Stunt Ranch History
The Stunt Brothers, Harry (John Henry), Walter, Ernest, and their
cousin, Sydney, came to America in the late 1800s from Kensington, England.
Harry and Walter homesteaded four quarter-sections (160 acres each) here in
the Cold Creek area of the Santa Monica Mountains. Harry and Walter built a
cabin on their property in about 1885. It stood until its destruction in the
1993 Topanga/Malibu fire. The cabin is believed to have been the first
building in the Cold Creek area. Their homestead, approved in 1889, was signed
by President Grover Cleveland. Another cabin was built in 1919. It stood until
it was lost also in the 1993 fire.
Stunt Ranch, as it came to be known, was "ranch" in name only. A large orchard
of pear, fig, apple, lemon, olive, and some citrus was planted (a few of these
remain today). The Stunt brothers' plan was to use the orchard for nursery root
stock for the nursery business, however, the business never did come about.
Harry worked during the week for Warner Brothers Studios and lived in the Silver
Lake district of Los Angeles. On weekends he brought city children out to enjoy
the ranch. Upon his retirement in 1937, he came to live at the ranch. "Uncle
Harry" as everyone called him, was well known for his joviality, hospitality, and
stories. He kept a pot of beans on the stove for anyone who happened to stop by.
He often invited hiking Boy Scouts from Topanga's Camp Slauson to spend the night
on his porch. He showed them how use a magnifying glass to burn their names into shingles
which he then mounted upon the rafters of the porch of the 1919 cabin. Occasionally,
we still meet some of these former Scouts who nostalgically remember their overnight
campouts at Stunt Ranch.
The Stunt brothers had a sister, Ethel, who spent many years as the head secretary in
the Royal Embassy in China. She first visited the ranch in 1912. When Harry retired
1937, she too came to live at the ranch. Aso out-going and friendly as Harry, she came
to be known as "Auntie" Ethel, often serving afternoon tea with canned milk to visitors.
After Harry died in 1953, Ethel built a modern home on the property. Upon her death in
1971, the ranch was bequeathed to Occidental College for educational purposes. The two
houses (including the 1919 cabin) were kept rented until 1980 when the California State
Parks and Recreation Department acquired Stunt Ranch through legislation approved by
Governor Jerry Brown. The Stunt family are buried at Oakwood Cemetary, Chatsworth,
California.
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