Mentryville Historic Photos
Mentryville in June of 1891. The Pico Cottage had not been built yet. The school house is there at Station 50. Next to that, enclosed in the same fence, is the recreation hall. The big tank, built in 1883, is on the other side of the road. At Station 47, to the right of the road enclosed in a fence, is Alex Mentry's house. This is a section of the Map of the Newhall and Pico Canon Road, Surveyed under the instruction from the Honorable Board of Supervisors of Los Angeles County Cal. by Harry F Stafford, County Surveyor, June 1891 (From the Huntington Digital Library, Los Angeles County Assessor's Road Maps).
Aerial photo from July of 1929 showing the Pico Cottage, barn, schoolhouse, and the recreation/dance hall. From the UCSB FrameFinder website. Fairchild Aerial Surveys Flight c-594_z-21.
Overviews
This is the earliest photo that I have seen of Mentryville. The view is toward the north-east. There is no Pico Cottage (the Big House) yet. There is a small building in the upper middle of the photo. This is the original schoolhouse, probably built by 1885, the year that the Felton school district started. At some time after the photo was taken, the school house would be rotated and enlarged creating the current schoolhouse. The large tank was built in 1883. Mentry's house is in the lower right enclosed in a fence. This photo was taken between 1885, the probable year the school was built, and 1891, the date of the LA County survey, which shows both the school house and the recreation hall enclosed in a fence.
Copyright Note: This image is NOT in the public domain and is protected by the copyright laws of the United States.
Image from California State University Dominguez Hills Archives & Special Collections. Used by permission.
The hills in the background exactly match the hills in the above old photo. Due to the thick plant growth where I'm trying to take this photo from, I can't get to the exact elevation. On the right, there were many homes and other buildings where the parking lot is now. On the left, where the tank and trailer are, there were also some houses. In the future, the trailer would be removed.(4/22/2011)
Going higher, we now see that the little building in the old photo was at the same location as the current schoolhouse. We can now also see where the Pico Cottage is, although it is hidden by trees. The old photo shows nothing there, not even a tree. (4/22/2011)
Another view looking down the canyon (towards the east). On the back, this photo is dated 1898. Based on the size of the tree in front of the the Pico Cottage, it is earlier then the next photos. Photo used by permission of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society, Barbara Sitzman Cook Collection.
This photo (view toward west) shows the Pico Cottage. The trees are much more evident. The big tank is still there and there is another tank on top of the hill (sometimes called Tank hill) in the upper right. You can see the road that goes up the hill diagonally to that tank. In the far distance, just to the left of the tank on top of the hill, is PCO Hill. You can just faintly see what looks like derricks on that hill. Photo used by permission of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society.
Very similar to the above photo except taken from slightly higher. Oil well derricks can be seen in the background. Photo date no later than March of 1900 (because it was in the March 30, 1900, issue of Pacific Oil Reporter magazine).
Copyright Note: This image is NOT in the public domain and is protected by the copyright laws of the United States.
American Petroleum Institute Photograph and Film Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Now the big tank is gone. Unfortunately, I could not discover the date the tank was removed. The trees and bushes are bigger then in the previous photo. Also, the shed in front of the barn in the lower left part of the photo has been widened. Photo used by permission of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society
Mentryville in 1918. The trees and bushes have grown since the previous photo was taken. From the Standard Oil Bulletin of August, 1918.
1935 movie still from the Laramie Kid starring Tom Tyler.
Note the car parked in the bottom middle. This photo was taken by A.B. Perkins in 1961 for his Pico Ghost Camp story in the Signal of early 1962 (which is available on the main Pico Canyon page). Darryl Manzer was with him at the time.
Mentryville on 11/26/2011.
Pico Cottage (a.k.a. the Big House)
Here is a close up of the Pico Cottage, from a previous photo. Note the man on the first story roof and the three chimneys.
Pico Cottage in the early 1930's. Barbara Sitzman on horse and father Charles Sitzman standing on porch. Sitzman was the Pico superintendent from 1927 to 1937. Note that the chimney on the west (left) side is no longer there. Photo used by permission of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society, Barbara Sitzman Cook Collection.
Pico Cottage in 1948. The superintendent at that time was William J. Rundberg. Photo used by permission of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society.
Pico Cottage in 1962. From the Lagasse Pico Canyon Collection (owned by Evan Decker) - used by permission.
Pico Cottage in 1969. Frenchy Lagasse is the man on the far left with helmet on. He was the foreman from 1966-1995. From the Lagasse Pico Canyon Collection (owned by Evan Decker) - used by permission.
Pico Cottage in 1977. From the Lagasse Pico Canyon Collection (owned by Evan Decker) - used by permission.
Pico Cottage in 1986. From the Lagasse Pico Canyon Collection (owned by Evan Decker) - used by permission.
Pico Cottage on March 23, 2008.
Pico Cottage on August 5, 2026.
Felton School
Original school house next to the current one. The old building was rotated and lengthened to create a new building. The height and width dimensions are the same. The window positions are also the same. The inside flooring of the older building has wood slats going lengthwise while the add-on section flooring is perpendicular to old flooring. That would never occur if the whole building was constructed at the same time.
Circa 1927 photo of the school house, on the right, and the recreation (or dance) hall, on the left. There is a second version of the photo that shows more of the recreation hall and less of the school house. From the Lagasse Pico Canyon Collection (owned by Evan Decker) - Used by permission.
Still from movie "The Last Round-up" (1929) showing the school house.
Another still from movie "The Last Round-up" (1929).
School house on August 11, 1949. The small building on the far right is the boy's outhouse. The closer little building was the wash house. From the Lagasse Pico Canyon Collection (owned by Evan Decker) - Used by permission.
School house before it was restored. Photo taken by Barbara Sitzman around 1958. Used by permission of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society, Barbara Sitzman Cook Collection.
Another view of school house before it was restored. Photo taken by Barbara Sitzman around 1958. Used by permission of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society, Barbara Sitzman Cook Collection.
School in 1962. From the Lagasse Pico Canyon Collection (owned by Evan Decker) - Used by permission.
1974-75. Image owned by Greg Johnson and used with his permission. Not in the public domain.
October of 1984. Used by permission of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society.
March 30, 2008. The girl's outhouse is on the left and the boy's is on the right. In front of that is the wash room.
August 5, 2026. Vandals have taken a toll. Mentryville needs protection.
The Recreation (aka. Dance) Hall
The recreation hall circa 1927. Its construction is different than the school house. The hall had horizontal wood slats while the school had mainly vertical wood slats. The year of its construction is unknown. This photo is the left half of a different version of the above recreation hall/school house photo. The above photo shows more of the school house. This version showed more of the recreation hall. This is the only photo that I have found that shows, more or less, the complete building. There is also a smaller structure (probably for storage) at the back of the building. From the Lagasse Pico Canyon Collection (owned by Evan Decker) - Used by permission.
Still (not too clear) from movie "The Last Round-up" (1929) showing a small portion of the far end of the recreation hall and the girls bathroom (or outhouse). That bathroom still exists (the boys bathroom also still exists on the other side of the school house). The camera is inside the school house pointing out the window towards the rec. hall.
This is a winter, 1930 or 31, view of the girl's outhouse seen in the above still. The angle is not quite right to show the recreation hall to the left of the outhouse. There was snow that winter. That is Barbara Sitzman in the left sled in the front. She was the daughter of Pico superintendent Charles Sitzman. Used by permission of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society, Barbara Sitzman Cook Collection.
The recreation hall was also called the dance hall, which is what Barbara Sitzman called it in this photo, taken in the winter of 1930 or 31. Snow on the ground. The school house was behind the person taking the photo. The smaller structure behind, and attached to, the hall is also shown. Used by permission of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society, Barbara Sitzman Cook Collection.
This photo of the school house is from 1931-32. If the recreation hall still existed at that time, it would have been seen in the left of this photo, but it is not there. So the hall was eliminated sometime between 1930 and 1932. The girl's outhouse is just visible on the left partially behind the tree trunk. The boy's outhouse is the small building on the far right. Used by permission of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society, Barbara Sitzman Cook Collection.
This photo was taken on December 31, 1931, after a snow storm. Again, on the far left the recreation hall should be visible if it was still there. It is not, so I believe that the recreation hall was removed by the end of 1931. I think the lady is Bernice Brombacher, the last teacher at Felton School. The school was closed in 1932. Used by permission of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society, Barbara Sitzman Cook Collection.
The Barn
Barn in the 1930s. Used by permission of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society, Barbara Sitzman Cook Collection.
The barn in 1953.
Copyright Note: This image is NOT in the public domain and is protected by the copyright laws of the United States.
Historical Society of Southern California Collection - Charles C. Puck Collection. Courtesy of The Huntington Library, San Marino, California
Used by permission.
Sometime between 1960 and 1966. Alton Manzer walking towards camera. Used by permission of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society.
October of 1984. Used by permission of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society.
March 23, 2008.
October 13, 2021.