In 1874, State Senator Charles Maclay purchased most of the San Fernando Valley. He bought it with railroad baron Leland Stanford's money. Bill Robertson, director of L.A.'s Bureau of Street Services, says Maclay chose the eastern half of the Valley.

"And then there was two relatives that bought the western half of the Valley. And that of course was the Porter family – Benjamin Porter and then his cousin George Porter. They created the Porter Ranch, which of course we now know as the Porter Ranch, Northridge, Chatsworth area of the valley."

The Porters were farmers who grew wheat mostly. Maclay and the Porter brothers dissolved their partnership in 1888, with Benjamin Porter taking the land west of Aliso Canyon, George the center part, and Maclay keeping the eastern section, from San Fernando to Sun Valley. Today, there's a Porter Valley Drive and a Porter Ranch Drive.

(Airdate: 11/9/2008)