Homestead named historical landmark




Masson House

Masson House


The Calabasas City Council has approved the William C. Masson House as the community’s first local historical landmark.

In January 2008, the city adopted a Calabasas Historic Preservation Ordinance, which allows any person or group to request the designation of a historical resource as a local landmark. In March 2009 the city requested the designation of the Masson House as a local historical site.

Built in the 1890s, Masson House stands at 23057 Mulholland Highway at the corner of Mulholland Highway and Old Topanga Canyon Road.

The one-story, single-family residence was once part of a 160acre homestead and is today the only remaining homestead home in Calabasas. “Between the efforts of the city, MRT (Mountains Restoration Trust) and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy we have protected 100 acres of that original 160 acres,” said Debbie Bruschaber, an MRT member who represents the Calabasas Historical Society on the city’s Historic Preservation Commission.

“It’s not just the house you’re protecting today. It’s a good chunk of the original homesteaded land. It’s much more than the structure. It’s a landscape,” Bruschaber said at a City Council meeting earlier this month.

The William C. Masson House was built on Topanga Canyon Road (now Old Topanga Canyon Road), the trade and travel route to the bay of Santa Monica.

An original land patent was issued to William C. Masson under the federal Homestead Act of 1904. Masson is listed in the 1900 census record for the Los Angeles County Calabasas township as a farmer. A few years later the title to the 160 acres was transferred to the Tucker family.

George and Jessie Tucker moved to Los Angeles from England in 1905. They left their L.A. home for the 160 acres in Calabasas.

There are records that show that in August 1924 the Tucker family transferred title of approximately 80 acres to the Forbes family for $10. Around that time, the house was expanded and was given a new roof. The alterations included the addition of two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, living room and cellar. Oak tree trunks support the home’s floor.

In 1958, the Forbes family granted the property to the Carlson family. A Carlson granddaughter inherited the property in 1992 and put it up for sale in 2002.

“I found the history of the Masson House very interesting, and I still do,” said Councilmember James Bozajian. “I’m really pleased with the work of the (Historic Preservation) Commission, and I’m glad we’re starting to designate historical sites.”

MRT spearheaded the acquisition of the Masson House and other properties near Headwaters Corner earlier in the decade. The nonprofit group raised the majority of the funds needed to buy the land, which was bought by MRT for $750,000 in January 2003.

In addition to its own funds, MRT used grant money from the state and the city to purchase the property. MRT transferred the title to the city of Calabasas in 2004. There are conservation easements on the property so that the land can’t be developed.

MRT will enhance the landscape around the building and has hauled giant trash bins full of garbage from the site. The house now serves as an interpretive center for cultural and environmental educational programs.

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