Editing Tarzana, Los Angeles (section)

==History==
The area now known as Tarzana was occupied in 1797 by settlers and missionaries from [[New Spain]] who established the [[San Fernando Mission]]. The region was later absorbed by [[Mexico]], and then surrendered to the [[United States]] in 1848 in the [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]] following the [[Mexican–American War]]. As part of the U.S., it evolved into a series of large cattle ranches. Investors in the region turned grazing fields into large-scale wheat farms during the 1870s.

The area was purchased in 1909 by the Los Angeles Suburban Homes Company. ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' founder and publisher General [[Harrison Gray Otis (publisher)|Harrison Gray Otis]] invested in the company and also personally acquired {{convert|550|acre|km2}} in the center of modern-day Tarzana.<ref name="PulidoBarraclough2012">{{cite book |first1=Laura |last1=Pulido |first2=Laura |last2=Barraclough |first3=Wendy |last3=Cheng |title=A People's Guide to Los Angeles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zJ26F5KmTR0C&pg=PT324 |access-date=19 August 2012 |date=24 March 2012 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-95334-5 |page=324}}</ref>

In February 1919, [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]], author of the popular ''[[Tarzan]]'' novels, relocated to California from [[Oak Park, Illinois]]. He and his family had wintered in [[Southern California]] twice before, and he found the climate ideal. On March 1, 1919, Burroughs purchased Otis's tract and established Tarzana Ranch.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Griffin |first1=Scott Tracy |title=Tarzan: The Centennial Celebration |date=2012 |publisher=Titan Books |isbn=978-1-78116-169-2 |pages=276–278}}</ref> Burroughs subdivided and sold the land for residential development, some parcels of which were utilized as small farms.