Canoga Park is a neighborhood in the western San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California, at the city's northwestern edge. With a population of about 60,000, it is one of the Valley's larger and more diverse communities, bordered by Chatsworth to the north, Woodland Hills to the south and west, and Winnetka and Reseda to the east. The neighborhood began as a wheat-farming district on the old Rancho lands and was platted as the town of Owensmouth in 1912, part of the early suburban development of the San Fernando Valley. It was annexed by Los Angeles and renamed Canoga Park in 1931, and through the mid-20th century it grew rapidly alongside the Valley's aerospace and manufacturing boom, which brought thousands of workers and families to the area. Today Canoga Park is a dense, mixed residential and commercial neighborhood. Its commercial spine, Sherman Way, is lined with independent restaurants, markets, and shops reflecting the area's ethnic diversity, while the Westfield Topanga and The Village complex at the neighborhood's edge provides major regional retail. Older single-family neighborhoods, apartments, and small courtyard buildings make up much of the housing stock. Public schools are part of the Los Angeles Unified School District, with neighborhood elementary schools, middle schools, and Canoga Park High School serving the community. The neighborhood sits close to the 101 freeway, placing the rest of the Valley and the Los Angeles basin within reach, and it retains a distinct working-class, culturally rich identity within the broader West Valley. Community life centers on the schools, parks, and small businesses of Sherman Way, while the nearby Warner Center and Woodland Hills provide additional employment.