Chatsworth

Chatsworth is a neighborhood in the northwestern San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California.The area was home to Native Americans, some of whom left caves containing rock art. Chatsworth was explored and colonized by the Spanish beginning in the 18th Century. The land was part of a Mexican land grant in the 19th Century, and after the United States took over the land following the Mexican War, it was the largest such grant in California. Settlement and development followed.Chatsworth has seven public and eight private schools. There are large open-space and smaller recreational parks as well as a public library and a transportation center. Distinctive features are the former Chatsworth Reservoir, the Santa Susana Field Laboratory and a number of private businesses.Overall, Chatsworth has one of the lowest densities of any neighborhood in the city, and it has a relatively high income level.PopulationThe 2000 U.S. census counted 35,073 residents in the 15.24-square-mile Chatsworth neighborhood—or 2,301 people per square mile, among the lowest population densities for both the city and the county. In 2008, the city estimated that the population had increased to 37,102. In 2000 the median age for residents was 40, considered old for city and county neighborhoods; the percentages of residents aged 35 and older were among the county's highest.