Corriganville Movie Ranch - Defunct Theme Park

Comments · 602

• PA

  @pamhernandez397 · 5 years ago

  My parents took me here when I was about 5 years old. I still have a picture of myself on a horse with Mr. Corrigan standing next to horse.

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• ED

  @ednagreen9743 · 5 years ago

  What is nice about History Hunters is your respectful look at times past. I smiled at this one.

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• MI

  @michaelgoolman918 · 7 months ago

  I was born in 66 and I love westerns,,I wake up early and watch with my dad, old ones, John Wayne, Roy Roger's,,Rin tin tin,,,mom made me a  calvary costume like Rusty,,,,miss my parents 😢, good times 😊

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• RA

  @randystraight9209 · 2 years ago

  Thank you very much for this walk down memory lane. My parents own the Trading Post there...we lived on the ranch for several years. I was 4 years old when they bought the store and 12 when Bob Hope closed the ranch down. I still know that ranch like the back of my hand. Dad was a part-time stunt man and full-time store operator. They sold cowboy boots, Lee jeans, hats...etc..  Great video presentation. Absolutely love the drone flyover.

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• CA

  @CarguyEd5150 · 2 months ago

  I have to say, Jeff while I enjoy this video immensely, I felt the level of sadness that I rarely feel when just watching these. I think of all the history that took place there and how we as a country have lost our way. As you said before, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of places for kids to go to, and that was such a part of Americana, with western towns like this. I think of all the history that took place there, the car loads of families that parked for $.35 and we’re able to enjoy an affordable day, and I wish I could magically go back in time and see how it looked back then. Nothing but ghosts of the past and memories. Thank you for bringing this back just for even for a little bit and showing us something that we lost.

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• JE

  @jerrylofy9153 · 3 years ago

  Having grown up in Simi Valley from the early 60s Corriganville was an amazing place to visit. So much fun to be had for families back then. It was a working movie ranch during the weekdays and an western theme park on the weekends. In 1966 Crash Corrigan and his wife Elaine Dupont were in the process of being divorced. As part of the divorce settlement they were forced to sell the ranch. Bob Hope purchased it as a real estate investment and so Corriganville was closed and renamed Hope Town. It sat empty and in disrepair for a a couple of years and with the new 118 fwy construction and opening of it the noise levels became so high that filming was hindered. At the advent of organized motorcycle racing it became a motocross racing venue with annual events. It was very successful into the 70s. Unfortunately two wildfires destroyed most of the iconic movie sets. Later the motocross races ended and the property sat empty for many years. Corriganville is officially credited with over 440 filming projects. Some believe it hosted many more than  that as complete accurate records were never kept. Scenes from TV shows, Movies and commercials for TV. It's crown movie production was the 1948 "Fort Apache" Starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda. A lot of early Hollywood Western history took place there.

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• SU

  @suzwittman · 5 years ago

  When I moved to California in the 1960s, this was this favorite place for my family to visit.  My dad loved that in the saloon you could get a beer and a pickle for a nickel.

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• FL

  @flashy5150 · 5 years ago

  I love classic movie history. I just turned 50 and I grew up on reruns of all those old movies and I still go back and watch them again. Back then, they made movies like appliances, built to last a lifetime. Now, modern day movies are throw-always like everything else, including appliances.

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• CA

  @carlupthegrove262 · 5 years ago

  I remember going to Corriganville for the first time in about 1957...as a young boy...  thank you for bringing all this back ...  much appreciated

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• AT

  @ATSFVentaSpurNscaler · 5 years ago

  I liked your Mr. Haney voice impression. You're right about one thing. Too many affordable, family roadside attractions have gone the way of the old-time Westerns, relegated to the dustbin of history. Now only theme parks such as Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm remain — that is, if today's families have deep enough pockets filled with cash to afford them. They seem to have become playgrounds for the rich. Working class families can barely afford to visit theme parks nowadays.

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• CH

  @christopherstimpson6540 · 5 years ago

  What's interesting is the cowboy culture is still alive and well in remote parts of the Southwest USA.  The white straw type cowboy hat is a must have when in the sun over 100 degrees and no shade.  It keeps your neck shaded where the baseball cap does not.  We still have those ankle biters (rattle snakes) and the cowboy boots take care of most of that.  Many use the little ATV's or side by side ATV's but the horse is always on hand for when a mechanical problem occurs and a horse can travel over terrain no ATV can handle.  A horse is basically a must have for ranch work, then and now.  If your local store has a hitching post and a sign to remove spurs before entering, then you are in my area...

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• DO

  @donnsunderland2684 · 5 years ago

  Having grown up about seven miles from there our family often went to Corriganville. They always had a western action play that usually involved a shootout with stuntmen taking falls off second story balconies. All kinds of people in period costumes roamed the two street town with "Indian Chiefs" in full regalia. Everyone was approachable and welcomed taking photos with us kids and signing autographs. What a fun time and lasting memory.

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