Did you know that there’s a remarkably preserved, 19th-century oil boomtown right here in L.A. County?
Mentryville is tucked into Pico Canyon near Stevenson Ranch/Newhall in northwest Los Angeles County. In the late 1800s, it grew around Pico No. 4, which was one of the most significant oil wells in the world.
The well eventually closed in 1990, but Mentryville has been preserved as a small historic park where visitors can walk among surviving 19th-century buildings and canyon trails.
From oil field to ghost town
Los Angeles, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
French-born oil driller, Charles Alexander Mentry, launched Pico No. 4 in 1876. A small town began forming around it in the 1880s, and the subsequent oil operation helped shape the company that later became Chevron.
As the oil business changed, the town declined, and most residents left by the early 1930s. But Pico No. 4 kept producing until 1990, an impressive 114-year run. According to the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA), it was the world’s longest continually operating oil well.
These days, a handful of structures are still standing, including Mentry’s grand 13-room mansion, a one-room schoolhouse, and a barn. The town of Mentryville and Pico No. 4, which is tucked in Pico Canyon, are both registered as California State Historical Landmarks.
Visiting Mentryville
📍 Location: 27201 Pico Canyon Road, Newhall, CA — at the end of Pico Canyon Road, a few miles west of I-5.
🥾 What to do: Stroll the compact historic townsite, see the exterior of its surviving buildings, and use the surrounding Pico Canyon trails for hiking, running, or horseback riding.
🎟️ Parking: There is a $5 fee to use the parking lot.