Timeline

1968
Interstate 5 Opened
1967
First Buyer of Valencia Homes Closed

The first buyer of brand new Valencia home closed escrow.

Many more followed and the new beautiful town of VALENCIA is still thriving 50 years later.

McBean retires and turns company over to non family members.

1960
The city of Valencia is in the planning stages
1955
Christmas lunch with Atholl McBean

Christmas lunch with Atholl McBean with 30 members of the Newhall family. He offered a toast to Fifth generation: the fifteen young Newhall’s ranging in age from three to seventeen. He inspired Ruth Waldo Newhall to write the History of the Newhall Family.

1950
California’s Tax Rate changed

California’s Tax Rate changed (temporarily as it turns out) but the NEWHALL RANCH was taxed at its “highest and best use” which was for residential instead of farming and cattle. That created the incentive for Newhall Land and Farm to go into the land development business to build houses.

1940
NLF sold Rancho El Piojo and Rancho San Miguelito

NLF sold Rancho El Piojo and Rancho San Miguelito to the US War Department to create a troop training facility known as the Hunter Liggett Military Reservation.

1936
Barnsdall Strikes Oil
Barnsdall Strikes Oil

Oil was struck by a lessee on NEWHALL RANCH, Barnsdall Oil Company. The major discovery was 44 producing wells which brought significant cash flow to the company.

1933
Highway 99 Opens
Highway 99 Opens

Highway 99 Opens 1933. It ran straight through the center of Newhall Ranch.

1930
Dam Disaster and Hearst Pymt Keep NLF Afloat

He received payment of $737,039 from Dam Disaster to bring liquidity to the struggling company. They also received the final payment from William Hearst for the land they sold him. Things were looking up financially.

1930
No Selling Out for NLF
No Selling Out for NLF

Atholl McBean

The family wanted to sell out but Atholl McBean managed to bring the company back through smart investments and cost controls. He ran the company like a company and it began to prosper almost immediately. He borrowed $250,000 to keep the company afloat, discontinued ALL dividend payouts to the family, tightened the purse strings and moved his company into the future.

He was not a popular man with the families to say the least. Eventually he took on hero status for being able to salvage what was left and eventually turn a profit.