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Owensmouth was a town founded in 1912 in the western part of the
The new town had its problems, not till 1913 did electricity get installed. In 1916 there were only 200 residents. The town and orchards did not get any aqueduct water till 1917, when the City of Los Angeles annexed Owensmouth. The street, Owensmouth Avenue that runs north-south through the valley, is one of the few reminders of the 1910s.
* The community's name was changed to 
*
/ref>LoC-HABS: Leonis (1963); p.3
/ref>Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park (SSPSHP); Ethnohistory
; p. 46.
* Los Angeles Suburban Homes Company was in Owensmouth. The company built homes, owned by 
* State Bank of Owensmouth, was in Owensmouth. Its President was H.J. Whitley.
* Owensmouth High School in Canoga Park, California, opened October 4, 1914; it is now called Canoga Park High School, the oldest High School in the west San Fernando Valley.
*Owensmouth education.com, Owensmouth Continuation High School
/ref>
Canoga-Owensmouth Historical MuseumLADWP Los Angeles Aqueduct web siteLos Angeles Aqueduct Landscape AtlasMono Lake Committee Website
* *
The William Mulholland Memorial FountainLos Angeles Aqueduct Digital Platform
{{Former settlements of Los Angeles County, California Former settlements in Los Angeles County, California West Hills, Los Angeles History of the San Fernando Valley Canoga Park, Los Angeles Communities in the San Fernando Valley History of Los Angeles
Owensmouth was a town founded in 1912 in the western part of the San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...
in Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...
, California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. Owensmouth joined the city of Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
in 1917, and was renamed Canoga Park
Canoga Park is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Before the Mexican–American War, the district was part of a rancho, and after the American victory it was converted into wheat farms and ...
on March 1, 1931. Owensmouth was named for the 1913 Owens River
The Owens River is a river in eastern California in the United States, approximately long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 17, 2011, It drains into and through the ...
aqueduct's terminus in current Canoga Park.
History
The town was started by the Los Angeles Suburban Homes Company as part of an extraordinary real estate development inSouthern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
."Pacific Electric and the Growth of the San Fernando Valley"; by David Coscia; Shade Tree Books; ©2011; . Los Angeles Suburban Homes Company was owned by a syndicate of rich Los Angeles investors, developers, and speculators: including Harrison Gray Otis, Harry Chandler, Moses Sherman, Hobart Johnstone Whitley, and others."The Owensmouth Baby"; by Catherine Mulholland; Santa Susana Press ( CSUN—California State University, Northridge); ©1987; . On April 2, 1915, H. J. Whitley purchased the Suburban Home Company so that he would have complete control for finishing the development. It anticipated possible connections to but was planned independent of the soon to be completed (1913) Los Angeles Aqueduct
The Los Angeles Aqueduct system, comprising the Los Angeles Aqueduct (Owens Valley aqueduct) and the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct, is a water conveyance system, built and operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The Owens Valley ...
from the Owens River watershed to the City of Los Angeles through the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...
.The newly built Sherman Way double drive and the Pacific Electric
The Pacific Electric Railway Company, nicknamed the Red Cars, was a privately owned Public transport, mass transit system in Southern California consisting of electrically powered streetcars, interurban cars, and buses and was the largest electr ...
street cars, opened on December 7, 1912, gave new access to the town and to the other new towns in the valley Van Nuys
Van Nuys ( ) is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley.
History
In 1 ...
(1911) and Marion (now Reseda);
At the time the new road and streetcar seemed like route to an open agricultural fields at the end of the line — but was a necessity to promote development. Sherman Way was a paved boulevard with lush landscaping and no speed limit where one might get up to 35 mph, there was a separate dirt road for farm wagons/equipment, and telegraph lines.
The new town had its problems, not till 1913 did electricity get installed. In 1916 there were only 200 residents. The town and orchards did not get any aqueduct water till 1917, when the City of Los Angeles annexed Owensmouth. The street, Owensmouth Avenue that runs north-south through the valley, is one of the few reminders of the 1910s.
* The community's name was changed to Canoga Park
Canoga Park is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Before the Mexican–American War, the district was part of a rancho, and after the American victory it was converted into wheat farms and ...
in 1931.
* Current West Hills, Los Angeles
West Hills is a neighborhood in the western San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California. It is bordered by mountain ranges to the west and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Chatsworth to the north, Canoga Park to the east, ...
, was part of Owensmouth from 1912 to 1931. In 1987 West Hills was formed from a part of Canoga Park, creating a new community.
* Owensmouth Ave, a street running north and south through the San Fernando Valley just east of Topanga Canyon Blvd, from just south of the CA 118 to just north of CA 101.
* Owensmouth Line
The Owensmouth Line was a Pacific Electric interurban service that connected the San Fernando Valley to Downtown Los Angeles. The route was largely developed as the result of real estate speculation.
History
The Pacific Electric streetcar servi ...
Street car line to Owensmouth ran from 1911 to 1952.
* San Fernando Line
The San Fernando Line was a part of the Pacific Electric Railway system in Los Angeles County, California. It was designed to increase the reach of public transportation from the Downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood into the San Fernando Valley ...
Street car line to Owensmouth (1911 to 1952). Built by Moses Sherman's Los Angeles Pacific Railroad
The Los Angeles Pacific Railroad (1896−1911) (LAP) was an electric public transit and freight railway system in Los Angeles County, California. At its peak it had of track extending from Downtown Los Angeles to the Westside, Santa Monica, a ...
sold to PE.
* Owensmouth Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...
line and station opened in 1912. The 1912 station was at 21355 Sherman Way, Canoga Park, CA. The station was damaged by fire in 1995 and demolished.
* Part of the old Rancho El Escorpión
Rancho El Escorpión was a Mexican land grant in present day Los Angeles County, California given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to three Chumash Native Americans - Odón Chijulla, Urbano, and Mañuel.
was in Owensmouth. It was the original Mexican land grant.LoC-HABS: Escorpion (1937); p. 2/ref>LoC-HABS: Leonis (1963); p.3
/ref>Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park (SSPSHP); Ethnohistory
; p. 46.
* Los Angeles Suburban Homes Company was in Owensmouth. The company built homes, owned by Isaac Newton Van Nuys
Isaac Newton Van Nuys (; November 20, 1836 – February 12, 1912) was an American businessman, farmer and rancher who owned the entire southern portion of the San Fernando Valley, an area 15 miles long and 6 miles wide. With the approach of ...
* State Bank of Owensmouth, was in Owensmouth. Its President was H.J. Whitley.
* Owensmouth High School in Canoga Park, California, opened October 4, 1914; it is now called Canoga Park High School, the oldest High School in the west San Fernando Valley.
*Owensmouth Continuation high school
A continuation high school is an alternative to a comprehensive high school. In some countries it is primarily for students who are considered at risk of not graduating at the normal pace. The requirements to graduate are the same, but the sche ...
is in Canoga Park./ref>
See also
*State Water Project
The California State Water Project, commonly known as the SWP, is a state water management project in the U.S. state of California under the supervision of the California Department of Water Resources. The SWP is one of the largest public water ...
* Warner Center station
* William Mulholland
William Mulholland (September 11, 1855 – July 22, 1935) was an Irish American self-taught civil engineer who was responsible for building the infrastructure to provide a water supply that allowed Los Angeles to grow into the largest city in Cal ...
* Glendale and Montrose Railway
* Bell Canyon Park
Bell Canyon Park is a large Open space reserve, open-space regional park located in the Simi Hills at the western end of the San Fernando Valley in West Hills, Los Angeles, California, West Hills, Los Angeles and Bell Canyon, California, Bell Canyo ...
* Sherman Way station
References
External links
Canoga-Owensmouth Historical Museum
* *
The William Mulholland Memorial Fountain
{{Former settlements of Los Angeles County, California Former settlements in Los Angeles County, California West Hills, Los Angeles History of the San Fernando Valley Canoga Park, Los Angeles Communities in the San Fernando Valley History of Los Angeles