History of Nazi Compound at Murphy Ranch Airs on KCAL

KCAL 9 aired a report about the history of Murphy Ranch Monday night. The story, titled "Inside the Hitler House," focused on the Nazi compound that had been constructed on the property back in the 1930s.

In the video piece, KCAL 9 reporter Stacey Butler toured the site in the hills above Pacific Palisades with historian Randy Young.

Young took Butler through the gates to the water tank, green house and power substation that Nazi sympathizers built so they could remain self sufficient.

Young has held lectures locally about Murphy Ranch over the years and Pali Patch has covered the haunting history of the area.

Pali Patch contributor Steve Wolcott's attended one of Young's lectures and wrote an article about the ranch. the Murphy family had a daughter, Winona Stephens, who used her trust fund to create the compound. Wolcott wrote that Stephens and her husband had "fallen under the bewitching spell of a Nazi saboteur named Herr Schmidt."

“I think it was a scary time," said Young in the KCAL 9 report. "This place is a symbol of what could have happened."

• To watch the KCAL 9 story that aired Monday night, click here.
• For the full Pali Patch article by Wolcott, .
• For another Pali Patch article about the history of Murphy Ranch by Reza Gostar, .