This Property is Condemned
Forty years ago, Charles Manson and his followers checked in to the Spahn Movie Ranch, a B-list Western film set nestled in the Southern California canyons. And the rest is unforgettable history.
Peter Pavia
February 26, 2008
George Spahn, October, 1969.
Long after the free loving, the tabloid headlines, the blood, and the Beatles references have faded away, the saga of Charlie Manson maintains its grip on the American imagination.
The parole hearings of so-called “Manson Family” members still trigger outrage. Patricia Krenwinkel, devotee of the runty career criminal-turned-flopped musician-turned-love-cult guru, will have appeared before a parole board for the 13th time in January. And this year marks the 40th anniversary of the Manson Family’s descent upon the Spahn Movie Ranch.
Once nestled in the foothills of the Santa Susana Mountains in Chatsworth, California, about 30 miles from Sunset Boulevard, the ranch was a ragtag scatter of buildings, all reached via a series of wood-and-nail sidewalks, that served as the backdrops to hundreds of Western-themed movies and television shows, dating back to the era of silent cowboy Tom Mix. Hollywood lore has it that Grace Kelly—the woman who would be Her Royal Highness—got Spahn dust on her feet during the filming of High Noon.
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