Miller 101 Bison Ranch studio, it was subsequently named Inceville, and then Triangle Ranch. After Ince founded his new Triangle/Ince Studios in Culver City in 1915, the site was taken over the following year by director William S. Hart and eventually renamed Hartville. On January 16, 1916, a fire broke out at the Inceville studio; portentously, the first of numerous that eventually claimed all of the timber frame buildings onsite. In 1920, Hart sold the property to the Robertson-Cole Pictures Corporation when it was renamed as R.C. Ranch, and where filming continued until a blaze destroyed all of the remaining structures (except for an old church that was made of stone) on July 4, 1922. For a period of time hence, the property was utilized as a sand, rock, and gravel quarry before it was later purchased by Los Angeles real-estate magnate Alphonzo Bell, Sr. In 1927, the surrounding hillsides were hydraulically graded to fill the canyon, with the intention to completely level it for future development. However, the earth-moving project was never completed, which left a large basin in an unleveled portion of the canyon that subsequently filled to a depth of with water from four (hot and cold) springs within the vicinity. The became known as Lake Santa Ynez; the only natural spring-fed lake within the City of Los Angeles. The property remained undeveloped for more than a decade, when the lake was used as a local swimming hole and cattails and reeds grew to screen most of it from view. Although much of the local citizenry considered the area to be valueless swampland, the property was nevertheless purchased by H. Everett "Big Mac" McElroy (the assistant superintendent of construction at 20th Century Studio) in 1940, when it was again used as a film set. McElroy later reflected on his initial vision of his purchase: The lake was subsequently dredged, and the weeds were cleared away. During his ownership, McElroy and his wife lived in three successively originative domiciles: their two-story Mississippi-styled houseboat (Adeline) transported from Lake Mead, a mill house McElroy constructed (which today serves as the gift shop and museum) equipped with a 2.5 ton water wheel used for onsite irrigation from captured lake overflow, and a sixteenth-century replica of a Dutch windmill he built, which later served as the first chapel of the Lake Shrine. The windmill, though functional, was never utilized. After the McElroys