Historical Society changes name of Heritage Junction

Heritage Junction — where eight historic buildings and a steam engine and caboose are on display — has been renamed “Santa Clarita History Center” and a new logo adopted.

“We’re creating an entirely new experience for visitors to the park,” Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society President Alan Pollack said in a prepared statement. “We’re giving our museum campus in Hart Park a fresh makeover with professionally designed exhibits for a better and more meaningful visitor experience. ‘Santa Clarita History Center’ conveys who we are and what we’re doing.”

The new logo, designed by former Disney art director Greg Wilzbach, features elements of historic firsts and influences on the SCV and its surroundings, and mirrors the color palette of the city’s Old Town Newhall arts district.

Heritage Junction has been part of the SCV since 1980, when the Southern Pacific railroad depot was moved from its original location across from Saugus Café to land within Hart Park and became the Historical Society’s headquarters. Former Signal Editor Ruth Newhall was involved in the move, raising money and moving her vehicle incrementally down Railroad Avenue (then known as San Fernando Road) as donations came in.

As the years went by, the collection of historic buildings grew. Gene Autry donated the 1629 Mogul Engine from Melody Ranch in 1982. Bricks from the Mitchell Adobe were recovered from Sand Canyon and reassembled across from the depot in 1986. In 1987, the schoolhouse and Ramona Chapel from Callahan’s Old West up Sierra Highway, and the Kingsburry House, from downtown Newhall, were moved in.

The Edison House was rescued from the Edison Curve on Magic Mountain Parkway in 1988. The Newhall Ranch House moved from the overflow parking lot of Magic Mountain in 1990 and, in 1992, the last house to join the collection was the Pardee House, formerly the home of the Chamber of Commerce and Boys and Girls Club.

“Those of us who’ve been involved with the Historical Society for a long time feel a sense of nostalgia for ‘Heritage Junction,’ but we’re turning corners and striving to serve a community that has changed and grown at least threefold since we founded our museum nearly 50 years ago,” Leon Worden, society vice president, said in the statement. “We need to make sure we’re connecting with the people who live here today and living up to their expectations.”