How the tiny city of San Fernando in the Valley avoided being swallowed up by LA

A lot of misconceptions exist about the San Fernando Valley — like those strongarm claims online that it’s not part of Los Angeles.

Spoiler alert: Much of the region is governed by the city of L.A. But it also has some cities that have stayed independent. One of those is the Valley’s namesake, San Fernando, and it’s somewhat the runt of L.A. County.

San Fernando is geographically one of the smallest cities in the county at just over 2 square miles, yet it holds the title of oldest town in SFV. The “Mission City,” as it’s called because of its closeness to the Spanish mission, is completely surrounded by the city of L.A. How did this tiny titan stand on its own?

How the Valley’s oldest town began

Before it was ever known as a city, this part of the Valley was Native land that eventual