CHATSWORTH/
PORTER RANCH —
THEN AND NOW
The communities of Chatsworth and Porter Ranch are home to some of
the most progressive and cutting edge corporations and manufacturers
in our nation. There is also a multitude of other attractions -- plant
nurseries, horse ranches, rustic building facades, hiking trails, panoramic
views and beautiful rock formations -- that connote a quieter, less
harried and rural past.
Chatsworth and Porter Ranch are not alone in the transformation from
rural to urban lifestyle, but how they have addressed it throughout the
years just may be.
Although forward thinking in their approach to business and community
needs, both areas have kept their small town feel with parades, fairs and
other hometown events that celebrate the area’s not-so-distant past.
The different array of groups that have inhabited the northern part of
the Valley since prehistoric times are diverse and hold many secrets
from the past that we may never fully know, which is part of what lends
mystique to the rural beauty of this area.
CHATSWORTH
Long before Chatsworth became known for the hustling and bustling
community of the northern Valley, many types of settlers occupied it.
Indians were the first to live in the area that many of us now call home.
In fact, Canoga Avenue and Mission Boulevard once had its own Native
American village.
Sometime around 1769, the Spaniards arrived in the San Fernando
Valley. There is a record of Padre Crespi writing in his journal about
the first time he arrived with Native Americans from all over the Valley
greeting him and his men. Most likely, some of the Native Americans
that visited were from Chatsworth.
It wasn’t much later in 1797 when other Spanish missionaries started
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the San Fernando Mission. The land of the San Fernando Valley was
given to this mission and Chatsworth was part of this land. At the height
of its activity, the San Fernando Mission Indians created one of the most
prosperous of all the California missions.
Travelers would frequent what is now Chatsworth on their way to and
from the San Fernando Mission, Santa Buenaventura Mission and Santa
Barbara Mission. They also used the path that we now know as Santa
Susana Pass to travel through Chatsworth.
The territory of California was under Spanish rule until 1821, when
Mexico declared independence from Spain. In 1834-36 the Mexican
Government took the mission lands away from the church, beginning
the Rancho Period in California.
On February 19 and 20, 1845, the Mexicans and Californians exchanged
long-range artillery fire on the banks of the Los Angeles River. After
a truce was called, both sides met in Los Angeles. By now, many
Californians had had enough political instability and began to look
toward the United States.
Upon Texas becoming a state in 1845, Mexico dropped diplomatic
relations with the U.S. The timing could not have been better. Three
weeks later U.S. forces captured the provincial capital at Monterey,