Walton Young Family Homestead
Pico Canyon

[SITE IN 1905][SITE IN 2003][READ PART 1][READ PART 2]

Walton Young family at their homestead in Pico Canyon (Mentryville) in June 1905.

Caption on back of photograph reads:

Mr. Carl Tyler took this [photograph]
Young Family Homestead / Newhall, Cal.
Pico Cañon / west of Newhall, Calif.
June 1905

Walton Young came to work for Pacific Coast Oil Co. at the Pico oil field in 1889 as blacksmith's helper in the machine shop. Upon the death of the original oil field superintendent, Charles Alexander Mentry, in 1900, Young succeeded him as superintendent for Standard Oil Co. (which bought out PCO that same year). Young was in charge of Standard Oil's entire local production, which at that time was going on in both Pico and Elsmere canyons.

Young married in Newhall in 1891. By the time Walton retired (still as Standard's local superintendent) on June 1, 1927, he and Mrs. Young had been maintaining a second home in Santa Monica for some years. They moved there permanently upon his retirement — although they frequently returned for "old-timer" reunions in Newhall.

To call this a "homestead" is probably inaccurate. It was located on property owned by the oil company, where oil workers leased land for home sites.

In addition to being a home, one of the buildings in this photograph doubled as the boarding house, which provided meals and temporary shelter to workers. From 1906-1915 it was occupied and run by the Saunders family; in 1915 it was purchased by Josh Woolridge.

1905 Photograph acquired by SCVHS in March 2003.

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HS9015: 4800 dpi jpeg from original print