Spahn Ranch - History - The Manson Family

The Manson Family

Spahn was 80 years old and living at the ranch when he allowed The Manson Family to move in, rent-free, in exchange for labor. The family did daily chores and helped run the horse rental business, which had become Spahn's main source of income. Despite this arrangement, Spahn was never accused of any role in the many murders for which members of the Family were later convicted, the most infamous being the Tate-LaBianca murders committed on August 9th and 10th, 1969. In late 1969, Robert Hendrickson began filming the Manson Family at the ranch for his documentary film Manson. There he filmed Spahn, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, Bruce Clayton Elliott, Nancy Pittman, Catherine "Gypsy" Share, Sandra Good, Paul Watkins and others. It is the place where the 'family' lived while committing the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders in Los Angeles. The 'family' also stayed at Barker Ranch, which is located in the Panamint Range between Death Valley and the Panamint Valley in the northern Mojave Desert.

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