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 ...

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 ...

Future Placerita Canyon homesteader Jean Joseph Reynier set foot on American soil on this day in 1864. Jean Joseph Reynier was born in the Southern Alps of France in 1849 to a large farming family. On July 24, 1864, he arrived in New York with his brother Mattieu and sister-in-law Marie, and would eventually make his way west to settle ...

On July 23, 1898, future Placerita Canyon conman Milfred Reno Yant was born in Alger, Ohio. Yant would become notorious in the 1930s for defrauding honest residents of Los Angeles County out of their funds through a fake oil-field scheme in Placerita Canyon. Ironically, he later discovered oil in the same area, thereby becoming a legitimate oil baron. Yant was ...

On June 13, 1949, a local homesteader signed a deed to sell a 40-acre portion to the Placerita Canyon State Park project for $25,000. The project was created to honor the legacy of pioneers who established Placerita Canyon’s importance. The area was already recognized when the golden oak became a State Historic Landmark for the state’s first documented gold discovery ...

Before the famous Gold Rush of 1849 changed California forever, the state’s very first gold discovery happened right here in the Santa Clarita Valley, and on May 26, 1956, the community came together to celebrate and preserve that history for future generations. Seventy years ago, local residents, descendants of pioneer California families and public officials gathered in Placerita Canyon State ...

Families and children alike enjoyed the numerous activities at the Placerita Canyon Nature Center’s open house event in the Santa Clarita Valley. On Saturday, the Placerita Canyons Nature Center hosted its annual open house, considered one of the center’s biggest events of the year. The center was jam-packed with activities and booths focused on wildlife and nature. A few of ...

Tensions are rising between the Placerita Canyon Property Owners Association and The Master’s University (TMU) as both sides exchange letters over the university’s proposed master plan revisions and use of residential properties for student housing. The conflict escalated following an April 10 letter from attorneys representing The Master’s University, which warned of potential litigation and accused the association of interfering ...

On March 9, 1802, Francisco López, the man credited with California’s first documented gold discovery in Placerita Canyon, was born. López was born on March 9, 1802. Mission records show he was baptized as a newborn at Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, placing him among the early generations of Californios born during the Spanish colonial era. Although mission records do not ...

On this day in 1885, Hortense Victoria Reynier, future matriarch of the Walker family of Placerita Canyon, was born, linking two of the Santa Clarita Valley’s founding pioneer families. The daughter of Jean Joseph and Josephine Reynier, Hortense grew up on her father’s expansive vineyard and homestead near the head of Placerita Canyon. Jean Joseph had emigrated from the Champsaur ...