Kelly Gulch is located on nine acres of land that was once part of the Cheney homestead that dates back to the late 1800s when the Cheney family patriarch, Mose, claimed 160 acres along the Garapatos Creek and later purchased adjacent land that finally totaled 640 acres. Around the turn of the century, Mose deeded 40 acres of his land to each of his sons, George and Tom, and it is on a portion of George’s 40 acres where the Kelly’s built their spread.

The Kelly’s moved to Topanga in 1970 and soon realized that their 750-square-foot house was too small for their family of four and when Mike saw a real estate ad for a nearby two-and-a-half-acre parcel, they took a look at it. When they saw it, Frank recognized it as his favorite hiking destination, a property that he says, “I had loved from the first time I saw it.” They bought the land in 1978 and decided to build a house.

Because both Mike and Frank had an eye and appreciation for things old and beautiful, it is not surprising that they chose to build a log home that would blend in with the open unspoiled land. Frank built it from a “Real Log Homes” kit that came with numbered logs, windows and doors. It took him six weeks to put up the rough structure and a year to complete it. His next project was the barn that he first envisioned as a shed to hold his model A Ford. Local architect, Ral Curran, designed the structure that turned into a two-story, 1,152-square-foot building that housed Frank’s large collection of vintage furnishings.

The Kelly’s worked hard maintaining the land, keeping an open, natural look, but added a few whimsical installations that Frank constructed from pieces of his vintage collections.

The Kelly’s entry into the film business happened accidentally in 1984 when a film crew for “Friday the 13th, Part IV” found their place when looking for property with a log cabin.

Since then, the Kelly Gulch location has been the site of over 200 shoots since 1984. The Log Cabin Home, Red Barn and cozy Writers Cottage, along with the large greenhouse garden and meadows covered with hundreds of Costal Live Oak and a hilltop mountain with many vistas has made the property a perfect location for many movies, shorts, commercials, and TV episodes. The home was recently seen on a segment of the TV show Parks and Rec. The back porch was used many years ago as an Animal Clinic for the film Shilo. The property has hosted many well-known actors such as Pierce Brosnan, Joanne Woodward, Reba McEntire, Robert Stack, James Caan, Alan Aldo, Mira Sorvino and Charles Bronson to name a few. The location has been the site for episodes of Falcon Crest and The Rockford Files. Scenes from the movie Eraser, the movie Murphy’s Law were also filmed on the property.

Allan and Sally Young purchased the property in December 2012 from Mike and Frank Kelly, the original owners of the property. The Young’s, retired after careers in non-profit youth work are happy to be on this farm property. The large vegetable green house, cute goats and their dozen chickens, tree house and swing and writers cottage make the farm a fun place for their children and friends to gather. They look forward to producing Blackberry Creek Beer, Honey, Organic Compost, and beautiful fiber from their Pygora Goats, Winston and Lilly and setting up the Woodshop in the Barn. Blackberry Creek Farm welcomes couples who wish to use the property for rustic, intimate weddings.