Although we cannot deny the Manson Family is arguably one of the most infamous cults of the last century, the truth is that it began as a simple community of wayward hippie individuals. Therefore, as detailed in Peacock’s “Making Manson,” they were admittedly parasites around Topanga, California, in early 1968, before finding a stable home at Spahn Ranch that summer. However, due to their heinous criminal activities over the next year, their leader, Charles Manson, ended up moving everyone to the isolated Barker Ranch, inside Death Valley National Park.

Spahn Ranch was once a movie ranch in Los Angeles

Although having been in the possession of one owner or another since the 1880s, it was not until the 1950s that this 55-acre tract became known throughout California thanks to George Spahn. Indeed, while he was just a dairy farmer when he purchased this huge property in 1953, he continued to license the production of various films and television shows there. We say “continued” because its previous owners had built cinema sets next to their trading post on the estate in order to have additional cash flow, of which George took full advantage.

In fact, the farmer ensured that this old western town gave off the ideal ambiance with its boulder-strewn landscape and mountainous terrain, but things quickly changed due to declining business. Not only had Hollywood begun to move away from Westerns, but his newspaper business was not doing as well as he had hoped, leading him to turn the ranch into a horse and horse rental place. horse riding. But alas, it was almost deserted by the late 1960s, allowing the family to strike a deal with George, then 80, to establish a rent-free base there in exchange for labor.

Little did George know that he was giving headquarters to a cult, only for them to leave this ranch at 12000 Santa Susana Pass Road (the street numbers have since changed) as a result of their brutal offenses. According to records, Charles had been afraid of being caught, so he decided they had to leave that location in late August 1969, shortly after killing Donald Shea, a ranch hand, in a secluded location. But alas, it was a wildfire that destroyed this property in September 1970, which, followed by George’s death four years later, resulted in its incorporation into California’s Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park. In other words, the ranch no longer exists.

The Manson Family Thought The Still-Existing Barker Ranch Was Their Safe Space

Located off Goler Wash Road in Death Valley National Park in eastern California, Barker Ranch was and still is a 5-acre property filled with rocks and boulders in the Panamint Range. In other words, it’s a totally isolated place in the middle of nowhere, making it accessible only by sandy, primitive, and rugged roads that seem to have no beginning or end. The truth is that it was built around 1940 before initially being used as a simple warehouse and store to support mining activities in the area. It therefore includes a main house and a one-room guest house.

It’s no surprise, then, that the ranch essentially became a seasonal vacation spot after its original owners passed away, allowing the family to move in without issue after gaining permission from the new owners. According to records, frontman Charles Manson always preferred the quiet of the desert, so that’s where he returned the second he realized they needed to distance themselves from society because of their offenses. This included the shooting of Bernard Crowe, the murder of Gary Hinman, the murder of Sharon Tate and her acquaintances, the murder of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, and the murder of Donald Shea.

But unfortunately, the Family did not stay long (less than a month and a half) since they were all arrested following the searches of October 10 and 12, 1969, due to their link with a vandalism case. Authorities did not know at the time that they had actually captured the cult responsible for seven serial killings, but they learned the truth when one of them later confessed to an inmate. As for Barker Ranch itself, it became part of the California Desert Conservation Area in 1976, less than two decades before it was incorporated into Death Valley National Park. But alas, due to a devastating fire in May 2009, the only thing left of this ranch is now the concrete and rock portion of the cabin.

Learn more: Murder of Reet Jurvetson: Did Charles Manson kill her?