The Vasquez Rocks

The Vasquez Rocks. Neighborhood and Life in Agua Dulce. , While life in the Vasquez Rocks neighborhood during the 1920s-60s was challenging, it was also unique and entertaining. Among the quiet junipers, you might see a wagon train, dinosaurs, aliens, or astronauts. While you may not have running water, you might see some of the world's most famous actors or actresses in your backyard. And while your community was small and remote, visitors from around the world traveled to visit this spectacular site. On this ridge Model T's putted along, cabins dotted the hill below you, and the post to your left served as a zipline, running across the canyon to the east. Before this land became a park, remarkable memories were gathered in this valley. , , photo caption: , · This 1983 aerial photograph shows the cabins in the lower part of today's park, as well as the long-standing fort built in the 1950s for the TV series "Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers". As the land became a park, the old structures were removed to allow the land to return to a natural state. , , Creation of the Neighborhood and Growth of Agua Dulce , By the 1920s, a neighborhood here had emerged, with cabins relocated from the Sterling Borax Mine by homesteader Henry Krieg. By the 1940s, the town of Agua Dulce blossomed, with social clubs, businesses, a school and church, and friendships that spanned generations. , , photo captions: , · News clippings from the Newhall Signal from 1939 and 1932 deal gatherings at the Rocks. , , · Two clippings from the Newhall Signal demonstrate the growing community within the Rocks. October 15, 1925 (left); June 25, 1931 (right). , , Vasquez Rocks Residents and Neighbors , Claude Ellis: , A visitor turned friend and tenant, Claude Ellis lived in a small cabin onsite. A chemist for the Fuller Paint Company, he was also an imaginative painter who created unique artwork on the rocks across the park. While all are faded or eroded away, some are partially visible, but well hidden. , , The Schaefer Family and Rancho Escondido: , Next door to the Krieg/Toney and Asher properties was the Schaefer family's Rancho Escondido. George and Rita and children Jim and Marilyn were close with their neighbors and active members of the community. , , photo captions: , · A blurb on Claude Ellis’s painting, from the Fresno Morning Republican, March 1931. , , · Vasquez Rocks neighbors, from left to right: Rita and James Schaefer, Geneva and Richard Held, and Clara and Charles Wright in 1926. The boys remained friends for the rest of their lives. , , · Friends and family join siblings Jim (second from left) and Marilyn (fourth from left) the "old swimming hole", located in Agua Dulce Canyon adjacent to today’s park, in 1942. , , Happenings Around the Rocks , Day-to-day life at the Rocks came with unique 'normal' occurrences, stemming from the land's use as a tourist attraction and popular filming location. , , photo captions: , · Children from the Agua Dulce School with their teacher Grace Heath (a resident of Vasquez Rocks) pictured on a filming production in 1934. A young Edward Toney is front and center in the white hat, with actor Fred Kohler. The film "West of the Pecos" is currently categorized as lost. , , · Internationally celebrated photographer Ansel Adams guest teaching a photography course at Vasquez Rocks with the ArtCenter College of Design in 1941. From left to right: Kay Kirby, Ansel Adams, and Anna Camey. Photographed by Richard Ham. , , · An unidentified young woman enjoys the Rocks in unique hiking garb, circa 1920. , , · A Stearman C-3R makes a landing likely as part of an unidentified film shoot in the 1930s. , , · This behind-the-scenes image shows the production of the 1931 film "The Hard Hombre." , , Images courtesy Chuck Wright, King/Toney Family, Roger Wolff, the Schaefer family, the ArtCenter archives, Marc Wanamaker, and Sarah Brewer. , , , The homesteads and ranches of Vasquez Rocks became an L.A. County park beginning in 1964. As the 24 properties that first became the park were gradually purchased, the neighborhood era came to a close. Through memories, records, and photographs, we can enjoy these stories, and imagine ourselves in such an interesting era amongst the Rocks.