Woodland Hills, California: Old Trapper's Lodge Statues
RoadsideAmerica.com Team Field Report
Pierce College
- Address:
- 7100 El Rancho Drive, Woodland Hills, CA
- Directions:
- West edge of Pierce College campus, just east of the stables, in a stand of trees just west of the parking lot on the north side of El Rancho Drive. Currently overgrown and difficult to access.
- RA Rates:
- Major Fun
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Mysterious folk art environment, statues built by John Ehn, "The Old Trapper." Reported overgrown and falling apart in June 2023.
Roadsideamerica.com Report...Visitor Tips and News About Old Trapper's Lodge Statues
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In 2022 the displays were closed in preparation for removal. Where they will go from there is unknown.
[Craig Baker, 10/22/2022]
John Ehn was born 125 years ago. He worked as a wildlife trapper for many years before settling down and opening a motel, the Old Trapper's Lodge, in California. In the late 1940s he began filling the property with his sculptures of prospectors, Gold Rush women, and bloody battles of settlers vs. Indians vs. wildlife. When Ehn died in the early 1980s his sculptures were considered so valuable that they were moved to the Woodland Hills grounds of nearby Pierce College and declared a California Cultural Landmark. Times have changed, and the college now views the statues as offensive and wants them gone. They're still an official Landmark, so they have to be safely moved somewhere -- but where no one knows.
[RoadsideAmerica.com Team, 09/15/2022]
The park where the Old Trapper statues stand has a beautiful view to the north, and the landscaping is nice. The statues themselves are delightfully, hilariously creepy (and some not-so-delightfully racist), and some people sit near or with the statues for pictures (oh, hell no), but the setting is actually really lovely, which was a surprise.
[Lea Hernandez, 08/11/2019]
The Old Trapper's Lodge sculpture called "Kidnap" is a depiction of a Native American forcefully carrying away a scantily clothed "white" woman.
[Nikki Kreuzer, 02/28/2013]Page of 2 [Next 2 items]
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There's a fence, but there's also a way to get inside it and see the statues, which are still there. The statues are an official state landmark, so moving them will take paperwork and time. Supposedly they will go to the Valley Relics Museum in Lake Balboa.