Calabasas

Calabasas is located in the hills west of the San Fernando Valley in the northwest Santa Monica Mountains. The Chumash Indians were the first to settle in this picturesque region, abundant with wildlife, water, and shady oak trees. The early years of Calabasas offer a colorful history full of buried treasure, cattle and sheep ranches, stagecoaching, ghost sightings, and some of Southern California's roughest and toughest residents. Between the 1920s and 1970s, countless films and television episodes were filmed in the west San Fernando Valley area alone. It was a time when Westerns ruled the scene, and the studios bought up huge tracts of underdeveloped acreage in the hills around Calabasas to serve as movie ranches. Today, Calabasas is primarily a city of master-planned communities that are home to over 23,000 residents, including many of Hollywood's rich and famous. In banning secondhand smoke, plastic bags, and Styrofoam, Calabasas has been on the forefront of enacting environmental stewardship to preserve its historical roots and protect its open spaces. Cimberly Castellon and the Calabasas-Las Virgenes Historical Society are pleased to share highlights from the exceptional Kathleen Beachy and Ruth Loring Calabasas Archival Collection, as well as the contributions of many.