Anyone hear of Barney Oldfield? I hadn’t until I read an old article in the Los Angeles Times written in 1913. He was quite prolific and a true pioneer in the sport of race car driving. Berna Eli “Barney” Oldfield was born in Fulton County, Ohio in 1878 and died in Beverly Hills, CA 1946. He started his career racing bicycles starting in 1894. He met Henry Ford through a friend, Tom Cooper. He started racing cars for Ford in 1902. (Pictured above)
This post is a step back in time when Owensmouth was founded in 1912. It was a significant development by the Los Angeles Suburban Homes Company which was an extraordinary syndicate of developers. These developers were Harry Gray Otis, Harry Chandler, Moses Sherman, Hobart Johnstone Whitley and others. They did extensive marketing efforts to draw attention to this western part of the San Fernando Valley.
But first a little history on Barney Oldfield.
On June 20, 1903, at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, Oldfield became the first driver to run a mile track in one minute flat, or 60 miles per hour (97 km/h).[8] Two months later, he drove one mile in 55.8 seconds at the Empire City Race Track in Yonkers, New York.[9]”
Barney Oldfield amongst other greats at the time were to race a course through the San Fernando Valley. At the time Owensmouth was marketing itself as the place to be.
He performed so well during practice they thought he was poised to set a new speed record. He unofficially achieved this.
Unfortunately, his opponent Tetzlaff won the race and he did not set a speed record there.
“Oldfield was suspended by the American Automobile Association (AAA) for his “outlaw” racing, and was unable to race at sanctioned events for much of his career. He made his career by being paid to set speed records, and conducting match races and exhibitions.”
Wikipedia
Oldfield wasn’t reinstated to the AAA until about 1914. So a the time he raced at Owensmouth, he was doing his own thing. He rode along the famous $500,000 boulevard, Sherman Way which may have been the smoothest road at that time.
In 1918, he officially retired from racing, although he toured and made movies. He also seemed to have a bar which I was unable to find the name of. It may have been in Venice, CA.
His final resting place is at the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, CA.
If you want to read more on Barney Oldfield, there is a book, “Barney Oldfield: The Life and Times of America’s Legendary Speed King” on Amazon.com available for purchase.
West SFV Lifestyle 
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