The Sylmar Chamber was formerly known as the Foothill Village Chamber of Commerce, which was incorporated by a group of civic-minded citizens on December 27, 1946, under the leadership of Oscar E. Jorgenson. An amendment to the charter, approved on June 16, 1958, changed the name to the Sylmar Chamber of Commerce.

That same year, 26 members under President Richard T. Haskins began the first formal Chamber of Commerce participation in the progress of Sylmar. In 1961, with a membership of 47, the Chamber operated an office at 13851 Foothill Blvd. and a part-time secretary was hired to answer the many inquiries of the growing community and to assist the officers and directors of the Chamber in accomplishing their work. In 1969, the Chamber relocated to 13728-B Foothill Blvd., behind Vons Market, before moving to the present site on 13867 Foothill Blvd. #104.

A Few Notes About Sylmar

Fifteen hundred years before the Spainards explored the possibilities of the vast areas of the land grants awarded by the King of Spain in the 1770s, the Shoshone people lived and roamed in the area we now know as Sylmar. They had migrated from Nevada and Western Arizona, probably driven west by tribes fiercer than they. The Shoshone built tule grass and willow branch wicki-ups, found ample food and water from springs, and traded with friendly tribes as far away as Catalina Island and Arizona.

They once numbered as many as 150,000 throughout Alta California, but by 1920 the U.S. Census showed only 17,000 remained.

The San Fernando, Rey de Espaņa Mission was founded on September 8, 1797. In the 1820s, a mission father by the name of Iballa planted four young olive tree seedlings from Spain, thus becoming somewhat responsible for the olive trees Sylmar would be known for.

The history of Sylmar is often intertwined with that of San Fernando, although the latter incorporated as its own city on September 16, 1874. Upon learning of the new city, businessman Robert Widney published a pamphlet about the area's perfect weather and soil for growing olives. Lured by his favorable description, a group of Decatur, Illinois businessmen bought 2,000 acres east of the railroad tracks and south of Roxford St. By 1890, they have planted 1,100 acres of olives.

Calling themselves the Los Angeles Olive Growers Association, they built a packing plant and sold olives under the Sylmar Packing label. Sylmar olives became famous throughout the state for their sweetness and purity. One particular challenge was providing water for the young trees, which were watered with buckets from a horse-drawn flat bed wagon. It took the engineering genius of William Mulholland to bring water from the High Sierra Mountains to Sylmar and the rest of the San Fernando Valley through the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Part of the aqueduct is a series of "Cascades" clearly visible from the I-5, which were opened on November 13, 1913. Annexation of Sylmar and the rest of the San Fernando Valley to the City of Los Angeles followed on May 22, 1915.

In 1946, the Sylmar population was around 15,000. In 1958, when the Chamber was renamed, the number grew to 18,000. By 2004, the population has grown to 74,839 residents.

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