Santa Susana, California | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Location in Ventura County and the state of California | |
  Santa Susana, California Location within the state of California | |
| Coordinates: 34°15′29″N 118°39′59″W / 34.25806°N 118.66639°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Ventura |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.113 sq mi (2.883 km2) |
| • Land | 1.113 sq mi (2.883 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) 0% |
| Elevation | 1,165 ft (355 m) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 1,160 |
| • Density | 1,000/sq mi (400/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| GNIS feature ID | 2585445[2] |
Santa Susana (Spanish for "St. Susan") is a former railroad town located mostly within the City of Simi Valley. A small portion of the community, outside the Simi Valley city limits to the south of the Ventura County Metrolink rail line, is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP).[4] The community is in the eastern part of the Simi Valley.
The town by the Santa Susana Mountains in the Simi Valley was founded in 1903, shortly after the Southern Pacific Company built the Santa Susana Depot.[5][6][7] It is also spelled Santa Susanna, while it is currently more commonly referred to as the Santa Susana Knolls, which is the officially designated name,[8] or the Simi Knolls.[9] The name of Santa Susana is now more generally applied to a larger area at the very east end of the Simi Valley (often called east of East Simi Valley) in easternmost Ventura County, which was the name of the early settlement located at Tapo Street and East Los Angeles Avenue that is now within the city limits.[10] The historic Santa Susana Depot was located there before being moved farther east along the coast route railroad and made into a museum. The Simi Valley train station opened in 1993 about midway between the historic site and the museum location next to Santa Susana Knolls. The 2010 United States census reported the Santa Susana CDP's population as 1,037. It is a sparsely populated rural area with rustic housing and no set-houses, in a hilly and relatively forested part of the valley.[11]
The area was inhabited by the Chumash Indians as early as 500 AD and there have been numerous Chumash artifacts found in the area, in addition to the pictographs in Burro Flats Painted Cave.[12] In the 1920s, the Knolls became home to brothels and also a religious cult.[13] During the late 1960s Charles Manson and the Manson Family partially lived at Spahn's Movie Ranch.[14][15] During the 1950s and '60s, the Corriganville Movie Ranch and other areas was utilized as movie sets for Western movies. Films and TV-series filmed here includes Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Lone Ranger, Adventures of Superman, The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), The Three Musketeers, Tales of the Texas Rangers, Billy the Kid Versus Dracula, Fort Apache, Star Trek, Wagon Train, and hundreds of other mostly Western-inspired movies and TV-shows.[16]
The rural Santa Susana is home to numerous species of native wildlife, including large amounts of snakes, coyotes, hawks and mountain lions.[17][18]
- ^ "U.S. Census". Archived from the original on January 25, 2012.
- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Santa Susana CDP
- ^ "US Census Bureau". www.census.gov. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ "Santa Susana CDP and Simi Valley city as shown in TIGERweb". U.S. Census Bureau Geography Division. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
- ^ Appleton, Bill (2009). Images of America: Santa Susana. Arcadia Publishing. Page 7. ISBN 9780738570495.
- ^ Aleahmad, Linda (1990). Simi Valley: Toward New Horizons. Windsor Publications, Inc. Page 40. ISBN 9780897813631.
- ^ Sneiderman, Phil (June 11, 1992). "SIMI VALLEY : Name Change to 'Santa Susana' Urged". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Appleton, Bill (2009). Images of America: Santa Susana. Arcadia Publishing. Page 97. ISBN 9780738570495.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Santa Susana Knolls: Populated Place
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Santa Susana: Populated Place
- ^ Gowenlock, Shanna (August 31, 1989). "County Board Limits Commercial Growth in Santa Susana Knolls". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Appleton, Bill (2009). Images of America: Santa Susana. Arcadia Publishing. Pages 7 and 11. ISBN 9780738570495.
- ^ Lystra, Tony (December 20, 1999). "Santa Susana Knolls Has Natural Animosity With Simi". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 7, 2015.
- ^ "Simi Valley Acorn - Simi's Favorite Weekly Newspaper". Archived from the original on November 6, 2012.
- ^ Mitchell, Robert and Hannah (2015). Raising Drug Addicts: A Father’s Account, with Lessons Learned and Sections by my Daughter from the Orange County Jail. WestBow Press. Page 37. ISBN 9781490881980.
- ^ Appleton, Bill (2009). Images of America: Santa Susana. Arcadia Publishing. Pages 97-107. ISBN 9780738570495.
- ^ Radio, Southern California Public (June 24, 2015). "Cougar, kittens spotted feeding in Santa Susana Mountains". Southern California Public Radio.
- ^ Johnson, John R. 1997. Chumash Indians in Simi Valley in Simi Valley: A Journey Through Time. Simi Valley, CA: Simi Valley Historical Society. Pages 488-489. ISBN 978-0965944212.