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Spahn Movie Ranch

THIS IS HISTORICAL INFORMATION ONLY

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Spahn Movie Ranch (also known as George Spahn Ranch), situated in the Santa Susana Mountains above Chatsworth, California, was a 55-acre movie ranch used for filming Westerns in the 1950s and 60s with an entrance near 12000 Santa Susana Pass Road. Today, the site is part of Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park, offering free access to hiking trails with remains of the old movie sets.

The ranch was owned by George Spahn and featured Western-themed sets for movies like The Outlaw and TV shows including Bonanza, The Lone Ranger, and Zorro.

From 1968 to 1969, Charles Manson and his "Family" of followers lived on the property in exchange for performing labor for the elderly Spahn. Following the arrests of the Manson family, the ranch structures were destroyed by a wildfire in September 1970.

The area is now a quiet park with rocky, wooded terrain, though some old remnants can still be found. It is free to visit and open to the public, offering a glimpse into both Old Hollywood and, for many, a dark chapter in American history.

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Spahn Movie Ranch was located on 511 acres between Santa Susanna Pass Road and the Southern Pacific Rail Road, northwest of Chatsworth, California. A horse ranch for the movies, Spahn's offered some wagons and rolling stock and has rugged hills, mountains, and canyons. It had scattered movie cabins and a rustic western town. It was once owned by William S. Hart

A raging brush fire on September 25 and 26, 1970 destroyed the western town and leveled the ranch structures at Spahn and the Corriganville Ranch.

          Bill Earhart, 14 May 1917

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