Today in SCV history March 29, 1875, construction was underway in late March 1875 on what would become one of the most ambitious and transformative projects in the Santa Clarita Valley, the San Fernando Railroad Tunnel. At the time, California was in the middle of a railroad boom following the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad completion. Railroad leaders, including ...

Today in SCV history, March 22, 1851, William Edwin “Ed” Pardee was born in Meadville, Pennsylvania – a man who would go on to leave his mark on the early days of the Santa Clarita Valley. According to research from Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society board member Ed Marg, Pardee’s story really reflects what life was like during the early ...

On March 15, 1942, naturalist and hotel owner Emery M. Whilton opened the Florafaunium in Lebec, a unique museum showcasing one of the most complete collections of California plant and animal life ever assembled. One of the more unusual footnotes in local history, Whilton’s Florafaunium was a public-private museum that displayed hundreds of taxidermied animals and birds along with thousands ...

Today in SCV History, March 8, 2016, the Santa Clarita City Council approved renaming River Village Park in honor of longtime community volunteer Duane R. Harte, recognizing his years of service to the Santa Clarita Valley. Harte was widely known in the community as a dedicated volunteer and advocate who worked to improve parks and recreation opportunities throughout the city. ...

On March 4, 1906, San Fernando resident Alson C. Dunbar was found dead outside a lonely adobe roadhouse in the Newhall Pass. Dunbar and his young wife, “Tillie” Lopez Dunbar, operated a remote saloon in what was then known as Fremont Pass, owned by her brother. The aging adobe structure, once a stage stop and toll road station, had been ...

On February 6, 1973, voters across the Santa Clarita Valley overwhelmingly approved an $8 million construction bond to complete the permanent campus of College of the Canyons (COC). The bond measure to build up COC’s campus passed by a decisive 3,618 to 922 margin, earning 79.7 percent voter approval, well above the two-thirds supermajority required. Ballots were tallied that same ...

On January 29, 1932, a Century-Pacific Airlines passenger plane vanished in a violent winter storm over the mountains near Lebec, setting off a multi-day search. The aircraft, a 10-passenger Stinson trimotor piloted by veteran aviator Joseph Victor Sandblom, departed Bakersfield for Glendale at about 3:30 p.m. that Friday afternoon, carrying seven passengers. Battling blinding snow, fog, and gale-force winds over ...

On this day in 1967, one of the most iconic episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series aired – featuring a legendary scene filmed in the Santa Clarita Valley. Episode 19, “Arena,” sent Captain James T. Kirk, played by William Shatner, into a now-famous battle with the reptilian Gorn commander at Vasquez Rocks in Agua Dulce, which stood in for ...

On January 17, 1998, famed Country-Western music producer Cliffie Stone died from a heart attack in his home in Saugus. Stone’s father, a country musician known professionally as “Herman the Hermit,” introduced him to music at an early age. After moving to Burbank, Stone became deeply involved in the local music scene and developed into a skilled bass player while ...

On January 7, 1929, Wyatt Earp, a legend of the Wild West, wrote his final letter to his close friend William S. Hart of Newhall. In the 1920s, Earp, a lawman, became pen pals and friends with Western film star William S. Hart, whose letters can be read at the William S. Hart Ranch in Newhall, California. The two pen ...