Spahn Ranch

Spahn Ranch, also known as the Spahn Movie Ranch, was a 55-acre (22.26 hectare) movie ranch in Los Angeles, California. For a period it was used as a ranch, dairy farm and later movie set during the era of westerns. After a decline in use for filming by the 1950s, its owner George Spahn established a stable for renting horses for riding on the varied acres. It became known in the late 20th century as the primary headquarters of Charles Manson and his cult followers, the "Manson Family", for much of 1968 through 1970. They were notorious for the Tate–LaBianca murders of August 1969. The entrance to the historic ranch was originally at 12000 Santa Susana Pass Road (street numbers have since been changed) of the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains above Chatsworth, California. It is no longer in use. After Spahn's death and a wildfire that destroyed the main ranch house and outbuildings, the land was incorporated into Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park.

History

1880s–1968: Initial ownership and movie ranch Beginning in the 1880s, a piece of land, including what would later become the Spahn Ranch, became the homestead of Mexican immigrant Dionisio Sánchez and Hoosier James...