In the 1880s, Karl and Augusta Iverson homesteaded a family farm in the Simi Hills on Santa Susana Pass in what is now Chatsworth, eventually expanding their land holdings to about . It has been said that they allowed a movie to be shot on the property as early as 1912, with the silent movies "Man's Genesis" (1912), "My Official Wife" (1914), and "The Squaw Man" (1914) being some of the productions often cited as among the earliest films shot on the site. However, many of the earliest citations have turned out to be incorrect. For example, "The Squaw Man" is now known to have filmed a scene elsewhere in Chatsworth, a short distance southwest of the Iverson property, but did not film on the Iverson Ranch.