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    North Valley resident and skilled equestrian, Jerry England, has combined his love of Chatsworth, horses and good old fashioned Western movies, pouring his passions into his new book “Reel Cowboys of the Santa Susanas.”

    A photographic history of "B" Western movie location ranches in Chatsworth , the colorful book includes more than 350 photos of the Santa Susana Mountains, with an emphasis on movie ranches. 

    England includes images of such notable horse-riding stars as Tom Mix, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, John Wayne, Allan Lane, Bill Elliott, Charles Starrett, the Lone Ranger, Buster Crabbe, Tim McCoy, Lash LaRue, and many more. Featured ranches in include the Iverson Movie Location Ranch, Brandeis Movie Ranch, Bell Moving Picture Ranch, Corriganville Movie Ranch, Spahn Ranch, and Burro Flats.

    “I started collecting memorabilia about eight years ago,” England said. “Then, two years ago, I decided I wanted to put a book together, but I didn’t know exactly how to do it.”

    Initially overwhelmed by the book idea, England started smaller, creating a web site to showcase his images. Now, the book is printed on demand and can be ordered at www.cowboyup.com or www.lulu.com.

    “Print-on-demand books are a whole new cottage industry since the internet age,” England said.  

    The book, a coffee-table tome, is divided into several distinct parts. The initial pages outline a history of the Chatsworth area, and a subsequent section includes movie stills and “lobby cards”, or mini movie posters, depicting cowboys riding and moseying through the ranches. A collection of screen shots rounds out the book.

    See the old train depot and the Chatsworth reservoir as they looked more than half a century ago. Did you know the mobile home park built in 1965 at Topanga Canyon Boulevard and the 118 Freeway used to be a real Western street? Or that during the filming of many Western films in Chatsworth, a rattlesnake sweep had to precede the shoot to protect the actors? 

    England lets his readers in on all kinds of Western movie lore and Chatsworth historic tidbits in this book.

    “It’s just a passion,” England said. “I walk out my front door and see Oak Mountain and think of the cowboy movies I grew up with. I want to chronicle the history for future generations.”

    Though cowboys and ranches are at the center of many of England’s images, horses are often his focal point.

    “I have been an equestrian activist for the last ten years and this is all about horses,” England said. “The preface talks about what it was like in the ’40s and ’50s, when I was growing up…If you drove up Devonshire in 1948, it was wall-to-wall white fences with horses behind them.”

    The owner of four full-sized horses and a mini, England aims to show his readers the connection between filming in Chatsworth and the rise of the equestrian culture.

    “When movie makers came out here to get away from New York and didn’t want to get too far away from their Los Angeles studios, they found Chatsworth,” England said. “A lot of the cowboy stars bought ranches here, so they could be close to work.  So in the ’30s ’40s and ’50s, we had all these cowboy stars here…that is one of the reasons we have such an affinity for horse keeping.”

    Movie buffs and historians will find a wealth of satisfying information in England’s book. Chatsworth residents who read the book just might find out what their backyards looked like when shoot-outs were still in style.

    “Chatsworth is an icon of the old west,” England said. “People who watch cowboy movies are so often watching Chatsworth.”

Paperback book $21.50 plus shipping and handling. Buy online at: http://www.lulu.com/content/2568988.