On August 22, 1891, a 17-year-old Lou Henry, the future First Lady of the United States, posed with a rifle on a donkey outside Richard E. Nickel’s general store in Acton. The photo, taken by Nickel himself, is now preserved in the National Archives, with its date confirmed by the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. That summer, Lou Henry ...

On January 24, 1888, Richard E. Nickel, widely regarded as the “Father of Acton,” was officially appointed postmaster of the young settlement. Nickel had arrived in the area the year before, relocating the former Soledad Post Office from the small mining camp of Ravenna in Soledad Canyon to his newly built general store in Acton. At the time, Nickel, then ...

On December 2, 1972, a violent confrontation shattered a quiet Saturday night at the ’49er Saloon in Acton when members of the Vagos outlaw motorcycle gang stormed inside and opened fire, leaving five injured, including one man kidnapped and slashed with a knife. The incident reportedly began as a daytime dispute when, earlier that afternoon, Acton gas station owner Tommy ...

On this day in either 1976 (per Jo Anne Darcy’s photos) or 1977 (per band member Marty Prue), the small town of Acton made Southern California history by going to “war” with a radio host. The conflict began after DJ “Sweet” Dick Whittington, broadcasting on KGIL AM-1260 and later KFI, repeatedly joked about the small community and popularized the phrase: ...

On October 9, 1866, George Blum, founder of the historic Blum Ranch in Acton, was born in Beggingen, Switzerland. Blum first immigrated to America in 1880, then returned to Switzerland a few years later. In 1887, he came back to the United States, this time leading a group of Swiss travelers that included his future wife, Magdalena Greutman. The couple ...

On August 22, 1891, a 17-year-old Lou Henry, the future First Lady of the United States, posed with a rifle on a donkey outside Richard E. Nickel’s general store in Acton. The photo, taken by Nickel himself, is now preserved in the National Archives, with its date confirmed by the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. That summer, Lou Henry ...

On July 15, 1891, Acton pioneer Richard E. Nickel published the first edition of The Acton Rooster, the Santa Clarita Valley’s first locally based newspaper. Printed monthly on the 15th, the Rooster ran for 22 years and served as a voice for the small but growing frontier community, reporting everything from local business ventures to mining developments and regional politics. ...