By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

HAPPY TRAILS-Above, young Tom Corrigan sits atop Roy Rogers' horse while Dale Evans, who is clearly out of costume, looks on. Below, Ray "Crash" Corrigan takes part in a scene with actors John Wayne and Raymond Hatton. Corrigan's family lived in homes converted from the movie sets.

When Wild West movies reigned supreme and Rin-Tin-Tin’s adventures set the imagination of many a young boy soaring, the Ray Corrigan Movie Ranch in Simi Valley, eventually called "Corriganville Movie Ranch," was among the premiere Hollywood movie sets of the day. Today, Corriganville Park is a reminder—albeit a sad one since all of the sets were later destroyed by fire—of the area’s rich history and ties to Tinsel Town.

Cowboy actor Ray "Crash" Corrigan purchased property in 1937, but it took him over four years to prepare the 1,740-acre site for filming production. The ranch eventually opened with a variety of realistic sets, perfect backdrops for such western classics as "Fort Apache," and "The Durango Kid."

In addition to western towns, Corrigan created a visual potpourri of third-world villages, frontier forts and other sets that blended well with the wide-open spaces, caves, and rugged Santa Susana Mountains that border Simi Valley.

The Corrigan Movie Ranch played host to many movie classics. In 1941, "Jungle Girl," was filmed there. The movie called for the construction of a "fake" cave entrance and a Corsican Village, according to the online "Corriganville History and Chronology."

A manor town was built for the film, "The Swordsman," and when production of "Fort Apache" began in the summer of 1947, another elaborate set was built. The "Fort Apache" set also was used for the popular television series "The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin."

The movie ranch, which was called Corriganville, opened to the public as an amusement park approximately two years later.

The park also included "Robinhood Lake" and "Robinhood Forest," which probably coined their names from the movie "The Bandit of Sherwood Forest" that was filmed there.

Corrigan’s son, Tom, said he lived with his family at the ranch for the first 20 years of his life. He said his father created homes from each of the sets that the movie companies left on the property after filming was completed.

Corrigan’s grandparents, aunts, uncles and other family members lived in these sets with their western facades and all. (Corrigan currently owns Corrigan Steak House in Thousand Oaks, which doubles as a museum for Corriganville.)

"Outdoor Amusements Inc." took over the operation of the ranch in 1955, and by 1957, the place was renamed "The Lone Ranger Ranch" by a Jack Wrather who had gained control of the corporation. Within a year, Corrigan sued Wrather and regained ownership of the ranch. He brought back the Corriganville name.

Tom Corrigan said the amusement park on the ranch was the first amusement park in the United States, preceding Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm and Universal Studios, and said as many as 20,000 people would come to the park on weekends.

"Only the foundations of the movie sets remain, but the park is a beautiful place for hiking," said Rick Johnson, a spokesman for the Rancho/Simi Valley Parks and Recreation Area.

By 1965, Bob Hope purchased the property from Corrigan for about $3 million and renamed it "Hopetown." Within a year, Hope closed the ranch to the public.

As the ‘70s began, the Chatsworth/Simi wildfires destroyed most of the "Silvertown" set that was built in 1943.

In 1979, arson fires burned the soundstage, the combination church/ schoolhouse and a shack for outlaws. Corrigan said approximately 3,500 films and television programs were filmed at Corriganville Movie Ranch over the years. Others say the number is closer to 1,000.

The history of the area goes beyond the movie magic that was created during the 20-year "golden age" of movies from 1934 to 1954. According to Corrigan, the ranch encompassed the original El Camino Real trail that allowed travel through California. A stagecoach stop also sat on the property.

Today, Corriganville Park is but a shadow of its glorious past. The once massive property was sold off in bits and pieces and the remaining 250 acres is now managed by Rancho Simi Parks and Recreation.

Corrigan and others believed that the movie sets would one day be rebuilt and the park would be used as a reminder of Simi Valley history.

According to an 18-page report called the Corriganville Masterplan, "the City of Simi Valley will restore (reconstruct) nearly all of the classical set structures and features of the historic Corriganville Movie Ranch."

A fundraising effort that was held on behalf of the ranch remains shrouded in controversy, however.

Corrigan said several nonprofit groups raised thousands of dollars for the reconstruction effort, but that no one can account for the money.

Johnson called the master plan "master dreams" and said the parks department doesn’t have the money for the work that was envisioned. Johnson said it would cost between $5 million and $6 million to recreate Silvertown, just one of the many movie sets that once stood on the ranch. "It’s not even on the list," he said.

Today Corriganville Park offers hiking trails and oak trees. Only the foundations of the movie sets remain.