reasonable cost, Valley residents voted to join the City of Los Angeles
in 1915. The water not only enabled Valley farmers to irrigate existing
crops, it also expanded its variety of crop options to include beets, lima
beans, lemons, walnuts, grapes and tomatoes.
Around 1912, the Valley’s economy received yet another boost when
the movie studios discovered the convenience of filming in their own
backyard. Cinematic legends, including D.W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille,
were just a couple of the big Hollywood names that filmed here. The
Iverson Ranch was a favorite filming site because of the scenic rocks and
rugged landscapes that were ideal for the backdrop of many westerns,
as were the hills and sandstone formations above Chatsworth and the
Porter Ranch area.
Chatsworth experienced a second population boon after World War II
when servicemen returned and young families began to purchase homes
Chatsworth resulted in the disappearance of many of the areas’ citrus
and walnut groves, as well as horse ranches.
Although Chatsworth continues to evolve, it never stops to surprise
those who live and know the area. No wonder so many are proud to call
Chatsworth their home.
PORTER RANCH
After the successful Mexican War of Independence from Spain in 1821,
the Mission San Fernando became part of Alta California, Mexico.
Thirteen years later, the Mexican government began redistributing
those mission lands. It wasn’t until 1846 that Governor Pío Pico gave a
land grant to Eulogio de Celis, which turned out to be a 116,858-acre
Mexican Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando. This land was bounded on
the north by Rancho San Francisco and the Santa Susana Mountains,
on the west it was surrounded by the Simi Hills, on the east by Rancho
Tujunga, and on the south by the Santa Monica Mountains (known as
Montañas de Portesuelo back then).
The grant derived its name from the secularized Mission San Fernando
Rey de España, but was called ex-Mission because of a division made of
the lands held in the name of the Mission. The grant encompassed most
of the present day San Fernando Valley.
At the same time Isaac Lankershim and Isaac Newton Van Nuys were
involved with converting the lower half of the San Fernando Valley from
sheep and cattle ranching to farming, others were doing the same in the
northern half. That’s when in 1874, former State Senator Charles Maclay
of San Jose, with his partners, San Francisco Benjamin F. and George K.
Porter, borrowed $60,000 from Leland Stanford and purchased 57,000
acres of land north of Lankershim and Van Nuys’ holdings.
Maclay, who owned all of the land east of the Southern Pacific railroad
tracks east to the San Gabriel foothills, laid out the town of San
Fernando and subdivided the rest of his property into small ranches.
in the Valley. Chatsworth flourished, gaining many new residents,
schools, and industries.
The industrial parks that sprouted up in the 1960s attracted the hightech and manufacturing industries. New industries brought the need
for more housing, schools and supermarkets. The modernization of
18
George K. Porter owned a third of the northern valley west from the
railroad line to Aliso Canyon (Zeldah Avenue from Granada Hills to
Northridge). He was the first to initiate large-scale citrus growing in the
valley, having planted a navel orange grove that reportedly stretched
nearly three miles long. His cousin Benjamin owned 20,000 acres in
the valley’s northwestern area. Because it was far removed from the
railroad line, it was the least desirable section, and remained relatively
undeveloped.