Woodland Hills has a colorful history. The first residents of Woodland Hills were the Chumash Indians. When Portola's expedition arrive in 1769, they named the area the Valley of the Oaks. The treaty to end of Mexican war was signed here.

Victor Girard Kleinberger is one of Woodland Hills most interesting characters. When Kleinberger saw the beautiful rolling hills, he called it a dream city. His dream was to create large city. By now calling himself Victor Girard, he purchased almost 3000 acres of land near Ventura Blvd and Canoga in 1922. He called the town Girard, and subdivided it into 6.000 lots. (Photo: Topanga Canyon Blvd, looking north, 1924. Courtesy the Los Angeles Public Library.)

He erected fanciful false-front gates and towers along the Ventura Boulevard entrance to suit his grandiose visions of the town. He arranged motorbus expeditions from Los Angeles to view his wonderous town. But his finances were shaky, and he engaged in some double-dealing, including surreptiously putting liens on the property he sold.

The best thing Victor Girard did in Woodland Hills was to plant the beautiful trees you see south of Ventura Boulevard. Over 120,000 pepper, sycamore, and eucalyptus trees.

The Great Depression hit Girard hard, and many families moved away, leaving only 75 families. In 1941, the town was renamed Woodland Hills in an effort to distance itself from its shady past.

Warner Center was once the Warner Ranch. Owned by movie mogul Harry Warner, the horse ranch covered over a thousand acres. Warner sold off his real estate in eighties, providing an opportunity for commercial development in the area now known as Warner Center.

Any long time residents out there who remember Woodland Hills in the old days? How about the old, old days? In the Twenties, my wife's grandfather considered Girard (our town's first name) the "country" and would drive out to picnic for the day. I'd love to post some of your memories in the history section of woodlandhillshome.com. (And I'm not looking just for memories of the Twenties, but later memories as well. Here's one from my wife: remember when the land on the north side of the freeway at Canoga was a bucolic pasture with grazing horsing and big pepper trees instead of a mega-apartment complex?) Share your memories! Contact me via email or fax them to me at (708)810-6170. Or mail your reminiscences to:

Shelly Slovin
Phone: 818-887-3107
E-mail:
Prudential John Aaroe
21021 Ventura Blvd, Suite 100
Woodland Hills, CA 91364