Calabasas: Gourd or Geese?
 
The origin of Calabasas' name is rooted in different legends. Some believe that the area was named by the Chumash tribe from their word meaning "where the wild geese fly." To this day, Canada geese still fly over the area annually, resting at nearby Pierce College in Woodland Hills. Most locals, however, are more attached to the colorful version of the name's legend of 1824, when a Basque rancher from Oxnard spilled a wagon-load of pumpkins on the road en route to Los Angeles. The following spring, hundreds of pumpkin seeds sprouted alongside the road. The area was named Las Calabasas - the place where the pumpkins fell - after the Spanish word for pumpkin or wild gourd: calabazo.

Indians, Explorers, Squatters, and Bandits
                       
Calabasas was believed to be the border of two friendly tribal nations, the Chumash and Tongva, which lived peacefully among the oaks and sycamores, settling in canyons near streams that provided the necessities of life. Soon after Spanish explorer Juan Portola de Gaspar discovered the region with Father Sierra in 1769, the Indian trails became the footpaths and wagon roads that served the state's mission era. When Mexico took over the territory around 1834, the region's Spanish land grants were given to "Californianos," who established the state's romantic but brief rancho period. Much of the Calabasas area was in Rancho El Escorpión granted to three Native Americans.
                       
In the mid-1800s when Alta California was given to the U.S. by Mexico, the mission era's El Camino Real became one the many stagecoach routes. Calabasas became one of the most legendary frontier towns of the Wild West with its reputation of lawlessness and brawly homesteaders. Women would only enter the region if escorted, and stagecoach drivers avoided Calabasas Junction, hoping to bypass the bloody squatter wars and gun fights. It was the surveyor, not the Sheriff, who eventually came to town and brought back law and order by settling the land disputes.  
                       

King of Calabasas
                        
In the 1880s, at the height of the Wild West, Basque immigrant Don Miguel Leonis reigned over the western San Fernando Valley from his Calabasas ranch. He was known as the King of Calabasas, acquiring vast land holdings from the family of his Indian bride, Espíritu Chijulla, who owned Rancho El Escorpión. He added to his territory by forcefully acquiring neighboring ranchos and driving off squatters.  
                       
In the 1960s, Kay Beachy, who helped preserve much of the San Fernando Valley's historic landmarks, helped save the King's once affluent ranch home from demolition. She purchased the property and additional surrounding landmarks and established a foundation to preserve the area's history. The Leonis Adobe became Los Angeles City Historic Cultural Monument No. l. Surrounding it is Old Town Calabasas, a preserved historic district inviting a look into yesterday. Highlights of the area include the Sagebrush Cantina, a popular restaurant located in the historic Agoure mall, and Calabasas Creek Park, a beautiful replica of a Victorian garden.
 
                       
Filmmaking
                       
Calabasas' remote and wooded setting and favorable climate made it an ideal location for filmmaking. As early as 1915, Hoot Gibson had shot a Western feature here. Nearby, Monte Nido provided the background for Tarzan features, as the locale easily resembled a lush tropical jungle. Warner Brothers Ranch was located in Calabasas until 1961 and was one of the biggest Hollywood movie lots, at 2,800 acres. Among the films shot at the ranch were “Casablanca,” “The Santa Fe Trail,” and “Sergeant York.”  
                       
In Malibu Creek State Park, visitors can visit the location of "The Sand Pebbles" as well as the wildly popular "Mash" television series, filmed in the hills during the 1970s. Remainders of some of the original sets still can be seen.
                                               

Crater Camp
                       
In 1914, before serving as the backdrop for Tarzan movies, the Monte Nido area was originally Crater Camp, a recreational destination with a fancy hotel and famed for its healthful environment and beautiful scenery. The name "Monte Nido" (mountain nest) is credited to Al Reithe, an artist who built a showplace home in the area in the 1930's. The home, like the hotel, burned down in a brush fire.
                       
As the county began building more roads, the Monte Nido area became less isolated and attracted year-round residents. In 1937, Los Angeles County purchased one acre of land at Cold Canyon and Piuma roads to erect Patrol Station No. 67. In addition to being a command post for fighting the frequent brush fires, the men who worked at the station also helped maintain the telephone lines and the municipal water facilities. During World War II, they had the task of watching the coast and skies for enemy attacks. Today, the Station is a landmark in an area which still retains its rustic character.

                  
Automotive Era
                       
During the Roaring Twenties, Calabasas became a motoring rest stop as well as a retreat and popular filming location. Homesteaders opened up travel services for the motorists venturing between Los Angeles and points north. The Daic family ran the area's first garage and joining it came antique stores and restaurants along the old El Camino Real, now called Calabasas Road.
                       
Many made Calabasas their destination. Summer retreats filled the local canyons and highlands. Movie stars and studio moguls purchased ranches in the area. Calabasas remained a vacation haven until around 1960, when piped water came to town. Edison purchased Warner Brothers Ranch and developed the residential "all electric home" gated community of Calabasas Park.

                       
Park Moderne
                       
In the early 1920s, Park Moderne, noted as Calabasas' first subdivision, was acquired by two Hollywood businessmen. They bartered some acreage from local homesteader Sam Copper, trading the cost of the land for updating his home with indoor plumbing. The men established an artists' colony, luring Hollywood prop artists out to work on commission in the scenic setting. The area is still home to many fine artists and local residents who now refer to this section of town as "the bird streets," since each street is named after a local bird. Among the first residents in the colony were famed sculptor Jan de Swart, architects Rudolph Schindler and Jock Peters, and artist Andy Anderson, a famous woodcarver whose adobe home still stands today. A steady stream of celebrities and tourists visited him, including Jimmy Durante with his first wife, who often refused to leave. She enjoyed sitting on a favorite rock under a giant oak tree admiring the beautiful view. This inspired Jimmy's famous closing line on his television show, "Goodnight, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are."
                                       
Originally, the colony contained pools, fountains, large totem poles, and three Native American footpaths. The Calabasas Historical Society has preserved the remaining footpath and the Zigzag Moderne fountain with the help of the Los Angeles County Building Department. Running between Bluebird Drive and Blackbird Way, the Bird Path is designated by wooden signs. There is a bronze plaque on the original fountain at the top of the path on Blackbird Way.
                        

L.A. Pet Memorial Park
                        
Since 1928, tucked away in the rolling hills of Calabasas, is a unique and peaceful pet memorial park called S.O.P.H.I.E. (Save Our Pets’ History In Eternity). Originally called the Los Angeles Pet Cemetery, the park is one of the oldest facilities of its kind on the West Coast. It was founded by Dr. Eugene Jones and his family. They owned and operated the facility for more than forty years. Animal celebrities are among the remembered, including Pete, the loveable dog of the Our Gang comedies, and Hopalong Cassidy's horse, Topper. In 1973, the family graciously donated the cemetery to the Los Angeles SPCA, which eventually gave it to the small group of pet owners who established S.O.P.H.I.E. Inc, a non-profit public benefit corporation, to run the cemetery. The site is dedicated by the State of California and will always be a pet memorial park.

The Calabasas Historical Society helps maintain the collection of artifacts, photos, and research materials relating to the colorful history of a region that attracts the interest of people from around the world.
                       
Pamphlets describing walking tours of Park Moderne and Old Town Calabasas are available through the Calabasas Historical Society.

                                               
Families that Settled the Region
                       
Phil Holmes, Devon Lang, & Erin Evarts from the National Park Service, as well as staff members from the Mountains Restoration Trust, provided information on Calabasas and the local families who helped settle the region. Much of the material came from The Last of the_Old West, by Laura Gaye, published in 1965, and Calabasas Girls: An_Intimate History, by Catherine Mulholland, published in 1976.  

Chief Odon (Espíritu Chijulla Leonis' family)
Espíritu Chijulla’s common law husband, Miguel Leonis, acquired El Escorpión from her family. She had married the Basque immigrant Leonis about 1855. Her son from a previous marriage, Juan Menendez, operated a blacksmith shop in Calabasas and eventually inherited the Leonis ranch after his mother fought a 16-year court battle for reclaiming ownership. Upon his death in 1888, Leonis had willed her family's property to his brother.
                       
The Agoure Family
Pierre Agoure owned a ranch and the location that now houses the Sagebrush Cantina, originally a group of small stores for craft vendors built by his father, Lester Agoure, Sr. in the early 1920's. The city of Agoura Hills is named after the family.

 The Leonis Family
A former smuggler in the French Pyrenees who was wanted by both Spanish and French customs officers, Don Miguel Leonis arrived in America and settled in the San Fernando Valley in the mid-1800s. The immigrant rose to become El Basquo Grande (the “Big Basque), also known as the “King of Calabasas.” He was certainly one of the most colorful characters in the area. Miguel met his common law wife Espíritu, Chijulla, the daughter of Chumash Chief Odon, working as a foreman on Rancho El Escorpión where he began to build his fortune as well as a notorious reputation for his business dealings. Espíritu's Native American heritage was considered beneath that of her Basque husband. However the couple shared many cultural similarities and traditions, reflected in the Leonis Adobe, now a museum portraying the family's affluent lifestyle on the frontier. They moved into the adobe in 1881. Their only daughter, Marcelina died of smallpox that same year, which devastated Don Miguel. Espíritu also had a son, Juan Menendez, from her previous marriage but Leonis would not acknowledge him as family. Only after the death of Miguel did Juan join his mother to reside permanently at the adobe.
                       
Because of Don Miguel Leonis' ruthless business reputation he became the notorious “King of Calabasas.” However, accounts from neighboring homesteaders recalled acts of kindness from the 6'4" tall man who always dressed in black. Neighbors told how he often gave local children rides home from town on his black stallion and families a cow if they needed it for milk.

Leonis' reign over the Calabasas territory lasted about a decade. In 1889, he had a fatal accident in Cahuenga Pass. In his will, Miguel referred to Espíritu only as his "faithful housekeeper" and gave most of their estate holdings to his brother. Espíritu spent 16 years in legal battles to reclaim ownership of her ranch, succeeding only a year before her own death in 1906. She is buried at the San Fernando Mission
                        .                                  
Tucker Family
George C. and Jessie E. Tucker moved to Los Angeles from England in 1905. Like many others they traded in their Los Angeles home for 160 acres in Calabasas. For an unknown number of years they lived in the Masson house and in1924 sold the home to the Forbes family.
                                           
The Cooper Family
Samuel Cooper was living with his wife Mary and their eight children in Canada when he heard about the opportunity to "make a fortune" in America, particularly in Southern California. Samuel got "itchy-feet" and moved the family to Norwalk where they lived on 40 acres. However, the Cooper family was not happy in Norwalk and after only a few months, Samuel claimed 160 acres in Calabasas. According to historians, Cooper's sons Sam Jr. and Matt were good cooks. Mary urged the boys to go into business, and on five acres in Los Angeles they built a pie factory and began the first pie industry in Los Angeles. Their brother, Charles Cooper, married Alice Kimball and ran the Hunter's Inn at Calabasas Junction until his death in 1914, providing rooms for hunters and travelers.
                  
In 1901, following the death of her husband Sam Sr., Mary moved to Los Angeles. Young Mary, age 21 at the time, offered to take care of the homestead in Calabasas and made an income boarding other people's cows on their land. Mary's cousin Jessie Tucker came to live with her in Calabasas and together they ran the farm. In 1904, Sam Jr. moved back to Calabasas with his wife Rose Dunkerley, who had come to Los Angeles with her mother from England, and their two children, Marx and Rosie.

Weber Family
A love of wildlife brought Anton Weber out to Calabasas. Anton learned the barber profession in his birthplace of Austria and in his early 20s took it to Philadelphia and then California. In 1905, Anton sent for his sweetheart Anna Kusnia to join him in California. Anton and Anna's mutual love for hunting and Calabasas led them to homestead 160 acres on property near the Ijams family. When the Ijams decided to sell, around the year 1910, Anton and Anna Weber acquired Isaac Ijams' post office, restaurant, and inn.
  
Anton opened a barbershop, remodeled the Ijams' former home, and soon after, their place became a full-fledged shopping center and stop-over for travelers. Anton Weber served as an innkeeper, a service station attendant, as salesman, a notary public, and a taxidermist.
                        
According to Theresa Thilmony, a Calabasas schoolteacher, the Webers also established a commercial animals farm, the only one of its kind in Los Angeles County, where they raised deer, elk, quail, and Pheasant. Many of Anton's stock were rented to the movie industry and, in fact, one "star boarder" living at the Weber's farm was the tiger named Satan.
                       
Around 1924, a portion of the Weber's building was rented to the county to house the Calabasas court and most of the pioneers were called to serve as jurors. According to author Laura B. Gaye, "most of those early court trials were those which involved horse thieves and other petty battles". The courtroom was first used as a dance hall, but later the stage became the judge's podium and the side door of the courtroom led directly into the living quarters of Anton Weber, which was used as the jury deliberation room. After Anton's first wife passed away, he sent for the niece of his wife, Anna Sigmunzik in Germany. In 1937, when Anton was nearly 70 years old, the couple had the first of their two daughters.
                       
Masson Family
William C. Masson appears in the 1900 census record for Los Angeles County, Calabasas Township. Catherine is listed as his wife and Stanley C. was his son. According to this census record, William C. Masson was a farmer at the time. William C. Masson then appears in the 1910 census record for Los Angeles County, now residing in the Los Angeles Township. His family includes wife Lucy M. and sons Stanley C. and Percy G. William's occupation is listed as a "street car motorman". William C. Masson also appears in the 1920 census record for Los Angeles County, residing in the Bubank Township, with his wife Lucy M. and children Alexander W., Birdilin, and E. Albert. William C. Masson then appears in the 1930 census record for Los Angeles County, Los Angeles Township, with wife Lucy M. and children Birdilin, Ernest A., Charles J, and Gertrude E. His occupation is listed at the time of the 1930 census as "gardener of residences".
                       
Through Ancestry.com, personal information regarding Percy George Masson was discovered. Percy was born to mother Violet Edith Dunkerley and father William John Cooper Carr Masson on August 3rd, 1903. William C. Masson's full name, including the Cooper name, gives further evidence to the assumption that the Masson family is related to the Cooper family. Samuel Cooper was also listed as a witness on William C. Masson's homestead document in 1902. Furthermore, Samuel Cooper Jr. married Rose Dunkerley,who may have been a relation to Percy Masson's mother, Violet Dunkerley. It is known that a woman named Catherine was married to William C. Masson and gave birth to William's first son Stanley. However, if Catherine were to have passed away, it would not have been uncommon for William to have found another wife through his extended family. If what was found through Ancestry.com is accurate, William John Cooper Carr Masson was born in "other country" (England or Scotland) November 10th, 1876, and passed away December 29th, 1956 in Los Angeles.

Penland Family
James Penland came to Calabasas in 1884, where his son Enoch married Viola Grant and raised a family. In the 1930s, Enoch's son Walter Penland was the Deputy Constable of Calabasas Township in the 1920s.
                       
The Stunt Family
The Stunt brothers, Harry, Walter and Ernest, developed a homestead on the north slope of Saddle Peak in the late 1800s.  They planted a large orchard, planning to establish a nursery to produce fruit-tree rootstocks.  That venture never worked out.  In 1919, they built a larger cabin on the property, after the first one was destroyed by fire.  The Stunt brothers lived and worked in Hollywood during the week, using the ranch on weekends.  Walter died in 1928, and Harry moved to the ranch in 1937.  Their sister, Ethel, who had spent many years as head secretary at the British embassy in China, also moved to the ranch in 1937.  Harry and Ethel Stunt were both outgoing, friendly people who became well known in the area for their hospitality.  (From the web site of the Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains Reserve)
                                               
Knapp Family
Frank Knapp and his family appear in the 1930 census record for Los Angeles County living in the Owensmouth area. According to this census record, Knapp was 54 years of age at the time and listed as a "Stone Mason" in the industry of "Homes and Gardens". Frank Knapp is described as a “living Valley legend" and as one of the first settlers in what was then called Owensmouth (now known as Canoga Park). Articles written on the San Fernando Valley describe the West Valley as being "scattered with Knapp family stone masonry, colorful rock fireplaces and sculptures". In fact, an eighty-one year old beautiful rock fireplace still stands in Calabasas at 23075 Mulholland Highway: the old Masson/Miller home, bearing the engraved initials of its Creator, Fr. Knapp, and the date 1924. This Masson/Miller home holds an elegant and special piece of West Valley history, which embodies the strong will and wild spirit of Calabasas' early pioneers.

LeSueur Family
Phil(l)ip (father) & Harry W. (son) Le Sueur - farmers and neighbors of the Massons in the early 1900s and possibly even earlier.
                       
Fooshee Family
George Fooshee, rancher (early 1900s); also a Masson family neighbor.

Coig Family
     Peter Coig, Coig ranch.

Valdez Family
       Valdez family, owned property next to Massons (early 1900s).
                        
Santa Maria Family
              (unknown dates, mentioned by Varney family)

Poyer Family
Dan Poyer is believed to have lived in a house on a property during the mid-1900s which is now the Leonis Plaza in Old Town Calabasas. The entire Poyer family dates back to the early 1900s as land owners neighboring the Masson property.
                       
Ijams Family
Somewhere in between 1885 and 1887, Isaac Clay Ijams, who spent his youth as an adventuring gold seeker, scout and guide over much of the American west, was traveling southward down the coast road from Santa Barbara with his wife and their four children as well as a team and wagon loaded with the family's worldly possessions, which included chickens and their pregnant cow. The family trekked over the rugged Conejo Grade and, no doubt tired from their journey, decided to make camp in an admirable area. Their birthing cow, a precious economic asset, probably delayed the family's journey to their final destination down south to Alessandro where a job awaited them as caretakers of a friend's hotel.

"Thus it was that the Ijams made their camp that night in a territory of Los Angeles County called Calabasas," wrote author Catherine Mulholland. After just a few days, the Ijams family agreed to stay and settle in Calabasas. According to Isaac, "the land spoke, and I ceased to care to wander on." In addition, Isaac and his wife Edith were then in their mid-40s and the children were in need of steady schooling. However, as soon as Isaac chose a quarter section (160 acres) of land near Solitel de la Palma Meza's homestead and staked out his claim, "the Big Basque" tried to drive them away. According to Mulholland, a squatters war had raged in Calabasas since 1870 when Miguel Leonis, the Big Basque or El Basquo Grande, dominated the territory. Through his marriage, Leonis had acquired Rancho El Escorpión, a great landholding to the north of Calabasas at the west end of the San Fernando Valley, and as he expanded his holdings, he began moving onto government land and shooting and scaring off homesteaders as they appeared. Isaac C. Ijams took Leonis to court and because it was government land, Ijams won and remained on the property. The Ijams built a small house and also rented land on Rancho el Escorpión to start a grain crop.

In August, 1888, Isaac C. Ijams arranged for the Calabasas Post Office to be established at his home and his daughter Nettie, then fifteen years old, became Calabasas' first postmaster. In 1892, Nettie's sister Katie took over as postmaster after Nettie moved to Ventura to learn dressmaking. Isaac himself carried the mail either on horseback or by cart and horse with deliveries that took up to three days. Author Catherine Mulholland writes, "The Ijams' place developed all the versatility of a one-man band: school children, boarding teachers, letter-writing and package-sending neighbors. A lively assortment of folk made their way to their homestead, not to mention cronies and just plain droppers-in, because the family was gregarious and unfailingly hospitable."

Katie Ijams married Calabasas resident and county road foreman John Haas at age nineteen when he was twenty-five. Sadly, in 1912 John was killed from injuries sustained by a horse, and Katie and their two daughters moved to Studio City. After the death of his wife Edith, Isaac went to live with his daughter Katie and the family later moved to North Hollywood. According to author Laura B. Gaye, Isaac continued working for "civic improvement” and a more ideal community up to the time of his death," which was in 1938 at the age of ninety-seven.
                       
                                               
Time Line

1542
Cabrillo sails by Santa Monica Bay.
                       
1770
     The Portola (Sacred) Expedition returns through the Calabasas area.

February 22, 1776
The de Anza expedition stops near Las Virgenes.
                       
August 18, 1795
The name "Calabasas" first appeared in San Fernando mission records.
                       
c1830
El Escorpión, a ranch that once occupied a large tract in the west Valley, was granted to three Indians in Calabasas in the 1830's.
                       
c1845
The building later known as the Leonis Adobe was built by an unknown settler.

        c1855
Miguel Leonis, the Basque "King of Calabasas" acquired the ranch and 1100 acres by his marriage to Espíritu, an Indian who had inherited the property from her father.
                                               
c1863
              Sepulveda built his adobe.
                                               
c1870
    Leonis renovates and expands the adobe.
                                               
1880
             First school in Calabasas south of Calabasas Road.
                                               
1880
                 Miguel Leonis and his Indian wife Espíritu move into the Adobe.

1888-1910
Nettie Ijams, first postmaster in Calabasas operates the post office out of her home.
                                               
1889
                   Miguel Leonis dies after a fall from his wagon on Cahuenga Pass.

April 10, 1906
Espíritu Leonis dies, leaving the Leonis ranch to her son Juan Mendez, who gradually sells off parcels.
                                               
1914
      Camp Crater developed as a year round picnic spot.
                                               
1914
Charles Cooper dies.
                                               
1915
                Hunters Inn renamed Kramer Store after Alice Cooper marries Kramer.

c1920
Lester Agoure Sr. built a cluster of small buildings for craft vendors, now a popular restaurant called the Sagebrush Cantina.

1921
           Juan Mendez lost the last portion of the ranch to Martin Agoure.

1921
Daic Brothers build their garage in Old Town.
                       
c1925
Old Town area bought by a Mr. Hutchinson, who built a house, gas station, and nursery.
                       
1924
One room school built replacing original school house.
                       
1924
William H. Forbes and William P. Forbes, purchase the former Masson      property from the Tuckers.
                       
1928
     A portion of Sam Cooper Jr.'s homestead is developed as Park Moderne, the first subdivision in Calabasas.
                       
1948
Calabasas School joins Liberty, Cornell, and Las Virgenes in forming the Las Virgenes Unified School District.

1958
Las Virgenes Municipal Water District formed to promote development.

1979
Founding of the Calabasas Historical Society

1991
Incorporation of the City of Calabasas

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