FILM HISTORY IN CHATSWORTH
filmed at the Iverson ’ s homestead . The following year , the Iversons reported an income of more than $ 50,000 , a huge amount of money for that time as America was still in the midst of the Great Depression .
As the popularity of their ranch grew , so did the fees the Iversons charged the studios . Film companies paid $ 150 per camera per day and up . They also incorporated entrance fees for : people ( 50 ¢), horses ( 25 ¢), light vehicles ($ 1 ) and trucks ($ 2 ) and other daily charges , including $ 100 for each additional camera and generator used in the production . Studios also had to pay for electricity and water usage . In addition , the Iverson ’ s required studios to leave all sets built on the ranch in place when filming was finished , with the guarantee that they would not be used or remodeled by another film company for two years .
At its height , the ranch included chase and insert roads , an adobe village , western street and a ranch set . The ranch ’ s western street was built in 1945 for the Gary Cooper movie Along Came Jones . Westerns continued to be shot at the ranch into the late 1940s , although their numbers decreased due to higher production costs . With the start of World War II , they were replaced with movies about espionage and war .
Television serials began filming portions of their story lines at the ranch in the late 1940 ’ s and throughout the 1950 ’ s . They included The Lone Ranger , The Cisco Kid and The Roy Rogers show . Portions of the Tarzan serials were also filmed at Iverson . Travel to the ranch had become easier with the completion of the 101 Freeway connecting the Valley to Los Angeles in 1954 .
By 1962 the ranch had been divided into two sections : Lower Iverson and Upper Iverson . The main attraction of Lower Iverson was the “ Garden of the Gods ” rock formations seen in thousands of movies . It
also featured a majority of the film sets , including a native Indian village , stagecoach stop , cave mouth , outlaw hideout and more . Today this part of the ranch is occupied by the Indian Hills Mobile Home Village , the Cal-West Townhomes and the Church at Rocky Peak , with some still vacant . It is also home to the 23-acre Garden of the Gods public park .
Across Red Mesa Rd ., just north of Santa Susana Rd ., is the famous Lone Ranger Rock . If you ’ re over 55 you may remember that the famous rock formation appeared in the Lone Ranger television series , which aired from 1949 to 1957 . The rock appeared at the end of the show as the credits rolled . Audiences saw the Lone Ranger , played by Clayton Moore , galloping up the hill on the back of his horse , Silver . When they reached the rock , Silver would rear on its hind legs , and the Long Ranger would say his famous line , “ Hi O , Silver .”
South of Lone Ranger rock is Nyoka Cliff , which takes its name from the movie serial , The Perils of Nyoka , released by Republic Pictures in 1942 . Over the years , it appeared in hundreds of movies and television shows . But it isn ’ t only famous for its movie closeups . Many stagecoach scenes were filmed on the trail that winds around the base of Nyoka Cliff .
Upper Iverson included long stretches of road where many film and television directors created epic stagecoach and horse chase scenes .
Productions at the ranch slowed down drastically in the mid 1960 ’ s when the Simi Valley Freeway ( California Route 118 / Ronald Reagan Freeway ) was being constructed . It cut its way through the center of the ranch , and the incessant noise drove away many film and television production companies .
The family sold the property , which over the years had grown to more than 500 acres , in the 1980s . Sporadic production continued into the 1990s with the movie , Motorcycle Cheerleading Mama and episodes of W television show . As many as 2,000 motion pictures and television shows were shot at Iverson over its more than 50-year history as a motion picture location ranch .
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