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To watch a 4-minute video presentation of the
history of St. Joseph the Worker click
here or continue reading and you can watch the video at any time
by going to the
media page. |
Historical Background
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San Fernando Valley, 1925
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Movie making in the hills of the Valley
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Warner Brothers Studio in Burbank
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The birth and growth of St. Joseph the Worker sets itself against the historical
background of the San Fernando Valley and mirrors the changes of its population.
The history of the San Fernando Valley in modern time goes back to the 18th
century, before 1769, when the first Spaniards coming north from what is now
Mexico came upon a village of native Tonga. After that early discovery, for more
than two centuries, what we now call the the San Fernando Valley grew very
slowly and in the early 20th century it was still a sparsely
populated area with wide-open spaces, citrus and walnut groves, alfalfa and
vegetable fields, and chicken farms and ranches: A large rural part of Southern
California, especially at its west side.
In great part, the Valley was made famous by the arrival of the movie industry.
The varied terrain, historic ruins, and
predictably sunny weather were an ideal setting for making movies, some of the
first studios established themselves in the valley, movies were made in
the hills of Chatsworth, and movie stars bought ranches and built homes in the
area. But it was not until mid century, after World War II, that the valley
became the symbol of suburbia and its development and population exploded.
By
the beginning of the 21st century, the population numbered 1.7
million and represented one of the most
diverse mixes of ethnicity and nationality found in the United States. Although
residents of Hispanic heritage are the largest segment, there many other
substantial groups which identify themselves as Korean, Armenian, Thai,
Vietnamese, and others. |
The Years Leading to Establishing
St Joseph
the Worker Parish
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The Valley becomes suburbia
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San Fernando Mission
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San Buenaventura Mission
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Before 1921, Catholics residing in the West Valley had to travel to San Fernando
(St. Ferdinand's Church) or to Ventura (San Buenaventura Mission) to attend
Mass. In 1921, a "Mission" parish was established at Owensmouth in the in the
far west end of the Valley, now part of Canoga Park. The parish, known as
Our Lady of the Valley,
was later located at the corner of Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Sherman Way. It
was the first parish in the west valley. and served an area of four hundred
square miles, including communities known today as Sepulveda, Encino, Malibu,
Reseda, Woodland Hills, Winnetka, Canoga Park, Northridge, and Chatsworth.
By 1944, twenty-three years after it was founded, Our Lady of the Valley only
numbered 350 families as parishioners. But in 1946, following World War II, the
building of tract homes for veterans began in the west Valley, and the
population "boom" began. In 1949, a new Parish, St. Catherine of Siena, was
established to serve the area of Reseda and accommodate for the rapid population
growth.
By 1953, the continuing growth in the West Valley made it clear that new
parishes would soon be needed to serve the ever increasing number of Catholic
families settling in the area. At this time, the Archdioceses of Los Angeles
purchased several parcels of land in the West Valley in anticipation of the
needs of future parishes. |
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