru and Ventura County. After several days on the run, the fugitives were forced out of the mountains and surrendered to Ventura County Sheriff Riley.

Chormicle and Gardner were arrested and taken to Los Angeles to face murder charges. The pair claimed the shooting had been an act of self-defense connected to the land dispute, alleging Jenkins and his allies conspired to drive Chormicle off the land by force.

Walton was described as a young man who was well-liked by his other neighbors. Cook was a married father of four who had not been involved in the dispute and was simply helping Walton haul lumber to his homestead.

The Castac Canyon killings became one of the most notorious land disputes in Los Angeles County. After an 18-day trial – one of the longest in county history at the time – the jury deliberated just 20 minutes before acquitting both defendants in the death of Cook. Charges in Walton’s death were dismissed the following day.

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

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