Netflix’s true-crime documentary Chaos: The Manson Murders serves as an adaptation of the 2019 book CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties. The documentary explores the events of the nine Manson Family murders and the potential reason they were committed. Even decades later, the 1969 murders remain some of the most well-known and shocking events in American history. However, Chaos: The Manson Murders takes this a step further, presenting the book’s argument of a conspiracy theory that involves the CIA’s Operation CHAOS.

Thanks to its more speculative approach, Netflix’s documentary is certainly entertaining, but as Screen Rant‘s review of Chaos: The Manson Murders highlights, its outcome is a bit more mixed. The focus on Operation CHAOS is an interesting conspiracy and does highlight how people today are still searching for meaning to help understand such senseless violence, but the facts of the case on their own are equally interesting. Moreover, the continued interest in the case may lead fans to wonder what happened to the Manson Family and their Los Angeles headquarters.

The Manson Family Used Spahn Ranch As Their Headquarters Until 1969

They Lived There With The Owner, George Spahn

Spahn Ranch had been a popular destination for filming Western TV shows and movies during the 1950s, but during the 1960s it had begun to fall into disrepair. The ranch was owned by George Spahn, who had purchased it in 1953, but by the time the Manson Family showed up, he was already in his 80s. According to History, Spahn Ranch was originally found by Manson Family member Susan “Sadie” Atkins in 1967, two years before she played an important role in the Tate-LaBianca murders.

Prior to 1967, the Manson Family had squatted in other abandoned locations. However, after Charles Manson met George Spahn, the two became friends, and the latter agreed to let Manson’s followers live with him. Because the ranch was already quite run-down and Spahn was elderly and blind, he was happy to have the Manson Family there to help maintain the property and keep him company. Manson’s followers took over his business of renting out horses to tourists as well as doing the domestic chores that Spahn was largely unable to do by that point.

Even up to and in the immediate aftermath of the Manson Family’s murders, the cult continued to live at the ranch. However, it was not the Tate-LaBianca murders that finally forced them to leave. Instead, it was police investigation of other crimes like drug dealing and car theft that increased suspicions around them. When their role in the Tate-LaBianca murders was revealed in conjunction with other crimes, many of the Family members finally left the property.

The Spahn Ranch Burned Down Due To A Wildfire In 1970

The Movie Sets and Housing Burned In September 1970

While the fame surrounding the Manson Family’s crimes might seem like a good enough reason for the family to leave Spahn Ranch, some of them actually did stick around for a little while longer. Those who were not directly involved in the murders and were not being investigated were allowed to remain on the property by George Spahn (via Curbed LA), but this did not last long. Though many of the buildings were already in bad shape by the time the Manson Family moved to Spahn Ranch, they were entirely destroyed by a wildfire in September 1970.

Both the housing on the ranch and the original movie sets were lost to the fire, leaving the site bare. However, George Spahn survived the fire and was later relocated to a care home. Having lived through the Manson Family’s time at Spahn Ranch and the burning of the property, George Spahn pᴀssed away in September 1974, over five years after the murders. The fire and Spahn’s death formally ended that chapter of the area’s history, but the notoriety of the crimes planned there live on to this day.

The Former Spahn Ranch Land Is Now Part Of A California State Park

Spahn Ranch Was Incorporated Into Santa Susana Pᴀss State Historic Park

After its noteworthy history, the land that was formerly known as Spahn Ranch was incorporated into Santa Susana Pᴀss State Historic Park in California. Here, the location’s history and present status are somewhat combined as the park now highlights the areas used in early wagon travel by Californian settlers along with walking paths for current visitors (via parks.ca.gov). The park boasts a diverse landscape and plant life, and it encompᴀsses the Old Santa Susana Stage Road, which previously ran between Simi Valley and the San Fernando Valley.

Since the buildings of Spahn Ranch are no longer on the site and the park’s current focus is the natural beauty of the area and its early history, there is little left to physically distinguish the notable site. Because the crimes of the Manson Family remain so notorious in American history today, it remains a tourist attraction. Despite the attention that documentaries like Chaos: The Manson Murders bring to the former Spahn Ranch, its current use as a state historic park serves as a reminder that the dark chapter is just one small part of the area’s long history.

Source: History, Curbed LA, parks.ca.gov