Old Trapper's Lodge
6201 Winnetka Ave,
Woodland Hills, California
91371
If you cruise around to the back of Pierce College in Woodland Hills, over by the stables down the back entrance and along a badly in need of re-paving road, you’ll find the Old Trapper’s Lodge tucked practically out of sight in this remote area of the school. Most of the students probably don’t even know it exists and the administration fully admits that they don’t pay for the location’s upkeep. What is the Old Trapper’s Lodge? Why it’s several statues and folk art depicting aspects, myths, tall tales and stories about the old west built by the Old Trapper himself, John Ehn.
John Ehn was born in 1897. Before moving to California, he was a trapper, but upon moving to the state, he opened up a motel in 1941 near the Burbank airport at Arvilla Avenue and San Fernando Road. The motel had western memorabilia in the office including old weapons and animal pelts. In order to attract more attention to his motel, called appropriately the Old Trapper’s Lodge, Ehn decided to have a sculpture build on the site. If you believe the story, he originally hired Claude Bell, then of Knot’s Berry Farm, to build the initial sculpture. Claude Bell would obviously go on to build the giant dinosaurs of Cabazon.
Supposedly, after watching Bell sculpt for three days, Ehn figured he was now a proficient sculptor and in 1951 off he went, building the multitude of statues today found on Pierce College. For the next thirty years until his death in 1981, using his self taught knowledge, John filled the front yard of his motel with folk art, by sculpting a variety of statues depicting myths, tall tales, and apparently personal experiences from the Old West. The statues feature cowboys, cowgirls, Indians, miners, saloon girls and other personages from the old west. John used the likeness of his family to create the statues. He also built his own version of a “Boot Hill”, a mock cemetery of colorful and at times humorous tombstones.
The entire site became California Historical Landmark Number 939 in 1985. Around that time, the land the motel was on had been sold to the nearby airport. The motel was sadly torn down, but luckily most of the statues and other folk art were saved and transferred to Pierce College in Woodland Hills. Now the area near the Animal Sciences Building is filled with strange faces peering out from the ground and bizarre scenes of the old west. One sculpture shows Peg Leg Smith squaring off with Big Bear, a Native American. Peg Leg Smith was a mountain man, a prospector, and a spinner of tall tales, who lived from 1801 to 1866. Another sculpture entitled “Kidnapped” shows a Native American kidnapping a woman. Others show other fanciful characters such as Lonesome George.
No one at Pierce College will say who allowed the historical folk art to be hosted at the community college. Nor will they admit to who performs maintenance on them. Every few years though, someone shows up and touches up the paint jobs on the colorful statues. The grounds and trails are also occasionally fixed up also by these mysterious caretakers. All the college seems to care about is that they don’t pay the upkeep cost. While it seems the historical landmark receives little attention from any one else in the outside world, particularly from the students who seem for the most part unaware of its existence, someone else takes a keen interest in continually maintaining these wonderful works of the past. Who this is, we don’t know. Regardless, the Old Trapper’s Lodge is very much worthy of a visit.
Take 101 North (or 101 West) to the Winnetka Avenue exit in Woodland Hills. Turn Right and go past the college to the next light, make a left and go to El Rancho Drive. To get to the sculptures enter the campus from El Rancho Drive. The Old Trapper’s Lodge will be on your left, just past the horses.
Comments:
- Dallas Caley of Santa Ana, California on 2009-12-09 said:
- I don't believe in coincidences... ok so my brother sent me this link because we both used to live at the old trappers lodge back around 1980. and i thought it was real interesting, then i saw the comment by Steve of North Hollywood about his purchase of a 1954 Jeep Willys that used to be owned by the old Trapper. Well just coincidentally about 15 years ago my family aquired an old Jeep Willys wagon that if i recall was probably a '54, i loved that wagon, i always thought it would be my first car but then someone stole it... Steve... then i remembered after we moved out of the old trappers (i was about 5) we moved into this other place and had to have room mates, and one of their names was... you guessed it... STEVE! i remember he used to put me on top of the refrigerator when he didn't want me to go anywhere. like i said i don't believe in coincidences, i think if me and steve and the willys and the old trappers were all to meet again at the same place it would rip a hole in the space-time continuume! it would be the end of the world! AHHH!!
- Carole Pomerantz of Westminster, CA on 2009-12-09 said:
- I'm Dallas Caley's mom. We lived at the "Old Trapper's" in 1978. I was told by the "Old Trapper's" daughter (who was one of the manager's of the motel, that he was from Mich.. We lived in one of the little adobe apts. which rented at that time for about $185. I have old pictures of taken of family sitting between the statues.
- Ebb Nelson of Woodland Hills, CA on 2009-03-04 said:
- WeirdCA,
I find it decidedly odd that there is much written about these mysterious statues with so little content in regards to them.
As a small child I often visited Old Trappers monument to his family and past as I was one of his many great-grand children (though my relationship to the family was through marriage). If you think the few statues that remain are creepy, imagine the man himself!! Old and gnarled as he was from my memories, he also had an air of mysticism that could not be denied. Walking through his living room was like stepping through a warped time portal of the old west. Every inch of the walls covered with animal trophies, guns, Indian relics, and every other old knickknack, broken or otherwise, arranged with mural-like sensibility. I regarded such experiences with a mixture of intense foreboding and curiosity. I would never even dare to touch anything as I always feared that one of the many, ever watching animals, would suddenly come to life and maul my wayward hand. I'm sure David Lynch would have died to shoot there.
As so what remains of his vast collection beyond what the few see at Pierce College, it was divided amongst the surviving family members. He had quite the large family and I have no clue as to where it all had specifically disappeared to, beyond the few trinkets I myself had inherited.
The Ehn family is intensely private and it does not surprise me to find that some mysterious benefactor keeps the statues as new looking as they ever have been. I myself sit amongst the statues (as I live nearby) and find it easier to remember the strangely prolific artist and the many mysteriously creepy creations that were born from his intense stare.
I find it almost poetic that few find there way there, but once stumbled upon, the experience will populate memories they will find hard to forget.
Regards,
Ebb Nelson
- Mike E hn of San Marcos, California on 2008-08-27 said:
- Glad to see the old man's work is being taken care of.
Mike Ehn
- Steve of North Hollywood, Ca on 2008-08-14 said:
- I googled Trappers Lodge, and found this, because I just purchased a 1954 Willy's Wagon, and the first owner was apparently the owner of The Old Trappers Lodge in Burbank. Kinda cool this truck has a little history now!
- Sue Stoff of Saint Joseph, MO on 2008-07-09 said:
- I lived at Old Trappers lodge (with my 4 daughters) in the late 70's. How great to see these old statues again.
- David Holt of Batesville, Arkansas on 2007-08-29 said:
- I lived in the lodge apartments 1959-1960. I watched John Ehn make a large Totem in his shop building that was between the Lodge Office and Air Port. It was set up in front of the Lodge. I know that some of the statues went to Pierce College. What happened to all the other stuff?
- John Nichols of Oceanside, Ca on 2007-02-01 said:
- Man! I totally remember Old Trappers Lodge when it was back in Burbank. My Dad use to work right by the Airport and every once in a while he would take us to the Lodge. I get this weird chill thinking about it because it was usaully after his work time and it was near sunset. There use to be this old decaying 50's style motor home trailer that displayed very old decaying stufted animals with some kind of story to it. Inside the office itself was filled with old black and white pictures of Ehn himself with animal trophies. There was this huge mounted bear standing near the entrance. We spoke to his grand daughter who was running the Lodge at the time. There was also this glass case that had a collection of what seemed to be vintage old six shooter pistols right outside the entrance way. I really miss that place. It really took me a place of sincere mystical curiosity. This was back in the 70's, around maybe 1974, 75, time period. Thanks for taking me back there. Do you know any other word on what happened to the old place before the sculpters were taken to Pierce?
- Joe Parzanese of San Luis Obispo, CA on 2007-02-01 said:
John,
Thanks for your memories about the Old Trapper's Lodge! I really appreciate it.
Sadly the land the Lodge was on was acquired by the Burbank Airport in the mid eighties. Regretably it was all torn down. To the best of my knowledge only the statues were saved. As to what happened to the rest of the memorabilia, including all the stuffed animals, furs, and pistols, I sadly have no clue. I'm assuming that much of it was probably junked. Hopefully some of it was preserved, but if so, I don't know its current where abouts.
If anyone has or knows where any of the rest of the Lodge's memorabilia went to, please let us know! Thanks!
- Joe Parzanese
www.weirdca.com
Outside References:
- Weird California (2006) by Greg Bishop, Joe Oesterle, Mike Marinacci, p: 149
Last Edited: 2006-10-23
