Placerita Canyon Historic Photos - Non-oil Related
1917. Still from the movie Straight Shooting with Harry Carey before the oak became the Oak of the Golden Dream. See the actual scene from the movie here.
1930. Oak of the Golden Dream with gold discovery site in the right background circle where man is standing. Los Angeles Evening Express, March 12, 1930. There are many other historic photos mostly of the gold discovery site on my Gold Discovery Site webpage.
1949. Oak of the Golden Dream. Also shows the gold discovery site in the background. Los Angeles Public Library, Valley Times Photo Collection.
1950. Oak of the Golden Dream. Los Angeles Times, May 28, 1950.
1952. Oak of the Golden Dream. USC Libraries Special Collections, Los Angeles Examiner Photographs Collection.
1952. Oak of the Golden Dream. USC Libraries Special Collections, Los Angeles Examiner Photographs Collection.
1954. Oak of the Golden Dream. Signal, May 13, 1954.
1955. Oak of the Golden Dream with the construction of Placerita Canyon Road happening in the background. Los Angeles Public Library, Valley Times Photo Collection.
ca late 1950's. Oak of the Golden Dream. Postcard from Ebay.
1971. Oak of the Golden Dream. View is facing embankment with Placerita Canyon Road above. You can just see tunnel opening on the right. Los Angeles Times, August 27, 1971.
1979. Oak of the Golden Dream. County of Los Angeles, Department of Parks and Recreation Historic Photo Collection.
1987. Oak of the Golden Dream. The large horizontal branch broke off during a February 1986 storm. Signal, July 5, 1987.
The gold history of Placerita Canyon can be found on the Santa Clarita History website. Here is a photograph of tailings in Placerita canyon, early 1900's, from the Braun Research Library Collection, Autry National Center, TheAutry.org, Gift of Mr. Ralph Braddock, Photo caption: "Placerita Canyon where the first gold was discovered in 1842", Maker: C.C. Pierce.
Placer mining in Placerita Canyon. Title: "Saugus mining operation", from the Security Pacific National Bank Collection, Los Angeles Public Library
A.C. "Cap" Harmon's gold mining sluice in Placerita Canyon. He died in 1909. From the Santa Clarita Valley History website for more information.
First Los Angeles Aqueduct: "Placerita Canyon inverted siphon", April 12, 1912, from the Honnold/Mudd Library, California Water Documents, Claremont Colleges Library, Special Collections
Due to the thick brush next to the aqueduct, I could not exactly recreate the previous photo. Here is a much wider view looking north. Sierra Highway is hard to see, but it is at the upper far right of the photo running parallel to the aqueduct. (11/20/2021)
First Los Angeles Aqueduct: "Placerita Canyon inverted siphon", April 12, 1912, from the Honnold/Mudd Library, California Water Documents, Claremont Colleges Library, Special Collections
First Los Angeles Aqueduct: "Placerita siphon work", 1912, from the Joseph Barlow Lippincott Papers, 1882-1942, UC Riverside, Water Resources Collections and Archives
Natural arch (or small tunnel) in Two Gun Man, 1931, starring Ken Maynard.
Natural arch in Riders of the Rockies, 1937, starring Tex Ritter.
Natural arch from Geology of the Placerita Canyon Area, John A. Battle, 1939, CIT Thesis. Another 1930's photo of the bridge from the Santa Clarita Valley History website.
From the Geology of the Humphreys Station Area, R.J. MacNeill, 1947, CIT Thesis.
Recent (4/26/2015) view of what's left of the natural arch. Photo copyright Ron Kraus. Used by permission.
Unknown man and boy. ca. 1930's. Historical Society of Southern California Collection - Charles Puck Collection of Negatives and Photographs. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
ca. 1930's. Historical Society of Southern California Collection - Charles Puck Collection of Negatives and Photographs. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
ca. 1930's. Historical Society of Southern California Collection - Charles Puck Collection of Negatives and Photographs. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
ca. 1930's. Historical Society of Southern California Collection - Charles Puck Collection of Negatives and Photographs. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
ca. 1930's. Historical Society of Southern California Collection - Charles Puck Collection of Negatives and Photographs. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
ca. 1930's. Historical Society of Southern California Collection - Charles Puck Collection of Negatives and Photographs. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
ca. 1930's. Historical Society of Southern California Collection - Charles Puck Collection of Negatives and Photographs. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Title: Placerita Canyon, the site of gold discovery in 1842, ca.1900-1940 .California Historical Society Collection, 1860-1960, USC Libraries Special Collections.
Title: Creek in Placerita Canyon, the site of gold discovery in 1842, ca.1900-1940. California Historical Society Collection, 1860-1960, USC Libraries Special Collections.
1977 view of Walker Cabin at Placerita Canyon Natural Area. County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation Historic Photo Collection.
Plate 18 from California Journal of Mines and Geology, Volume 46, No. 1, January 1950, Geology of the Placerita Oil Field, Los Angeles County, California, by Gordon B. Oakeshott
Slighty further away view (almost north) on January 23, 2015
Plate 20 B from California Journal of Mines and Geology, Volume 46, No. 1, January 1950, Geology of the Placerita Oil Field, Los Angeles County, California, by Gordon B. Oakeshott
Hard to get the same view, but this is on Sierra Highway just south of Golden Valley Road on the west side. Not really part of Placerita Canyon, but you've probably driven past this scores of times. Photo taken January 21, 2015