Spahn Ranch
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Spahn Ranch Spahn Movie Ranch |
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| Ranch | |
The Spahn Movie Ranch, with a portion of the Old Santa Susana Stage Road.
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 Spahn Ranch
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| Coordinates: 34°16′22″N 118°37′22.8″W / 34.27278°N 118.623000°WCoordinates: 34°16′22″N 118°37′22.8″W / 34.27278°N 118.623000°W | |
| Country |
 United States
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| State |
 California
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| County | Los Angeles |
| Built | 1920 - 1930 |
| Founded by | William S. Hart |
| Area | |
| • Total | 200 ha (500 acres) |
| Elevation | 415 m (1,364 ft) |
| Time zone | PST (UTC-8) |
| • Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) |
Spahn Ranch, also known as the Spahn Movie Ranch, was a 500-acre (2.0 km2) movie ranch in Los Angeles County, California, used for filming generally Western-themed movies and television programs. With mountainous terrain, boulder-strewn scenery, and an 'old Western town' set, Spahn Ranch was a versatile filming site for many scripts. No longer in use, the entrance to the historic ranch was at 12000 Santa Susana Pass Road (street numbers have since been changed) of the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains above Chatsworth, California. Now part of the Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park, Spahn Ranch is notorious for having been the primary residence of Charles Manson and his followers, the "Manson Family," for much of 1968 and 1969.
The ranch took its name from dairy farmer George Spahn, who purchased the property in 1948. Silent film actor William S. Hart owned the ranch prior to Spahn. Many western-themed movies and television shows were filmed on the ranch, including Duel in the Sun (1946) and television episodes of Bonanza, The Lone Ranger, and Zorro. It was also the filming location for the B-movie The Creeping Terror.
Spahn was 80 years old and living at the ranch when he allowed The Manson Family to move in, rent-free, in exchange for labor. The family did daily chores and helped run the horse rental business, which had become Spahn's main source of income. Despite this arrangement, Spahn was never accused of any role in the many murders for which members of the Family were later convicted, the most infamous being the Tate-LaBianca murders committed on August 9 and 10, 1969. In late 1969, Robert Hendrickson began filming the Manson Family at the ranch for his documentary film Manson. There he filmed Spahn, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, Bruce Davis, Nancy Pitman, Catherine "Gypsy" Share, Sandra Good, Paul Watkins and others. It is the place where the 'family' lived while committing the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders in Los Angeles. The 'family' also stayed at Barker Ranch, which is located in the Panamint Range between Death Valley and the Panamint Valley in the northern Mojave Desert.
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