The Sunland-Tujunga Bicentennial Trail, developed in 1976, is now the America 250 Trail. In the past weeks, we’ve visited 15 of the 25 locations highlighted on this journey into the past. This week’s stops on the trail are Figmaka’s Market at 9960 Tujunga Canyon Blvd., the American Legion Hall at 10039 Pinewood Ave., and the offices of the Haines Canyon Water Company at 10064 Commerce Ave.

Before I continue, I’d like to plant a seed. This tour is scheduled to end following America’s 250^th birthday in July. Of the points of interest on this trail, locations 1 through 24, I had been aware of and had visited before beginning this series. Number 25 is different; it was built in 1885 and it’s an old dam on the Big Tujunga – and I’ve never laid eyes on it. Apparently, remnants still existed 50 years ago. Soon, I’ll mount a history hunt to see what might be left today. The final chapter of this America 250 Trail will reveal what discoveries are made on that journey.

Location No. 16 on the trail is one of the earliest markets in Tujunga, opening in the mid-1920s as Figmaka’s. After several years, the market was sold but was still in operation when the 1976 Bicentennial Trail highlighted it. It has since been converted into a residence and the original stone exterior has been covered with stucco.

Joseph Figmaka, born in Poland in 1858, immigrated to the United States with his parents as a young boy. He grew up in Toledo, Ohio, married Julia Krolak, also of Poland, in 1907 and the couple had daughter Irene, born in 1909. Soon the three traveled west, starting their first market in Lincoln Heights about 1915. By the mid-1920s, they had relocated to our Crescenta Valley and opened Figmaka’s at the address on Tujunga Canyon. By the mid-1930s, Joseph had sold the market, which continued to operate under several different owners and names for over five more decades.

Next on the tour is the American Legion Hall on Pinewood Avenue. The text from the past reads as follows: “Established in January of 1921, American Legion Post 250, now 377, can claim to be the oldest veterans’ organization in the valley. At first, meetings were held in private homes until the purchase of Bolton Hall, which greatly increased membership, spurring plans for a larger building. Groundbreaking ceremonies for the present hall took place on May 30, 1929. This post’s first commander was Arthur Scribner and charter members included Maxwell Hill, Bud Wilson, Patrick Blake, Otto Fehlhaber and Joe Forster.”

The last name on that list has an interesting connection to Tujunga history. Joseph Forster and his sister Marcella were early Tujunga residents in 1920. Marcella and her husband Raymond Glynn had five children; one daughter was Jeraldine, born in 1923. Jeraldine would go on to write a book in 1974 called “The Love Boats,” based on her time working as a cruise director. The popular TV series “The Love Boat” was based on her book and she is often considered the creator of that series.

Finally, we arrive at the office of the Haines Canyon Water Company on Commerce Avenue. A good deal of information comes to us from the originators of the 1976 trail. 

“This wood frame building once housed the offices of the Haines Canyon Water Company, whose origin may be traced back to 1882. At that time, Phillip Begue Sr. purchased the water rights to Haines and Blanchard Canyons. Mr. Begue then piped water from Haines Canyon, built a storage reservoir and used the water to irrigate his vineyard and orchard.

“Before founding the Little Landers Colony, Marshall Hartranft purchased the rights from Begue, making the water available for the colonists. It was then that the Haines Canyon Water Company was born. For many years, Myra Osgood worked in this building and ran the office.”