1920s Newhall: An Old West Town Grows Up

Newhall in the 1920s was a small Southern California town growing up around automobiles, highways, hotels, drugstores, blacksmith shops and the new traffic brought by the Ridge Route. Key Moments 0:00 Newhall grows up around the Ridge Route 1:23 1920s Spruce Street in historic photos 4:34 A.C. Swall's hotel, drugstore and electric light 5:33 Henry Clay Needham and early Newhall boosterism 7:43 Gladys Laney remembers 1920s Newhall 9:53 Hotel Swall, Doty Garage and Spruce Street 12:03 Old Bank of America and Chitwood's 13:39 Frances Phillips and Newhall's first automobile 14:30 Tom Frew's blacksmith shop and Ed Pardee's livery stable 15:38 The Second Southern Hotel fire 17:51 Tom Mix, Mixville and Tony the Wonder Horse 19:36 Henry Clay Needham in Gladys Laney's memory In this episode of Points of Interest, Philip Scorza uses historic photographs and local memory to trace Newhall's shift from Railroad Avenue to Spruce Street -- later San Fernando Road, today's Main Street -- and the business leaders who helped shape the town during its early automobile era. The story includes A.C. Swall, Henry Clay Needham, Tom Frew, Ed Pardee, the Second Southern Hotel, early Newhall businesses, and the civic boosterism that turned a dusty village into a more recognizable town center. The second half features Gladys Laney, born in Newhall in 1910, sharing firsthand memories of downtown Newhall, Hotel Swall, the old Bank of America building, Chitwood's Furniture Store, Conrad's Dance Hall, Tom Mix, Henry Clay Needham, Lyon's Station, and everyday life in the Santa Clarita Valley before suburban growth changed the landscape. This is local history at street level: the buildings, names, roads, and family memories behind the Newhall that later became part of the City of Santa Clarita. Originally produced for the SCVTV series Points of Interest, hosted by Philip Scorza. Related Playlists Old Town Newhall: Santa Clarita's Historic Core    • Old Town Newhall: Santa Clarita's Historic...   Philip Scorza's Points of Interest -- Hidden History of California    • Philip Scorza's Points of Interest — Hidde...   #SantaClarita #CaliforniaHistory #scvhistory #RidgeRoute #OldTownNewhall #SouthernCalifornia ABOUT THE SANTA CLARITA VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY The Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to preserving and sharing the history of the Santa Clarita Valley through archives, oral histories, and public education. Support our work: 👉 https://www.scvhs.org Your support helps fund archival preservation, restoration, and future history projects. Explore more: ✔ SCVHistory.com — https://scvhistory.com ✔ Instagram —   / santaclaritahistorycenter   ✔ Facebook —   / scvhistorybuffs