Sylmar is a Latin word meaning “grove of trees” and at one time, this rural suburb of Los Angeles was the largest producer of olives and olive oil in the nation. In the CSUN Archives of San Fernando Valley Photos, the oldest known historical photo of the olive groves is marked as being taken at our address in Sylmar. We have some of the earliest planted olive trees on our property and are doing research into the history of the Sylmar Olive Groves that will be published on this website.