Edgar Rice Burroughs in Tarzana, California

When you think of author Edgar Rice Burroughs, the image of Tarzan and his jungle adventures come immediately to mind.

You don't, however, think of a suburban community in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley; yet Edgar Rice Burroughs once owned 540 acres of prime land here. It eventually became the growing city of Tarzana.

Burroughs bought the acreage in 1919 because he liked both the quiet rural isolation of the location and its close proximity to Hollywood where actor Elmo Lincoln had starred in the first Tarzan movie.

Burroughs and Hollywood

In truth, Burroughs' first novel to make its way to the big screen was "The Lad and the Lion" in 1917. "Tarzan of the Apes" was shot in 1918, and was a huge success. In fact, it became one of the first films to gross over $1 million, enabling the author to become a big landowner.

Tarzana Ranch

In 1919, Burroughs built a large ranch house on his property and dubbed it "Tarzana" after his popular character. In 1923, he subdivided a part of his property, dubbed the "Tarzana tract", for residential development. In 1925, Burroughs sold his ranch house and adjacent property to develop the El Caballero County Club and golf course. Instead of moving away, Burroughs built a new house nearby.

In 1928, the growing "Tarzana tract" subdivision became officially incorporated as the city of Tarzana.

Burroughs leaves Tarzana

During the Depression, both El Caballero and Edgar Rice Burroughs went broke. In 1936, he put the country club and golf course up for sale.

He moved to Hawaii just in time for the attack on Pearl Harbor, and he enlisted as a war correspondent. At age 65, he became America's oldest war correspondent.

After the war, Burroughs moved back to California; to Encino, a city adjacent to Tarzana.

In 1950, Edgar Rice Burroughs died in Encino at age 74.

Tarzana today

As of 2000, Tarzana was a growing suburb with a population approaching 30,000. Unfortunately, you have to search long and hard to find any trace of city founding father Edgar Rice Burroughs; or, for that fact, any reference to the Tarzan character.

Note that, while the El Caballero Country Club still exists, you'd be hard pressed to find remnants of the great author here. I would also venture to speculate that most club members have no idea of its historic value.

But, if you're patient in your search, you might just find the office of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., an intellectual rights company currently run by grandson Danton Burroughs. The office is located inside one of the few remaining old hidden California Spanish bungalows along bustling and franchise-packed Ventura Boulevard. More significant, this house was once Burroughs' office where he wrote many of his novels.

Near the bungalow, you'll also see an old expansive tree. In 1950, Burroughs' ashes were buried somewhere (the location is uncertain) under this tree. Note that there is no historic marker to be seen near either the bungalow or the tree.

SOURCES:

http://www.snopes.com/lost/tarzan.htm

http://www.tarzan.org/official_biography_part4.html

"Tarzan in Los Angeles", David Silon, Literary Traveler, URL: (http://www.literarytraveler.com/literary_articles/edgar_rice_burroughs.aspx)

"Touring Tarzana", John M. Whalen, Insight on the News, URL: (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_40_15/ai_57534945)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarzana