Once a year the Chatsworth Nature Preserve opens it’s doors to the public inviting the community to walk the grounds of the preserve.

In 1913 Los Angeles City purchased land to build a reservoir in the San Fernando Valley.

It was William Mulholland's 19th and final reservoir that connected with the Los Angeles Aqueduct.

The reservoir was the main water storage facility in the western part of the San Fernando Valley.

In 1969 the reservoir was drained and put out of service in order to allow the reservoir to be enlarged and upgraded.

After the 1971 Sylmar 6.6 earthquake, the reservoir dam was declared seismically unsafe and in 1972 it was determined to be too expensive to repair/upgrade.

According to an LA Times article from 1931, some of the historic features of the park include the oldest and largest olive tree in California.

It also details an old Indian burial ground and a “famous Indian Bridal Cave.”

There was also a sandstone monolith used by
early day surveyors that was considered a monument.

There were eight lime kilns located onsite. They were among the first used in California. The mission builders burned lime to an ash that was used for mortar.

The heat generated in kiln was so intense that it turned the limestone into a green and glassy substance.

In 1849 Pierre Domec married a Chumash Native American whose father was one of 3 Native Americans that had been granted 9,000 acres of land in the area. Pierre lived on the grounds where he operated a limekiln.

At the nearby Orcutt Ranch you can see 700 year-old oaks tress with their limbs chopped-off. The tree limbs were used to heat the kilns. There are fused rocks from the kiln located next to a plaque that is also on display.