Future generations can count on Heritage Junction in Old Town Newhall offering visitors a look at the past for decades to come, as the city of Santa Clarita and FivePoint announced Friday a joint effort to restore the historical locale.
The organizations celebrated with a ceremony using the Newhall Ranch House as their backdrop, a partnership supporting the SCV Historical Society’s revamping of the park, which is home to several sites, such as the Saugus Train Station Museum and the Kingsbury House.
Friday’s event centered around the Newhall Ranch House, which is the next in line for restoration, and will be made possible with $25,000 from the city and a matching donation from FivePoint, officials said.
“Even as we help define the future of the Santa Clarita Valley, we never want to forget the past and those who were essential to creating this community that today is one of the most desirable in California,” said FivePoint Community President Don Kimball, in a statement. He presented the $25,000 check to the city at the event. “Preserving our history is important so future generations will appreciate what makes this valley special. FivePoint is proud to contribute to this initiative.”
The 4,000-square-foot Newhall Ranch House is a two-story Victorian home with a gabled roof that served as the headquarters of the Newhall Land and Farming Co., which is now known as FivePoint. It originally stood in what is now as Six Flags Magic Mountain’s parking lot and was moved to Heritage Junction in 1990 with a grant from the city, according to the Historical Society.
“And today you’re looking at a structure that is one of the last and best in L.A. County of its type,” said Santa Clarita Councilwoman Laurene Weste, who is also a Historical Society board member. “It deserves to be honored. It needs to be restored properly, and we’re starting with the most important part, which is its hat, its roof — and it is not an easy task.”
The goal is to fortify the structures that make up the Heritage Junction, which Mayor Cameron Smyth described as “an active time capsule,” so that many more families can have an opportunity to take a step back in time.
