Carbon Canyon Historical Artifact #66: "Sulphur Springs, La Vida Cal.," ca. 1930s

Here is a great unused real photo postcard (RPPC) titled "Sulphur Springs / La Vida Cal. and which shows the location in the canyon behind the long-running La Vida Mineral Springs resort in the Brea portion of Carbon Canyon, east of today's Olinda Village where the hot mineral water emanated.

The card looks to be from the 1930s and is of a series of a half-dozen of La Vida that were recently acquired and which will be shown in future posts here.  Most of these old photos were of the site along Carbon Canyon Road, where the baths, motel, botting plant and other aspects of the establishment were most visible to the public.

To find a view of the source of the hot mineral water, however, is quite rare.  Not the pipe at the upper left from which the water is pouring, as well as the rough wood walk, at the end of which is a tin cup.  The chaparral-covered landscape of the narrow canyon behind the resort is also of note.

If you missed 2024's presentations on the history of La Vida given to the Orange County and Chino Hills historical societies, there are still a couple of upcoming opportunities to hear the talk.  The first is Thursday, 23 January @ 6:30 p.m. for the Covina Valley Historical Society.  You can learn more at the Society's website events page, though it shows an October date that was rescheduled.  There is a charge for dinner, but you can inquire about separately attending the talk.  The second is Thursday, 6 March @ 6:30 p.m. for the Yorba Linda Public Library and, while the presentation is not yet listed, keep an eye on the event calendar for when it is.

Meantime, best wishes for the holidays and look for another of the postcards to be posted here soon.

Serenity Grove Housing Development Construction Begins

The Paradise Ranch residential project, on Canyon Hills Road between the Hillcrest and Oak Tree Downs and Oak Tree Estates developments and north of Carbon Canyon Road (State Route 142), has been rechristened Serenity Grove.  The 85-acre ranch, of which 50 will be preserved as open space and 16 reserved for a family member residing in a long-existing house, will include some 50 residences on the remaining 14 or so acres clustered at the northeast corner of the tract.

Grading began this past week, so drivers on Carbon Canyon Road will likely notice more dump trucks and other vehicles plying the state highway to get to and from the site, with larger vehicles required to come in from the Brea/Orange County side and smaller ones permitted to enter from the Chino Hills/San Bernardino County portion—the distinction because of the S-curves at the summit.

Speaking of traffic, a signal is planned for the intersection of Canyon Hills and SR142, with the developer contributing funds towards it, though there is no date yet determined for the installation.  This will mark on the second signal on the state highway between Olinda Ranch (after the road widens) and Chino Hills Parkway, the other placed at Olinda Village not all that long ago.

Nothing has been discovered so far about how long it is expected for Serenity Grove to be fully developed, but, in the meantime, here is the wording from the City of Chino Hills about traffic impacts from this first stage of construction:

Residents and commuters of Carbon Canyon Road should expect heavier truck traffic as a new development off Carbon Canyon and Canyon Hills Road is set to begin construction this week. Traffic may be heavier than normal. As part of the project’s construction management plan, the City has required that semi-trucks or long trailers must be brought to the project site from the Brea side using the 57-freeway to avoid the s-curves and limited the developer to only allowing smaller trucks that can manage the s-curves on the Chino Hills side.  

The development’s working hours are 7:00 am to 7:00 pm Monday through Friday and 8:00 am to 6:00 pm on Saturdays. Work is expected throughout the holidays, with no work on Christmas and New Year’s Day.

For questions or concerns, please contact the developer Trumark Homes at (949) 521-8508 or (949) 350-7097.

Chino Hills Historical Society Talk Monday Night on Mineral Springs Resorts in Carbon Canyon

This is a reminder that Monday the 14th at 7 p.m., the Chino Hills Historical Society hosts a talk at the Chino Hills Community Center, 14250 Peyton Drive, called "In Hot Water: The La Vida and Carbon Canyon Mineral Springs Resorts."

While La Vida Mineral Springs on the Brea side of Carbon Canyon is somewhat known, the Carbon Canyon Mineral Springs in Sleepy Hollow in the Chino Hills portion is all but forgotten. Paul R. Spitzzeri will share some of the history of these two health resorts, so join us for this discussion of our local history.

Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council Brush Drop-Off A Success

 The morning began relatively cool, though it heated up a good deal later, but the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council's Brush Drop Off was an unqualified success.

Council volunteers assisted Canyon residents with unloading brush and other plant material during the course of nearly five hours, filling two roll-off bins containing thousands of pounds of debris.

Thanks to those residents, Council volunteers and the City of Chino Hills and Waste Management for providing the bins.  This event helps to reduce wildfire risk in the Canyon, especially in a year with well over 1 million acres burned in California and a La Niña weather system upon us.

Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council Brush Drop-Off Tomorrow Morning!

It's going to be a hot weekend and this is a reminder of the ever-present wildfire danger in Carbon Canyon. So, tomorrow morning, Saturday the 4th from 8 to Noon, the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council hosts its biannual Brush Drop-Off event at Fire Station 64 on Canon Lane, north of Carbon Canyon Road.

Chino Hills residents ONLY of the Canyon are encouraged to bring cut brush to roll-off bins provided free by Waste Management with the assistant of the City of Chino Hills. Help us reduce the risk of wildfire damage! 

Chino Hills Historical Society Presentation on the La Vida and Carbon Canyon Mineral Springs Resorts

From the Chino Hills Historical Society: 

The next meeting of the Chino Hills Historical Society is coming up on Monday, October 14 at 7:00 pm at the Chino Hills Community Center, 14250 Peyton Drive.  Join us for the last presentation of our 2024 series focused on Carbon Canyon history. The topic is In Hot Water:  The La Vida and Carbon Canyon Mineral Springs Resorts.

Carbon Canyon got its name for presumed coal deposits, but it was best-known through the 20^th century for its mineral springs.  This presentation looks at the well-known La Vida Mineral Springs Resort in Brea near Olinda Village, which offered hot mineral water baths and pools, a motel, café and a bottled-water plant. Its carbonated water was widely sold in many flavors and was promoted for its many purported health benefits. Nearby, just within San Bernardino County in Sleepy Hollow, was the far lesser known and shorter-lived Carbon Canyon Mineral Springs, which had baths, lodging and food. Today, the latter is completely gone, except for concrete tub remnants, while little is left of La Vida. Paul R. Spitzzeri will share some of the fascinating history that has flowed from the two sites.  He always mixes stories and interesting history for an enjoyable evening.

Yesterday's Second Round of Tres Hermanos Ranch Tours

With a waiting list of a few hundred persons from the inaugural tours, held last September, of Tres Hermanos Ranch, owned by the City of Industry and adjacent to Carbon Canyon in the cities of Chino Hills and Diamond Bar, the governing body, the Tres Hermanos Conservation Authority (TRCA) offered a second route of visits to the ranch yesterday.

Four groups were ferried into the property from the nearby Diamond Bar Community Center and made three stops during a warm morning, learning about the management, natural history and cultural history of the ranch.  We'll see when and what future offerings will be, but there is certainly strong community interest in this remarkable place.

To read more about yesterday's excursions, check out: https://homesteadmuseum.blog/2024/06/15/tres-hermanos-ranch-tour-postview-william-benjamin-scott-1868-1920/.

Chino Hills Historical Society Talk on Carbon Canyon History TONIGHT

Join us this evening for a presentation to the Chino Hills Historical Society on Carbon Canyon history, specifically to a site off Canyon Hills Road north of Carbon Canyon Road where the former Workmen's Circle/Kinder Ring camp went through a series of uses, including the Canyon Hills Swim and Saddle Club, the Canyon Hills Country Club, the Ponderosa Bar and Motel and Purple Haze.

The talk will large cover the period from 1964-1975, but will make brief references to the recent use of the site, including today's Canyon Hills Stables and Canyon Hills Cottages, but the most bizarre element will undoubtedly be the short and strange history of Ski Villa, with its infamous plastic needle slope and which lasted under 2 years at the location.  A special guest will be Ingrid P. Wicken, who runs the California Ski Library of Norco and who will share some Ski Villa history, as well.

The presentation is at 7 p.m. at the Chino Hills Community Center, 14250 Peyton Drive, across from Ayala High School and we hope to see you there!

Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council Presentation on Wildfire House Hardening

 At its regular monthly meeting last night, the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council hosted a presentation by Allied Disaster Defense, a West Covina company that provides services for fire damage restoration as well as house hardening for protection against wildfires.

While the Council does not endorse the company or its products and services, it offered the presentation as a service to Carbon Canyon residents to get educated about the latest recommendations, endorsed by fire officials and others, to protect houses for wildfires.

The presentation was recorded and is well worth a look by anyone residing in the Canyon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_4_qsEGuZU.

While we had ample rainfall this past winter, we cannot get complacent about the ongoing risk of wildfire, especially because there is a lot more plant material and hot weather, such as the heat dome now affecting inland areas and much of northern California, can quickly dry out much of that material and significantly elevate the fire risk.  Moreover, there will be mandated changes to what the state will allow in terms of plant and other flammable material around houses, especially as insurance companies continue to drop customers in high fire zones.

For more about the Council, check out its website: www.carboncanyonfsc.org.

Carbon Canyon Talk for Chino Hills Historical Society on 10 June

Chino Hills Historical Society Presents:

Camp Kinder Ring to Purple Haze, Part Two

Monday, June 10, 2024 (Rescheduled from June 17)

 

The Chino Hills Historical Society will host a presentation by Chino Hills resident and historian Paul R. Spitzzeri at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, June 10 at the Chino Hills Community Center, 14250 Peyton Drive.  (Rescheduled from June 17.)

 “Our 2024 meetings focus on Carbon Canyon history,” said Denise Cattern, President. “Paul R. Spitzzeri, our local historian has put together a series of talks on the subject.”

The June 10 Chino Hills Historical Society meeting will continue the “Camp Kinder Ring to Purple Haze” series, “Part Two” – about the history of the site off Canyon Hills Road where Ski Villa was located, Canyon Hills Country Club, the Ponderosa Bar and Motel, and Purple Haze, where counterculture was in full swing in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  Mr. Spitzzeri has invited special guest Ingrid Wicken, of the California Ski Library in Norco, to attend the meeting to share her knowledge about Ski Villa. 

On Monday, October 14, the next presentation will be “In Hot Water: The La Vida and Carbon Canyon Mineral Springs Resorts.”

Mr. Spitzzeri has lived in Chino Hills for 27 years. He is the Museum Director at the Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum in the City of Industry, where he has worked since 1988. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree and Master of Arts degree in history from California State University, Fullerton. He has also published local, regional and state history in many journals and anthologies. His book, The Workman and Temple Families of Southern California, won a 2009 Award of Merit from the

American Association for State and Local History. Since 2008, Paul has maintained the blog www.carboncanyonchronicle.blogspot.com. He also writes a monthly column about local history for Champion Newspapers.

 The Chino Hills Historical Society is a 501-c-3 non-profit organization funded through memberships and donations.  Sign up for the Historical Society’s email list by sending an email to chhistory@aol.com. For additional information, please send an email or call (909) 597-6449. 

Carbon Canyon Road Truck Ordinance Takes Effect 29 May

Chino Hills City Council member Peter Rogers posted on Facebook that the prohibition of trucks of a certain length (those with 4 or more axles) will take effect on Wednesday, 29 May.  This effort has been a long while in the making, with a great deal of the time spent waiting for approvals from CalTrans.  The initiative came from Carbon Canyon residents and others pressing for what has only been done once before in the Golden State's massive state highway system.

This image is from the CalTrans "State Route 142 (Carbon Canyon Road) Truck Restriction Study: Final Report"

Part of the process included meetings with CalTrans personnel, City officials and residents and those discussions were respectful and fruitful.  The reality is that these things take time and Council members Rogers and Ray Marquez are to be thanked for their role in making this happen, while cooperation also had to be obtained with the City of Brea, as well, so much appreciation to our neighbor to the west, as well as to CalTrans.

Obviously, there is the passing of an ordinance or law, then there is the actual enforcement.  Let's hope that there is an effective monitoring and citation system in place from the beginning, so that we can have, as much as possible, a state highway that is as safe as it can reasonably be.

Gold Spotted Oak Borer Spotted in Los Angeles County

This morning's e-edition of the "Inland Valley Daily Bulletin" has a lengthy article about the fact that the tiny Gold-Spotted Oak Borer, or GSOB, which has killed tens of thousands of oak trees in the American Southwest in the last two decades, is entering this region because of imported firewood.

Image from the American Public Gardens Association.

Yesterday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors declared a state of emergency and is hiring three foresters and will work with CalFire and other agencies. The potential for local devastation is enormous and we'll post any follow-ups that come our way.

Brush Drop Off A Force for Good in Carbon Canyon

Yesterday morning, the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council, in conjunction with its partners, the City of Chino Hills and Waste Management, held its annual spring Brush Drop Off near Fire Station 64 on Canon Lane, as the Council continues its efforts, over nearly a quarter century, to mitigate wildfire risk in a variety of ways, including his important program.

It was a cool and damp morning, great, however, for residents on the Chino Hills side of the Canyon to cut down brush, trees and other plant material that provide ready fuel for wildfires and bring them to the site where a pair of roll-off bins were available.  A trio of Council volunteers assisted residents in placing the plant material in the bins, which the disposal company provided courtesy of the City.  This May the 4th was truly a force for good in the Canyon.

With all the rain producing all of the brush, it is vital that we do whatever we can to keep the level of material as low as possible, especially as warmer, drier weather will quickly dry it out and raise the risk of wildfire damage, though we, of course, hope that we will avoid this for another year!  Thanks to the City, Waste Management and the Council for their collaborative efforts on this critical endeavor and a second Brush Drop Off will likely be held this fall.

Paradise Ranch Property Sold

The 85-acre Paradise Ranch, tucked in between the Hillcrest and Oak Tree Estates/Downs communities off Canyon Hills Road north of Carbon Canyon Road in the Chino Hills portion of Carbon Canyon and which is slated for the development of 50 houses with 50 acres of open space, has been sold.

True Life Companies and its trio of subsidiaries, based in Denver and with a local office in Newport Beach, exists to invest in properties, including shepherding a project through the required permitting and approval process and then sell or assign them them when they are "shovel ready" to a homebuilder.

In this case, the buyer is Trumark Properties, which operates in California and Colorado, including several current projects in Riverside, Mission Viejo, Covina and other locales in our region.  No information was given as to the amount transacted, but the announcement states that construction is expected to begin in 2025.

La Vida Mineral Springs Presentation Redux in October

Last Thursday's talk for the Orange County Historical Society on the history of the La Vida Mineral Springs resort on the Brea side of Carbon Canyon near Olinda Village attracted about 80 persons, with many of them offering memories and recollections of their visits or having worked there.

With a PowerPoint slideshow and a display of dozens of La Vida artifacts, including postcards, photos, a brochure, mineral water bottles (and openers and caps), a hotel key and more, there was a lot to share and discuss.

There will be a repeat presentation given on Monday, 14 October for the Chino Hills Historical Society and we will definitely issue reminders as that date gets closer.  Keep an eye out here and on the Chronicle Facebook page for those updates.

La Vida Mineral Springs History Presentation for the Orange County Historical Society on the 14th

Some of the fascinating history of the La Vida Mineral Springs resort in Carbon Canyon near Olinda Village will be presented to the Orange County Historical Society during its next meeting on Thursday, 14 March at 7:30 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church at 2400 N. Canal St. in Orange.

The PowerPoint-illustrated talk will include a cache of photographs from original negatives, most of which have never been seen publicly as well as discuss the history of the facility, which sported a bath house, motel, cottages, café, swimming pools and more over much of the 20th century.

In addition to the negatives, a display will feature several bottles of mineral water produced from the springs, a crate used to pack bottles, real photo and other postcards, a motel room key, bottle openers and other artifacts from La Vida.  Though the resort has been gone for many years, these objects help keep the history of this remarkable Canyon locale alive.

So, if you're interested and available, come join us at this presentation!  If you can't make it, but want to, the talk will be repeated for the Chino Hills Historical Society on Monday, 14 October and we'll be sure to post about it just prior.

Carbon Canyon History at the Chino Hills Historical Society Presentation Next Monday the 12th

There will be a presentation for the Chino Hills Historical Society next Monday the 12th at 7 p.m. at the community center, 14250 Peyton Drive, across from Ayala High School, on some notable aspects of Carbon Canyon history.

Specifically, the talk will deal with the camp of The Workmen's Circle, a left-wing Jewish mutual aid society now known as the Worker's Circle, which was formed in New York City in 1900 by Yiddish-speaking immigrants from Eastern Europe.  For nearly 125 years, the organization has advocated for social and economic justice and civil liberties for all people.

For some years, the facility, which was opened in 1928, was known as the Workmen's Circle Camp/Resort and was open year-round to all ages, while, later, it was dubbed Camp Kinder Ring and focused on summer programs for children and youth ages 7-16 years.  After 30 years it closed and part of the site was ravaged by a major Canyon wildfire in 1958.

The clubhouse, some concrete-block cabins and other elements, survived the blaze and became a series of camps under such names as El Circulo and the Canyon Hills Swim and Saddle Club.  The discussion will cover these uses through the mid-1960s, with a follow-up in June on later operations at the site, including the short-lived and bizarre Ski Villa, with an all-year plastic needle slope.

We hope to see you there for this presentation on some little-known, but fascinating, Carbon Canyon history.

Sleepy Hollow Home Open House This Saturday

Having received this flyer (click on the image to see it enlarged in a separate window) earlier today, it seemed like worth sharing out in case anyone out there is looking for a house in Sleepy Hollow and Carbon Canyon.  It was built in 2010, being one of the newer and larger residences in this century-old community, and has had one owner.

Click on the image to see it enlarged in a separate window.

The open house is this Saturday the 6th, though no hours are listed on the flyer.  It's a little faint, due to gold lettering, but the house is about 2,733 square feet on a 7,631 square foot lot and the asking price is $970,000.