2013/2014 Chatsworth/Porter Ranch Chamber of Commerce Business Directory & Community Guide 2013/2014 | Page 26

25 Chatsworth/Porter Ranch—Then and Now Porter Ranch 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. 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 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). By the late 1880s most latecomers found it more difficult to find good farmland in the valley. Most were consigned to seek out marginal land in the surrounding hills for ranches and homesteads. So Benjamin sold the western end of his land to the San Fernando Valley Improvement Company, which created the Chatsworth Park subdivision and then he farmed his remaining acreage. George Porter and Senator Maclay also subdivided their lands. In the late 1930’s the author W.W. Robinson described the ranch lands as containing large ranch estates on 10,000 acres of rolling hills with magnificent vistas. It must have been a sight to see, for sure. 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 $60,000 from Leland Stanford and purchased 57,000 acres of land north of Lankershim and Van Nuys’ holdings. Maclay, who owned all of the land east of the Southern Pacific railroad tracks east to the San Gabriel foothills, laid out the town of San Fernando and subdivided the rest of his property into small ranches. George K. Porter owned a third of the northern valley west from the railroad line to Aliso Canyon (Zeldah Avenue from Granada Hills to Northridge). He was the first to initiate large-scale citrus growing in the valley, having planted a navel orange grove that reportedly Household Income & Benefits (In 2011 Inflation Adjusted Dollars) Household Income This area eventually garnered the reputation of housing horse ranches for numerous celebrities and also served as a filming location for several major movie studios. In cinema history, Porter Ranch was most notable as the location of large portions of the famous film, E.T. the Extra-terrestrial, in 1982. There were a number of shots from the Steven Spielberg blockbuster where they featured views looking down on the Porter Ranch neighborhood that sits beneath the ridge in Palisades Park. Porter Ridge Park is also the sight of the park scene at the end of the movie. (In 2011 Inflation Adjusted Dollars) 150 20% ($ In Thousands) 10% Income & Benefits 200 + 150-200 100-149 75-99 50-74 35-49 25-34 15-24 10-14 0-10 5% 90 60 30 0 Occupation of Employees By Industry Median Household Income Mean Household Income 0 5% 10% ($ In Thousands)  Chatsworth  Porter Ranch (2010) Finance and Insurance, and Real Estate and Rental and Leaseing Professional, Scientific and Technical Services Information Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Retail Trade Wholesale Trade Health Care, Social Assistance and Educational Services Other Services (Excluding Government) Manufacturing Transportation and Warehousing Construction Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting Management, Public Administration Services 120 15% 0 Benjamin Porter’s descendants decided to hold onto the ranch until the early 1960s. But this area was definitely still thought of as ranch land. During the late 1960’s and early 1970’s the unofficial entrance to Porter Ranch was even marked v