Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program
1984 to 2002 TIME SERIES
Newhall-Valencia, Los Angeles County
In this Image
Changes in this area are predominantly conversions from native vegetation and grasslands (brown) to urban (red). Commercial, residential, and infrastructure uses, such as a landfill, comprise most of the development. Much of the farmland (various shades of green) which occupies the valley in earlier years has gone out of production or has been urbanized. The white area is within Angeles National Forest and is not mapped. Information on these changes was gathered from air photos, local comments, and field reconnaissance. Area shown is approximately 9 miles east-west and 10 miles north-south.
The Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program has documented urbanization of just over 40,000 acres in Los Angeles County between 1984 and 2002.
A brief history of the Newhall-Valencia area
The communities in this image are located in the Santa Clarita Valley, approximately 30 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. The area was once the center of the Newhall Land and Farming Company's 143,000 acre operation, and has been used for grazing, farming, mineral and oil extraction since the 1880's. The Company came about as Henry Mayo Newhall, a successful auctioneer and investor, passed the land to his sons upon his death in 1882.
By the late 1950s, urban development began moving northward into the Santa Clarita Valley. The Newhall Family understood that their farming operations and cost of doing business would be increasingly compromised by surrounding development. Members of the Newhall Family chose to build a "new town," a balanced community named Valencia for the oranges grown on the ranch. The Valencia Master Plan was drafted in the early 1960s with the creative guidance of the renowned urban planner Victor Gruen. Today, the Newhall Land and Farming Company (a California limited partnership) owns 51,620 acres devoted to real estate and agricultural operations.
The City of Santa Clarita, which occupies the area east of Interstate 5 on the image, is now the fourth largest city in Los Angeles County, with a population of over 151,000 in 2000. The city's population grew by 37% between 1990 an 2000. The remainder of the image is in unincorporated Los Angeles County.
California Department of Finance | Newhall Land and Cattle | City of Santa Clarita
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