There's a Pickens Canyon Road in La Crescenta. Filmmaker John Newcombe says there's a lot of things named for Colonel Theodore Pickens.

"Pickens Canyon, Pickens Wash, and there's a Mt. Pickens."

Pickens was born in Kentucky. But when the Civil War broke out, he spurned the South and joined the Union Army. It didn't work out. His southern-born wife divorced him and a gunshot to his wrist during basic training ended his military career.

Pickens moved to California for his health. He squatted on land in what's now La Crescenta, dammed up the river, and told real estate developer Jacob Lanterman he'd have to pay through the nose for the water. John Newcombe, whose documentary is called "Rancho La Canada: Then and Now," says Lanterman sent his wife to negotiate.

"She went up with a shotgun, put a shotgun to Pickens' head and said, 'You're going to sell me these water rights before I leave this cabin.'"

Mrs. Lanterman got the water. Pickens got $500 in gold – and a chance to live another day. Residents of La Crescenta still tap into water from Pickens Canyon.

(Airdate: 4/4/2009)