Here's what the local paper, The Signal, wrote last September about the Piru Mansion: "The Newhall family never sold the Piru Mansion and is in the process of taking it back. The mansion, long a venue for social events and weddings, was reportedly sold in November 1997 by Ruth Newhall to its current occupants, Keith Coburn, a golf pro, and Tammy Coburn, a KCOP-TV meteorologist.
But Ruth's son Tony Newhall said the Coburns actually had an 18-month lease with an option to purchase the home. The lease expired Aug. 31, and the Coburns did not exercise the option. "They were unable to purchase it, much to our dismay," Tony Newhall said. "They're a young family and nice people. We're extremely sorry they were unable to (complete the purchase)."
"Asked why the transaction was originally reported as a sale, Newhall said the Coburns planned to purchase the home, but when the financing didn't come through "we got into a lease-purchase with them," Newhall said. "They wanted and believed the mansion would be sold to them. They planned to buy it all along."
"Keith Coburn confirmed that he and his wife fully intended to purchase the mansion in fact, Coburn said, they assumed all the obligations of the owners. "For all intents and purposes, we were the owners," he said. "We were paying the property tax, the property insurance, everything that anyone else would pay if it went through a bank." Coburn said he was making mortgage payments, based on a purchase price of $2.475 million, to the Newhall Family Partnership, which acted as a mortgage lender.
The family partnership, according to Tony Newhall, consists of Ruth Newhall and her children. It owns the 11,500-square-foot home and the 9-acre grounds, located about 10 miles west of Valencia. Coburn said he wanted to extend the purchase option period, but the Newhalls would not agree, so he decided to turn title back. His financing came through 24 to 48 hours too late, he said.
"'It was very upsetting for us,' Coburn said. The Coburns will stay on through Oct. 31 and then move to their home in Beverly Hills, Keith Coburn said. Like the Newhalls before them, the Coburns opened the mansion to movie crews, leased the grounds for weddings and hosted social activities for non-profit organizations such as the Santa Clarita Valley Boys and Girls Club, and the Santa Clarita Ballet Company.
"Five weddings had to be canceled as a result of their leaving the area, Coburn said. 'We will do everything in our power' to help the brides find new locations, he said. All canceled weddings are at least nine months away. The Newhalls have no plans to occupy the mansion themselves, Tony Newhall said. 'It is our intent to sell it as soon as possible,' he said.
"The Queen Anne mansion was built in 1889 as the residence of David Caleb Cook, a publisher of Methodist Sunday School tracts from Illinois. In 1912 it was sold to another homesteading family, the Warrings. In 1963, Ruth Newhall and her late husband Scott Newhall, great-grandson of town founder Henry Mayo Newhall, purchased The Signal newspaper, which they owned until 1978. Shortly after buying the paper, they rented and later purchased the Piru Mansion from the Warrings.
On Feb. 18, 1981, while undergoing renovations, the mansion burned down. Ruth Newhall wrote: 'Among the painters was a young lady whose hands weren't powerful enough to (scrape off the old paint). She decided to solve the problem by using a small blowtorch to burn off the hard layers of paint.'
"'Unfortunately there was a stiff north wind blowing. A flake of paint blew into the attic. With a terrible roar the whole house went up in a shower of sparks and black smoke.... Nothing was saved but the pillars across the front. The house was just eight years shy of its 100th birthday.' Ruth and Scott Newhall rebuilt the mansion, albeit with a few improvements, such as indoor bathrooms, heating and air conditioning.
"Whether one considers it 110 years old or less than 20, the mansion is back on the market. Bids start at $3.5 million, approximately $1 million over the announced 1997 sale price."
