Mission Acres, California

[3] The Mission Acres tracts were opened to the public market by the Angeles Mesa Land Company on Thursday March 4, 1915.

As a part of the selling campaign, the company held lectures by experts on poultry culture, squab-raising, Belgian hares and intensive cultivation to prepare potential buyers to use the new land which was advertised as "one of the richest soils sections suburban to Los Angeles."

[5] The main selling points of the site were the fertility of the soil for all kinds of cultivation thanks to the irrigation provided by the new Owens Valley aqueduct as well as its location around the recently completed and spacious boulevard North Sherman Way as well as the Pacific Electric Railway which had stops within the area; this in addition to its proximity to the booming communities of San Fernando and Van Nuys.

[8] On March 29, 1915, just under a month after the opening of the tracts, the majority of land in the San Fernando Valley were annexed to the City of Los Angeles; this included Mission Acres.

[12][13] Across from the model, east of Columbus, is a half-acre triangular parcel which was being advertised as a prime potential business property; $2,000, the price of the lot, were promised to buyers who built immediately, preferably a grocery, to encourage commercial development of the burgeoning community.

[24] In August 1918, 50 year old resident J. T. Matthews, who was employed as a watchman at the Newhall tunnel was taken into custody, had his work instruments confiscated, and was charged in violation of the espionage act after neighbors complained of his disagreement with Wilson's declaration of war against Germany.

[35] In January 1925, an association of valley chambers of commerce, including Mission Acres, along with other clubs and associations, made a statement to the City Council through a delegation headed by Public Service Commissioner W. P. Whitsett; in their joint statement, they called on the Council's District Representation Map Committee to assure that the valley will be properly represented in the City Council, citing the need for improvements in flood control, bridges, sewer lines, highways, recreation, and transit, as well as the opportunity for improved agricultural development.

[44][45] By June 1926, Burnet Avenue from Roscoe to Lassen, and Rayen Street from Brand Boulevard to Noble, had been paved, providing more local arteries to the community.

[47] In August, Mission Acres coordinated with Van Nuys and San Fernando to prevent the proliferation of puncture vine which, as the name suggests, threatened motorists' car tires.

[48] In September 3, 1926, the chamber of commerce sent an endorsement of councilman Randall's bond issue proposal to build a trunk line sewer through the San Fernando Valley.

[49] In February 1927, heavy rains caused severe flooding in valley communities and washed away portions of the unfinished Sepulveda Boulevard.

[50] The chambers of commerce of Van Nuys and Mission Acres, who bore the brunt of flooding, conducted meetings and determined to start a plan for a drainage system to protect the central valley from rainwater.

The Sepulveda of today is now in the central part of the valley, being the name taken by the old Mission Acres section when residents about three years ago decided to give the old settlement a new cognomen in honor of the famous California family.

"[56] Shaded by coast live oaks (Quercus agrifolia) and California two-petal ash (Fraxinus dipetala), major products were citrus, eggs, whiteface cattle, quail, truck produce, and gladioli.