Plenty of towns that dot the California landscape can claim a piece of the state's celebrated history in gold, oil, transportation and filming. Santa Clarita is no exception, but for one thing. In many respects, Santa Clarita is where it all started. Long before there were stagecoach lines, the Santa Clarita Valley was an important crossroads along ancient Indian trade routes. North met south and east met west at a craggy rock formation named, much later, for Bandido Tiburcio Vasquez. Santa Clarita's topography lent itself to early filming. Silent screen stars like William S. Hart and Tom Mix used the valley to create the traditions that would define the "Western." Santa Clarita's Western roots shaped its ultimate transformation into a vibrant community of safe streets, award-winning schools, new technologies, and thriving industries. More than simple landmarks of yesteryear, today the Hart mansion, Heritage Junction, Mentryville, Vasquez Rocks, and the Placerita Nature Center vividly demonstrate the ways in which the people of Santa Clarita are preserving the past for the benefit of the future. With its eight diverse communities, Santa Clarita residents are proud of its historic past, growing present, and promising future. The City of Santa Clarita, founded December 15, 1987, is comprised of half of the eight towns and includes Canyon Country, Saugus, Newhall, and Valencia. The remaining four areas of Agua Dulce, Castaic, Stevenson Ranch, and Val Verde are part of the unincorporated Los Angeles County called the Santa Clarita Valley. For a more detailed and extended look at the history of Santa Clarita please visit the Santa Clarita Historical Society at www.scvhs.org
