Saugus is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

in Santa Clarita,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It was one of four communities (with

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

, Newhall and Canyon Country) that merged in 1987 to create the city of Santa Clarita. Saugus includes the central and north-central portions of the city. It is named after

Saugus, Massachusetts Saugus is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. The population was 28,619 at the 2020 census. Saugus is known as the site of the first integrated iron works in North America. History Native Americans ...

, the hometown of

Henry Newhall Henry Mayo Newhall (May 13, 1825 – March 13, 1882) was an American businessman whose extensive land holdings became the Southern California communities of Newhall, Saugus and Valencia, and the city of Santa Clarita. Life Born in Saugus, ...

, upon whose land the town was originally built.

History

Saugus was first named Newhall by

Henry Mayo Newhall Henry Mayo Newhall (May 13, 1825 – March 13, 1882) was an American businessman whose extensive land holdings became the Southern California communities of Newhall, Saugus and Valencia, and the city of Santa Clarita. Life Born in Saugus, ...

, who bought the eastern half of the Del Valle family's Rancho San Francisco from a series of speculators. After he moved the town south in 1879, he renamed the original site for his birthplace,

. The Saugus Cafe was established in 1886 on

San Fernando Road San Fernando Road is a major street in the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County. Within the Burbank city limits it is signed as San Fernando Boulevard, and north of Newhall Pass it is signed as The Old Road. It was previously designated ...

(now Railroad Avenue). It is the oldest continuously operating restaurant in Los Angeles County. The Saugus Speedway first opened in 1939, initially known as Bonelli Stadium. It was the venue for several

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

races before its closure in 1995. The Saugus Speedway continues to be the venue for the Santa Clarita Swap Meet. The 1984 movie Meatballs Part II was filmed here. The movie starred Richard Mulligan, Paul Reubens, and Kim Richards. In 1987, the city of Santa Clarita was incorporated, encompassing Saugus and the neighboring communities of Canyon Country, Newhall, and part of

. On November 14, 2019, a

mass shooting There is a lack of consensus on how to define a mass shooting. Most terms define a minimum of three or four victims of gun violence (not including the shooter or in an inner city) in a short period of time, although an Australian study from 20 ...

took place at Saugus High School. That morning, Nathaniel Berhow, a 16-year-old junior at the school, used a semi-automatic pistol to shoot five other students, killing two of them, before turning his gun on himself. The shooting lasted 16 seconds. Survivors were reunited with their parents at nearby

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

, and injured students were sent to Henry Mayo Hospital in Valencia and

Providence Holy Cross Medical Center Providence Holy Cross Medical Center is a hospital in the Mission Hills district of Los Angeles, California, US. The hospital has 377 beds, and is part of Providence Health & Services. History Holy Cross Medical Center was founded in 1961 by ...

in Mission Hills. The shooter succumbed to his self-inflicted injuries the following day in the hospital. A vigil honoring the victims was held at Central Park the next day.

Education

Elementary school students in Saugus attend schools in the

Saugus Union School District Saugus Union School District (SUSD) is a public California school district located in Santa Clarita Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. With a 202 ...

. Junior high and high school students attend schools in the

William S. Hart Union High School District The William S. Hart Union High School District (commonly referred to simply as the Hart District) is a school district in the Santa Clarita Valley of Los Angeles County, California. It serves all of the valley's high school students (grades 9– ...

. Most junior high and high school students in Saugus attend Arroyo Seco Junior High School and Saugus High School; some attend nearby Golden Valley, Hart, and

High Schools and the corresponding junior high schools.

Transportation

Saugus is located on the path of the Metrolink Antelope Valley Line. The line's Santa Clarita station is located in Saugus on the south side of Soledad Canyon Road. Bouquet Canyon Road is a major thoroughfare through Saugus, running northeast-southwest from the

Angeles National Forest The Angeles National Forest (ANF) of the U.S. Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains and Sierra Pelona Mountains, primarily within Los Angeles County in southern California. The ANF manages a majority of the San Gabriel Mountai ...

north of the city to Magic Mountain Parkway on the border with

. Other major thoroughfares in Saugus include Seco Canyon Road, Haskell Canyon Road, Plum Canyon Road, Soledad Canyon Road, Newhall Ranch Road, Copper Hill Drive, and Golden Valley Road. All aforementioned streets except for Copper Hill Drive and Golden Valley Road intersect Bouquet Canyon Road; Copper Hill Drive is connected to Bouquet Canyon Road by David Way, a short residential street.

Demographics

As of 2019, the population of the 91350 zip code (which encompasses most of Saugus) was 36,173. The median household income in 91350 was $117,707. The part of Saugus north of Copper Hill Drive is in zip code 91390, shared with parts of unincorporated Canyon Country and all of Agua Dulce and Green Valley.

Notable people

* Red Callender, jazz musician * Harry Carey, actor *

Harry Carey Jr. Henry George Carey Jr. (May 16, 1921 – December 27, 2012) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 90 films, including several John Ford Westerns, as well as numerous television series. Early life Carey was born on a ranch near ...

, actor *

Frank Coghlan Jr. Frank Coghlan Jr. (March 15, 1916 – September 7, 2009) also known as Junior Coghlan, was an American actor who later became a career officer in the United States Navy and a naval aviator. He appeared in approximately 129 films and televis ...

, actor and naval aviator * Mandy Gonzalez, actress and singer *

Ross Lonsberry David Ross Lonsberry (February 7, 1947 – May 4, 2014) was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Pen ...

, professional hockey player * Nick Nickson, Los Angeles Kings announcer * Ruby Rose Turner, actress * Abbey Weitzeil, Olympic swimmerGallegos, Danielle (August 15, 2020)
"Saugus High alum sets sights on 2021 Olympic goals"
''

The Santa Clarita Valley Signal The Santa Clarita Valley Signal is a newspaper in Santa Clarita, California. It was founded in 1919 as a weekly, the '' Newhall Signal.'' From c. 1979 to 2016, the ''Signal'' was owned by Savannah, Georgia-based Morris Multimedia, who sold it to ...

''. Retrieved July 21, 2021.

References

External links

Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society: History of Saugus website
— ''photos, text, TV shows.'' {{Authority control Neighborhoods in Santa Clarita, California