JANSS CONEJO RANCH

In 1910, Edwin and Harold Janss purchased about 10,000 acres of land in what is now central Thousand Oaks from the heirs of John Edwards who had purchased the land from the de la Guerra heirs (all of the land was originally a portion of the Rancho Conejo Land Grant). The ranch, called the Janss Conejo Ranch, was utilized as a farm and to raise thoroughbred race horses.

Between 1951 and 1956, the Janss brothers began selling off approximately 300 acres of land for development. Beginning in 1955, they also began buying up all the property they could for investment purposes (reselling the land later for development). They purchased, among other land holdings, the Sam Hill Ranch, the Hunt Salto Ranch, the Canyon Ranch, the Running Springs Ranch, and the Borchard Ranch.

During the mid to late 1950s, a western town (see above image) was built in the Wildwood section. A little ways to the north, a ranch set was built (see "Flaming Star"). Later, in 1967, another western town was built for film "Welcome to Hard Times" on land that is now a part of Cal Lutheran.

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DIRECTIONS: From Los Angeles, take the 101 Freeway west to Thousand Oaks. Exit at Lynn Road. Turn right on to Lynn Road. Turn left at Avenida De Los Arboles. Wildwood Park will be on the left side of the road.

SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY:

"Wuthering Heights" (United Artists 1939) Directed by: William Wyler. Cast: Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, David Niven, Flora Robson, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Donald Crisp, Hugh Williams, Harold Entwistle, Rex Downing, Helena Grant.

"Lassie Come Home" (MGM 1943) Directed by: Fred Wilcox. Cast: Roddy McDowall, Donald Crisp, Dame May Whitty, Edmund Gwenn, Elsa Lanchester, Elizabeth Taylor, Alec Craig, Charles Irwin, George Broughton.

"The Gay Ranchero" (Republic 1948) Directed by: William Witney. Cast: Roy Rogers, Tito Guizar, Jane Frazee, Andy Devine, Estelita Rodriguez, George Meeker, LeRoy Mason, Dennis Moore, Keith Richards, Betty Gagnon, Robert Rose, Ken Terrell, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers.

"Riders of the Whistling Pines" (Columbia 1949) Directed by: John English. Cast: Gene Autry, Patricia White, Jimmy Lloyd, Douglass Dumbrille, Damian O'Flynn, Clayton Moore, Britt Wood, Harry Cheshire, Leon Weaver, Lois Bridge, Jerry Scroggings, Fred Martin.

"Sands of Iwo Jima" (Republic 1949) Directed by: Allan Dwan. Cast: John Wayne, John Agar, Adele Mara, Forrest Tucker, Wally Cassell, James Brown, Richard Webb, Arthur Franz, Julie Bishop, James Holden, Peter Coe, Richard Jaeckel, Bill Murphy, George Tyne, Hal Fieberling, John McGuire, Martin Milner, Leonard Gumley, William Self.

"Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier" (Buena Vista 1955) Directed by: Norman Foster. Cast: Fess Parker, Buddy Edsen, Basil Ruysdael, Hans Conried, William Bakewell, Ken Tobey, Pat HOgan, Helene Stanley, Nick Cravet, Don Megowan, Mike Mazurki, Jeff Thompson.

"Westward Ho the Wagons!" (Disney/Buena Vista 1957) Directed by: William Beaudine. Cast: Fess Parker, Jeff York, Kathleen Crowley, Karen Pendleton, David Stollery, Leslie Bradley, George Reeves, Sebastian Cabot.

"Gunsight Ridge" (United Artists 1957) Directed by: Francis D. Lyon. Cast: Joel McCrea, Mark Stevens, Joan Weldon, Darlene Fields, Addison Richards, Carolyn Craig, Robert Griffin, Slim Pickens, I. Stanford Jolley, George Chandler, Herb Vigran, Cindy Robbins, Jody McCrea, Martin Garralaga.

"Spartacus" (Universal 1960) Directed by: Stanley Kubrick. Cast: Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Tony Curtis, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, John Gavin, Nina Foch, Herbert Lom, John Ireland, Charles McGraw, Woody Strode.

"Flaming Star" (20th Century Fox 1960) Directed by: Don Siegel. Cast: Elvis Presley, Dolores Del Rio, John McIntire, Barbara Eden, Steve Forrest.

"The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (Paramount 1962) Directed by: John Ford. Cast: John Wayne, James Stewart, Vera Miles, Lee Marvin, Edmond O'Brien, Andy Devine, Woody Strode, John Qualen, Jeanette Nolan, Lee Van Cleef, Strother Martin, Ken Murray.

"Stage to Thunder Rock" (Paramount 1964) Directed by: William F. Claxton. Cast: Barry Sullivan, Marilyn Maxwell, Scott Brady, Lon Chaney Jr., John Agar, Wanda Hendrix, Anne Seymour, Allan Jones, Ralph Taeger, Laurel Goodwin, Robert Strauss, Robert Lowery, Argentina Brunetti, Rex Bell Jr, Suzanne Cupito, Wayne Peters, Keenan Wynn.

"Shenandoah" (Universal 1965) Directed by: Andrew V. McLaglen. Cast: James Stewart, Doug McClure, Glenn Corbett, Patrick Wayne, Rosemary Forsyth, Philip Alford, Katherine Ross, Charles Robinson, James McMullan, Tim McIntyre, Eugene Jackson Jr., Paul Fix, Denver Pyle, George Kennedy, James Best.

"The Plainsman" (Universal 1966) Directed by: David Lowell. Cast: Don Murray, Guy Stockwell, Abby Dalton, Bradford Dillman, Henry Silva, Simon Oakland, Leslie Nielsen, Edward Binns, Michael Evans, Percy Rodriguez, Terry Wilson, Walter Berke, Emily Banks.

"Welcome to Hard Times" (MGM 1967) Directed by: Burt Kennedy. Cast: Henry Fonda, Janice Rule, Keenan Wynn, Janis Paige, John Anderson, Warren Oates, Fay Spain, Edgar Buchanan, Aldo Ray, Denver Pyle, Michael O'Shea, Arlene Golonka, Lon Chaney Jr., Royal Dano.