ROCK-SOLID MUSEUM BOLTON HALL OFFERS GLIMPSE THROUGH LAYERS OF AREA HISTORY.

Byline: Rick Coca Valley News Writer

The Bolton Hall Museum in Tujunga offers visitors a look at the area's colorful history - with glimpses into the lives of the indigenous Tongva tribe, Mexican ranchers and early 20th-century settlers who called themselves ``Little Landers'' and hoped to establish a self-sufficient society.

Operated today by the Little Landers Historical Society, with Lloyd Hitt serving as president, the facility is once again thriving. The city is renovating the park that the museum sits on and the facility receives support from a revitalized historical society - which at 250 members has doubled its membership since Hitt became president in 1999.

``We had a (membership) drive,'' Hitt said. ``Everybody started asking their friends and neighbors to join and they said yes. All they needed was somebody to ask them.''

According to museum literature, the rock-walled museum first opened in 1913 as a social gathering place for the Little Land community and has since gone through many incarnations before closing its doors for more than 20 years. It reopened as a museum in 1981.

Hitt said the Tongva tribe inhabited a large section of Southern California and were skilled boaters, venturing by canoe to Catalina Island. In the Tujunga area, they adjusted to the rocky and sandy environment and gave the area its name. Hitt said Tujunga is a Tongva word meaning ``the place of the old woman.''

``Whether it's a real term or a mystical term for Mother Nature, nobody knows,'' said Hitt, a retired pharmacist from Sunland.

Hitt said that under Mexican rule, brothers Pedro and Francisco Lopez once owned about 6,600 acres of land in Tujunga and were among the only Mexicans not to lose their land in the courts once California became part of the United States.

Hitt pointed out it was Francisco Lopez who first discovered gold in California, six years before James Wilson Marshall's discovery in Sutters Fort that inspired the Gold Rush.

``He was having lunch, a snack under an oak tree,'' Hitt said of Lopez on that historic day in Placerita Canyon in 1842. Hitt said Lopez decided to help himself to some wild onions that were growing under the oak.

``When he pulled the onions out he noticed flakes of gold under the roots.''

Besides the permanent exhibits, the museum also has temporary shows that change twice a year. The historical society is currently accepting applications for its ``Faces of Freedom,'' a tribute honoring all veterans of the Sunland/Tujunga area. A reception will be held on March 19, from 1 to 4 p.m., when pictures, documents and artifacts from the Civil War to the present will be displayed. A veterans' registry will also be established as part of the exhibit.

Earlier in the month, on March 11, Midge Gisel will present ``Dolls from A to Z,'' her show highlighting a host of dolls from her personal collection of more than 500. (See story on page ???)

The Bolton Hall Museum is located at 10110 Commerce Ave. in Tujunga and is open on Sundays and Tuesdays, 1-4 p.m. For information on any of the exhibits or to join the Little Landers Historical Society, call [phone].

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Lloyd Hitts, a Korean War veteran and the Little Landers Historical Society president, is hoping his group's upcoming exhibit - ``Faces of Freedom,'' a tribute to Sunland-Tujunga veterans - is a big hit.

(2) The rustic Bolton Hall Museum offers glimpses into the area's rich history.

Rick Coca/Valley News