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During the Mexican administration of Alta California, this acreage was included in the Rancho Las Virgenes. Harry Arminius Miller (1875–1943), the pioneering automotive engineer and designer of successful racing engines, purchased some of the rancho after he moved to Los Angeles, CA, from Lansing, MI, in 1906. Miller bought the property as a vacation hideaway, erecting a stone house, observation tower, and aviary in 1926. Miller's engine business went into bankruptcy in 1933, and soon thereafter, Warren Shobert and Arthur Edeson bought Miller's estate and transformed it into a recreational area, first known as "Shoson," which opened in the mid-1930s. The property was bought just before 1940 by G.E. Ellingson, who invested approximately $60,000 to transform it into the recreational park, "Lake Enchanto." The name was a variant on the nearby Lake Encanto, created by the damming of Triunfo Creek. Lake Enchanto operated until about 1960.

The Lake Enchanto Amusement Center had one of the largest pools in Southern California, containing 650,000 gallons and measuring 125 feet across. It was round, had depths between two and nine feet and had an island in the center.

PCAD id: 16289