In 1849, John A. Sutter, a 19th-century pioneer trader, discovered gold at his sawmill in the Sacramento Valley. The news spread like wildfire, and thousands of "forty-niners" poured into California from all parts of the world. Few people realize, however, that while this was the most well-known California gold rush, it was not really the first.

In 1842, seven years prior to Sutter's famous gold strike, a rancher named Francisco Lopez was gathering wild onions beneath an oak tree on his Placerita Canyon ranch. While pulling the onions from the fertile soil, Francisco found a handful of shiny gold nuggets caught in their roots, and it was this discovery that set off California's first gold rush. For two years miners, prospectors, Chinese laborers, and outlaws flocked to the canyon to seek their fortunes

The gold soon ran out, however, and the canyon returned to its tranquil state. More than 100 years later, Walt Disney Productions needed a place to film the Triple R Ranch scenes for the Mickey Mouse Club's "Spin and Marty" series. Prior to that time, we had been traveling long distances to do location shooting for our live-action films, but when we began doing television shows as well, it became necessary to find a more economical location site close to the Studio.  more info

Source: BillCotter.com

Studios at the Ranch .com: Walt Disney personally selected Golden Oak Ranch as the location for segments of his iconic television show, The Mickey Mouse Club. Now, 50 years later, the Disney | ABC Studios at The Ranch project will transform a small portion of Golden Oak Ranch into a state-of-the-art soundstage and production complex.

Golden Oak Ranch .com: Over 800 acreas of natural scenery and sets located within the 90-mile studio zone.  Green year-round, the rnch includes five regions offering a variety of geographical options.

Golden Oak Ranch ~ Wikipedia .com:  The Walt Disney Company’s Golden Oak Ranch is a movie ranch that serves as an interior and exterior filming location. The ranch is off of Placerita Canyon Road in Canyon Country, California, less than an hour north of Los Angeles.

Disney Golden Oak