<Tr> <Th> Original release </Th> <Td> September 15, 1965 (1965 - 09 - 15)--May 19, 1969 (1969 - 05 - 19) </Td> </Tr> <P> The Big Valley is an American Western television series which ran on ABC from September 15, 1965 to May 19, 1969, starring Barbara Stanwyck as the widow of a wealthy 19th - century California rancher and Richard Long, Lee Majors, Peter Breck and Linda Evans as her family . The series was created by A.I. Bezzerides and Louis F. Edelman and produced by Levy - Gardner - Laven for Four Star Television . </P> <P> The TV series was based loosely on the Hill Ranch, which was located at the western edge of Calaveras County, not far from Stockton . The Hill Ranch existed from 1855 until 1931, included almost 30,000 acres; and the Mokelumne River ran through it . The source is from an episode in which Heath is on trial in a ghost town with another man (played by Leslie Nielsen) and tells the judge how much land they have . Lawson Hill ran the ranch until he was murdered in 1861 . His wife Euphemia (aka "Auntie Hill") then became the matriarch . During their marriage, they had four children, one daughter and three sons . Today, the location of the ranch is covered by the waters of Camanche Reservoir . A California state historical marker standing at Camanche South Shore Park mentions the historic ranch . </P> <P> In the first episode, titled "Palms of Glory", the grave of Thomas Barkley (1813--1870) is shown after it is commented that he fought the railroad six years ago . Later, in the same episode, Frank Braun reminds Nicholas, Jarrod, and Eugene Barkley about how "Six years ago, your daddy and mine fought and died for this" indicating the year is 1876 . </P>

Where did the show the big valley take place
find me the text answering this question