There's a Briggs Avenue in La Canada. Filmmaker John Newcombe knows it well.

"Briggs is named after Dr. Benjamin Bennett Briggs who came to California at the age of 22 for the gold rush."

Newcombe's documentary is called "Rancho La Canada: Then and Now." He says instead of gold, Benjamin Briggs discovered lead.

"While near Salt Lake City, he was accidentally shot through the lung and the bullet imbedded into his spine. And they bled him and they thought he was going to die. But when they arrived in California, he got up."

While his brothers looked for gold, Benjamin Briggs stared at the soil. A little study told him it would be good for citrus, so he persuaded his siblings to travel to South America for fruit stock. They planted orchards near the gold fields in the Sacramento Valley, and later moved south to Santa Paula.

Citrus paid off. Brother George became one of the state's first millionaires. Benjamin Briggs ended up in La Canada – but not to plant more orchards. Read on to find out the rest of the Street Story.

(Airdate: 3/14/2009)