Leonis Adobe

The oldest part of this adobe dates from 1844, making it one of the last surviving adobes in the San Fernando Valley. It became the home of Miguel Leonis, a 6-foot-4 Basque immigrant known as the "King of Calabasas", who ranched much of the western valley and defended his land against squatters, sometimes violently. He lived here with his wife, Espiritu Chijulla. Leonis died in 1889 after a wagon accident, though rumours that he had been murdered followed him to the grave. The adobe is now a museum. Previous occupants and docents have reported footsteps and the thud of boots being pulled off upstairs, the smell of soap associated with Leonis, the shadow of a very tall man on the living-room door, and a couple heard walking and talking on the second floor. The British series Most Haunted investigated the adobe in 2005.