June 3, 1980

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors today approved an agreement with the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society to move the Saugus Railway Station to the William S. Hart County Park, Supervisor Baxter Ward reports.

The Saugus Railway Station, built in the late 1800s, triggered the settlement of the Santa Clarita Valley as the railroad line connected San Francisco and Los Angeles, Ward said.

The Society is dedicated to the preservation and public viewing of buildings, books, documents, photos and other artifacts that have historical significance to the Santa Clarita Valley, and when the Southern Pacific Transportation Company offered the station to the Society, efforts began to move it to a suitable location in the Valley, said Ward.

A twenty-year agreement has been reached with the Society to develop, operate and maintain the station as a museum for displaying artifacts of the Santa Clarita Valley at Hart Park, the supervisor said.

A fund-raising drive is in progress to move the station to that portion of Hart Park known as the "Frew" property, located next to the community gardens and the group campgrounds, Ward said.

The agreement approved today by the Board provides that the Society will restore, construct, operate, manage and maintain the museum at no cost to the county, the supervisor explained.

The refurbishment of the station will include exhibit and storage areas for the collected artifacts obtained y the Historical Society, an office for the Society, and a meeting room that will be available to the county and other community organizations, the supervisor added.