Bell Canyon Celebrates 40 Years
By: Lori Einhorn
The community of Bell Canyon is 40 years old this year. Before Bell Canyon was developed, the Chumash Indians occupied the area for 2,000 years. In 1967, Bell Canyon was a working cattle ranch where animals roamed the hills and mountains, and in the autumn of 1968 Cliff May, the renowned architect, designed what is now the Bell Canyon Equestrian Center. A joint partnership was formed between Boise Cascade and Spruce Land Corporation to purchase the land and named the area, ” Woodland Hills Country Estates” where the properties were sold by 1/2 acre to 40 acre parcels. In 1969, the new property owners took over the community and formed their own homeowners association and renamed the area Bell Canyon. Bell Canyon was named for Charles A. Bell, who was a lawyer and Justice of the Peace in Calabasas in 1906. During a gun battle in 1887, Charles Bell is said to have lost his right arm while raiding a moonshiner.
Today, Bell Canyon has developed into a wonderful community of approximately 800 estate homes. Bell Canyon offers something for everyone. There are wonderful parks, hiking trails, an equestrian center, tennis courts and a private 24 hour guard gate. Additionally, there are community events for all ages which include Snow Day, Halloween Hang, Bell Canyon Broadway, Hot August Nights just to name a few. Bell Canyon is a majestic community hidden in the hills and mountains of the western San Fernando Valley where one may find jagged sandstone markings from the Chumash Indians.
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