Celebrated as the most shot-up movie location ranch in motion picture history -- the Iverson Movie Ranch -- situated in the picturesque rocky foothills of the Santa Susana Mountains just northwest of Chatsworth, California, has been used to simulate terrain in Africa, Asia, the South Seas, and the Wild West.
As many as two thousand motion pictures and television shows are reported to have used the Iverson Movie Ranch to shoot some or all of their outdoor scenes. Its picturesque house sized sandstone boulders, oak trees, and the Oat Mountain backdrop make it one of the most recognizable sites to movie viewers of all generations.
The history of the ranch began about 1882 when Miss Augusta Wagman -- an emigrant from Norrkoping, Sweden -- homesteaded 160 rocky acres next to the Johnson family near Devil Canyon in northwest Chatsworth. Eventually the ranch grew to be approximately five hundred acres. In October 1888, Augusta married Carl Iverson, an emigrant of Norway.
In its hayday, in addition to the magnificent rock outcroppings and rugged landscape, the ranch had miles of scenic trails and insert roads, a complete western street, a three-sided ranch house with accompanying barn, and many small buildings that were used as outlaw shacks and stagecoach stations.
By 1962, the ownership of the ranch had been divided into two sections: Joseph owning the Lower Iverson, and Aaron owning the Upper Iverson.
Between 1966 and 1968 the construction of the Simi Valley "118" Freeway cut the Iverson ranch in half. By the end of the 1960s the freeway curtailed the use of the ranch as a viable movie location because of the high sound levels caused by traffic.
In 1982, Joe Iverson sold the Lower Iverson to Robert G. Sherman, who almost immediately began subdividing the property. By the 1990s most of the ranch had been subdivided into three portions:
The Upper Iverson is now Indian Springs and Indian Falls -- large estate sized homes in a gate guarded community.
The Lower Iverson is mostly owned by Rocky Peak Church or the California West Condominium Development.
The Middle Iverson is Summerset Village -- luxury rental apartments.
The
lower Iverson Ranch & Garden of the Gods today The
Cliffs of Nyoka & Stoney Point today Iverson
Ranch Western Street NEW Movie & TV photos for sale NEW Then
And Now - Page 1 Then
And Now - Page 2 Then
And Now - Page 3
Jerry's next book coming 2010