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Then & Now Dream Realized
Although this photo was shot several years before the Santa Clarita Valley decided it needed its own college, it provides
an accurate portrayal of the era. The Solemint Store was a bustling fixture of Solemint, a community whose name
represented the junction of Soledad and Mint canyons, from 1938 to the mid-1960s. It stood at the corner of Soledad
Canyon Road and Sierra Highway, about 2 miles from the present-day Canyon Country Campus. The name Solemint
eventually gave way to the name we use today, Canyon Country. Photo courtesy of scvhistory.com
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
T o put the story of the Canyon Country Campus in its proper perspective,
we need to go back to 1967. is is the year College of the Canyons and the
Santa Clarita Community College District were created, in a community
that looks very different from today. e district was established on nov. 21 of that
year to serve a 367-square-mile portion of northeast los Angeles County. In the years
since voters approved creation of the Santa Clarita Junior College District (as it was
then called), the valley has experienced tremendous growth. Once a sleepy hamlet
along the Southern Pacific railroad's los Angeles-to-San Francisco line, the valley has
become a vibrant center for jobs, housing, education and commerce.
This aerial view from 2006 shows the future site of the Canyon Country Campus, which now occupies the bowl-like area immediately to the right of the two water tanks.
8 C A N Y O N C O U N T R Y C A M P U S : F I V E Y E A R S I N R E V I E W C A N Y O N C O U N T R Y C A M P U S : F I V E Y E A R S I N R E V I E W 9
