John Wayne in Corriganville

When John Wayne teamed up with the other two Mesquiteers, he actually rode the range belonging to Ray "Crash" Corrigan. He invested in a terrain in Simi Valley that he turned into the Corrigan Movie Ranch.

John Wayne's saddle partner in the Three Mesquiteers-series, Ray "Crash" Corrigan, knew the movie companies' need for western locations within a reasonable reach from Hollywood. In 1937, he bought 2,000 acres in Simi Valley, a wide variety of terrain, including lakes and mines, and called it Corrigan Movie Ranch.  "Crash" soon turned it into an amusement park, including the western town called Silverton. 

 

John Ford used Ray "Crash" Corrigan's movie ranch in Simi Valley as the main location of "Fort Apache". Where John Wayne's cavalry fort once stood, only a rusty marker remains.

While Corriganville was mostly known as a B-movie location, during July 24 to September 13, 1947, an A-western was in the making on Corrigan's grounds, destined to become a John Wayne classic: Fort Apache. The cavalry post was fabricated on flat terrain on Table Mountain. It was surrounded by rocks, so John Ford could effortlessly cut to scenes shot in Monument Valley without giving it away that the bulk of the picture was shot in the close vicinity to the studios. 

 

 

 

The actual site of the cavalry post of John Wayne's "Fort Apache", what used to be the Corrigan Ranch in the heydey of the western.

Nothing is left from the movie making days at Corriganville. Just some reminders in the brush where Victor McLaglen drilled the new recruits of Fort Apache.

The movie location of John Wayne's "Fort Apache" is currently a public park in the City of Simi Valley.

The site is currently a public park in the City of Simi Valley. This John Wayne movie location forFort Apache is just a short walk from the parking space of Corriganville Park. 

Ray Corrigan's son Tom operated a steak house in Thousand Oaks in Conejo Valley and decorated it with memorabilia from Corriganville.

In 1982, Ray Corrigan's son Tom opened a steak house in Thousand Oaks in Conejo Valley and decorated it with memorabilia from Corriganville.