Gould Avenue runs through La Canada. It marked the entrance to a 1,100 acre ranch once owned by attorney Will D. Gould. Gould's most famous case involved the two founders of the town of La Canada, Dr. Jacob Lanterman and Adolfus Williams. Filmmaker John Newcombe – who made the documentary "Rancho La Canada: Then and Now" – says Williams and Lanterman hoped to strike it rich in real estate.

"Williams was very incompetent at surveying the lots apparently, and so he started selling off Lanterman's land and so Lanterman said, 'You gotta stop doing this!' And he wouldn't listen. He just kept doing it. Finally he just took him to court. Well, Will D. Gould defended Williams."

Gould won the 1896 legal case, but Lanterman appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court – and won. Williams died of tuberculosis. Gould planted a row of eucalyptus trees in front of his ranch. You can still see many of them today on your way to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the hills above Pasadena.

(Airdate: 3/29/2009)