Historian to Give Talk on Valley Landmarks

San Fernando Valley residents seeking a connection to their hometown are likely to find it at a lecture Monday on “Valley Historic Landmarks” at the Valley College Historical Museum.

Local historian Malcolm Sears, who taught vocational agriculture classes at Canoga Park High School for 33 years, will take the audience on a virtual tour of the Valley’s notable addresses and recall the personalities that shaped the area. “He was almost born here in Van Nuys,” museum official Austin Conover said. “The more he lived in Van Nuys and the Valley, the more interested he became in the history.”

Sears, one of the museum’s founders, will focus his talk on the origins of Van Nuys. He promises an answer to the question: Why was it named only for Isaac Newton Van Nuys when he and William Paul Whitsett were partners in the initial real estate development deal? The apparent slight didn’t irk the Whitsett family, Conover said, noting that some of the museum’s funding come from his descendants.

Sears will soon publish an item on Van Nuys for the museum’s “nugget series,” a published set of historical articles available on campus. “He’s great on detail,” Conover added. “He has lots of interesting stories.”

The free lecture is one of six offered annually by the museum, located on the Valley College campus at 5800 Fulton Ave. For more information, call (818) 781-1200, Ext. 373 between 1 and 4 p.m.