Calabasas, California is a small town in a big town county. Los Angeles County is heavily populated, the most populated county in the United States, and is home to the second most populated city in the nation. Finding an area that is peaceful and quiet can be difficult, but throughout the years, Calabasas has managed to maintain its rural feel. It's as though the congested areas around Calabasas continue to grow around it, while it retains the small town feel that make it unique.

Calabasas in History

The Chumash Indians were the first inhabitants of the area that would become Calabasas. They lived on wild game, such as rabbits, grain, and acorns mashed into a paste. Some of the acorn trees living in the area today are believed to be hundreds of years old, old enough to have supplied the Chumash with sustenance at one point.

Spanish expeditions brought Miguel Costanso and Juan de Anza to the Calabasas area, which they described in their expedition diaries. When the settlers arrived, a large tract of land was designated to three Chumash Indians. The daughter of one of these Chumash, Espiritu, married Miguel Leonis and since the land was left to her by her father, Leonis became the landowner.

Leonis was known as the "King of Calabasas" and was constantly conducting illegal business throughout the area. He hired men to threaten settlers so that he could expand his land and bribed witnesses to be quiet. Leonis was always at odds with the law and didn't take kindly to people "squatting" on his land.