Neighborhood Spotlight: Chatsworth keeps one foot in the Old West

"From 1861 to the late 1870s, the Santa Susana Stage Road, which traced the route of an ancient Chumash trail, was the ultramodern manner by which mail and passengers made their way into the western San Fernando Valley and from there on to L.A."

"The place where the trail emerged from its grueling journey through the winding defiles of the Santa Susana Mountains - a passage so steep and treacherous that stagecoach drivers were often obliged to blindfold their horses before attempting the crossing - was a remote, sparsely settled agricultural area."

"Once the transcontinental railroad arrived in Los Angeles, the resulting land boom brought with it the first subdivision of the land. Envisioned as a settlement of 10-acre homesteads, Chatsworth Park was born in 1888."

Chatsworth's history spans from the 1860s when the Santa Susana Stage Road connected San Francisco to Los Angeles through treacherous mountain passages. The area remained sparsely settled until 1880 when the first schoolhouse was established. The transcontinental railroad's arrival sparked development, leading to Chatsworth Park's founding in 1888 as planned 10-acre homesteads. A railroad spur from Burbank in 1893 accelerated growth to 23 residents. The town's isolated, rugged terrain and semirural character made it an attractive filming location for western movies throughout the mid-20th century.

Read at Los Angeles Times