Homestead Museum
Encyclopedia
The Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum is a historic house
museum
located at 15415 East Don Julian Road in City of Industry, California
, that features the homes and private cemetery that belonged to the pioneer Workman-Temple family
.
in 1841, William Workman
(1799–1876) bought part of the Rancho La Puente
and built his adobe
house in 1842. It was enlarged over the years and, by 1870, was remodeled with the addition of brick wings and a second story, as well as impressive exterior decorative details. This renovation was said to have been designed by the first trained architect in Los Angeles, Ezra F. Kysor, designer of the extant Pico House hotel, St. Vibiana's Cathedral, and the Perry House, all in Los Angeles, though there is no known documentation of Kysor's work on the building. The Workman Adobe was placed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks on November 20, 1974 and was added to the California State Register of Historic Landmarks, No. 874, in conjunction with "El Campo Santo" Cemetery, with the marker placed on the site on 5 November 1976, the 135th anniversary of the arrival of the Workman family to the area.
The broad outlines, including large porches on the north and south sides, of the structure measure 19' deep by 72' wide and there are eight rooms on the first floor and three finished rooms (with three others evidently finished in the late 19th century) on the second story. The home was dramatically altered over the years, especially when it was used for military school classrooms from 1930 to 1935 and as a residence and then office and nurses' quarters for El Encanto sanitarium from 1940 to 1963, when the home and cemetery were purchased by the City of Industry. Consequently, many original details have long been lost, though there are a few notable survivors, including the ca. 1870 interior staircase, two marble coal-burning fireplaces from the same period, and a ceiling cartouche from that era. Late 1970s-era restortation efforts were limited to the outside of the structure, including the reconstruction of the entire east wall, which was mostly of adobe and collapsed during work in 1977. Plans are underway to renovate the interior, of which little early material survives, into a self-guided gallery exhibit, with a projected opening date of October 2011.
, built by the Temple family between 1922 and 1927. The family's own design was drawn up by the well-known Los Angeles architectural firm of Walker and Eisen, although in 1924, Beverly Hills-based architect Roy Selden Price was hired to reconfigure the design.
The structure is largely built of adobe bricks handmade by artisans led by Pablo Urzua of Guadalajara, Jalisco
, while the supervising contractor was Sylvester Cook of Whititer. The home (9,000 square feet, as built, with 2000 square feet (185.8 m²) of dormitory space constructed in 1930 for a military school using the home) contains twenty-six rooms, including nine bedrooms, six bathrooms, a barber shop, commercial size electric cold storage unit, basement with a late 1870s bank vault for storage, and other notable features. Lived in by the Temple family for only two full years (1928 and 1929) as a fully completed structure, the home was leased to Lawrence Lewis, who was headmaster of a boys' military academy, Raenford (later Golden State), which moved from Redondo Beach and operated at the 92 acres (372,311.1 m²) ranch from 1930 to 1935. The home and property were then owned by the California Bank and occupied by caretakers until purchased in October 1940 by Harry and Lois Brown, operators of El Encanto, a sanitarium moved to the site from Monrovia. The Brown family took excellent care of the house until it was sold to the City of Industry in 1975.
Restoration took place in subsequent years with the home opened as part of the Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum in May 1981. While most of the house was intact, some replication was done and the house was almost entirely furnished with acquired period pieces, though some original family furniture and artifacts have been donated by Temple descendants.
, was established in the 1850s. The earliest documented date is the burial of founder William Workman's brother, David
, in November 1855. A year later, artist Henry Miller, touring California to visit and sketch the Spanish and Mexican-era Roman Catholic missions, stayed at the Workman House and prepared sketches for a chapel contemplated by Workman. On 30 May 1857, the cornerstone to St. Nicholas' Chapel (named in honor of Workman's wife, Nicolasa Urioste de Valencia) was laid and blessed by Bishop Thaddeus Amat
. Construction of the Gothic Revival structure, which measured 24' x 48' and featured gilt ceiligns and stained glass windows, was completed by the early 1860s. The cemetery was used exclusively as a private burial ground for Workman and Temple family members and friends and masses were regularly heard, presumably by a priest visiting from Mission San Gabriel
, at the chapel.
After the property, reduced from 24,000 to 75 acres (303,514.5 m²) after the family's bank failed in 1876, was lost by the family in 1900, the chapel was said to have burned and was razed, as were three of the original brick enclosure walls. Numerous gravestones were removed and the site desecrated. A lawsuit by Walter Temple, Workman's grandson, in 1907 halted the destruction, but the cemetery languished for a decade until Temple, newly enriched with oil revenue from his Montebello ranch, bought the ranch and cemetery. From 1919 to 1921, Temple's first priority on the ranch was the renovation of El Campo Santo and the building of a mausoleum, designed by the architectural firm of Garstang and Rea, on the site of the chapel. The reopening of the cemetery took place in April 1921, at which time the remains of the last governor of Alta California
, Pío Pico
, and his wife, Ygnacia Alvarado, were placed in the mausoleum. It also contains the remains of other prominent pioneer families. The Workman Home And Family Cemetery are designated California Historical Landmark
No. 874.
The cemetery remained in use during the occupancy of the Temple family in the 1920s and during that of the Brown family from 1940 to 1981. In recent years there have been three burials. Walter P. Temple was relocated to the site in 2002 from Mission San Gabriel, where he was buried in 1938 after the cemetery's owner, California Bank, refused the Temples' request to have him buried there. Temple's son, Walter, Jr., the last member of the family to have lived at the Homestead, and daughter-in-law, Nellie Didier, were buried in the cemetery in 1998. A spot is reserved for their daughter, after which the cemetery will cease being in active use.
----
Historic house
A historic house can be a stately home, the birthplace of a famous person, or a house with an interesting history or architecture.- Background :...
museum
Historic house museums
A historic house museum is a house that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home...
located at 15415 East Don Julian Road in City of Industry, California
Industry, California
Industry is an industrial suburb of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County. Home to over 2,500 businesses and 80,000 jobs, but only 219 residents at the 2010 census - down from 777 residents as of the 2000 United States census - the city is almost entirely industrial...
, that features the homes and private cemetery that belonged to the pioneer Workman-Temple family
Workman-Temple family
The Workman-Temple family relates to the pioneer interconnected Workman and Temple families that were prominent in: the history of colonial Pueblo de Los Angeles and American Los Angeles; the Los Angeles Basin and San Gabriel Valley regions; and Southern California — from 1830 to 1930 in Mexican...
.
Workman House
After his arrival in the San Gabriel ValleySan Gabriel Valley
The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, United States. It lies to the east of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and west of the Inland Empire. It derives its name from the San Gabriel River that flows...
in 1841, William Workman
Workman-Temple family
The Workman-Temple family relates to the pioneer interconnected Workman and Temple families that were prominent in: the history of colonial Pueblo de Los Angeles and American Los Angeles; the Los Angeles Basin and San Gabriel Valley regions; and Southern California — from 1830 to 1930 in Mexican...
(1799–1876) bought part of the Rancho La Puente
Rancho La Puente
Rancho La Puente was a ranch in the eastern San Gabriel Valley that, in its fullest extent, measured just under , and remained intact until about 1870. By modern landmarks, the ranch extended from San Gabriel River on the west to just west of the 57 Freeway on the east and from Ramona...
and built his adobe
Adobe
Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...
house in 1842. It was enlarged over the years and, by 1870, was remodeled with the addition of brick wings and a second story, as well as impressive exterior decorative details. This renovation was said to have been designed by the first trained architect in Los Angeles, Ezra F. Kysor, designer of the extant Pico House hotel, St. Vibiana's Cathedral, and the Perry House, all in Los Angeles, though there is no known documentation of Kysor's work on the building. The Workman Adobe was placed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks on November 20, 1974 and was added to the California State Register of Historic Landmarks, No. 874, in conjunction with "El Campo Santo" Cemetery, with the marker placed on the site on 5 November 1976, the 135th anniversary of the arrival of the Workman family to the area.
The broad outlines, including large porches on the north and south sides, of the structure measure 19' deep by 72' wide and there are eight rooms on the first floor and three finished rooms (with three others evidently finished in the late 19th century) on the second story. The home was dramatically altered over the years, especially when it was used for military school classrooms from 1930 to 1935 and as a residence and then office and nurses' quarters for El Encanto sanitarium from 1940 to 1963, when the home and cemetery were purchased by the City of Industry. Consequently, many original details have long been lost, though there are a few notable survivors, including the ca. 1870 interior staircase, two marble coal-burning fireplaces from the same period, and a ceiling cartouche from that era. Late 1970s-era restortation efforts were limited to the outside of the structure, including the reconstruction of the entire east wall, which was mostly of adobe and collapsed during work in 1977. Plans are underway to renovate the interior, of which little early material survives, into a self-guided gallery exhibit, with a projected opening date of October 2011.
La Casa Nueva (Temple residence)
The Homestead Museum also includes 'La Casa Nueva' — a spectacular example of Spanish Colonial Revival styleSpanish Colonial Revival Style architecture
The Spanish Colonial Revival Style was a United States architectural stylistic movement that came about in the early 20th century, starting in California and Florida as a regional expression related to history, environment, and nostalgia...
, built by the Temple family between 1922 and 1927. The family's own design was drawn up by the well-known Los Angeles architectural firm of Walker and Eisen, although in 1924, Beverly Hills-based architect Roy Selden Price was hired to reconfigure the design.
The structure is largely built of adobe bricks handmade by artisans led by Pablo Urzua of Guadalajara, Jalisco
Guadalajara, Jalisco
Guadalajara is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is located in the central region of Jalisco in the western-pacific area of Mexico. With a population of 1,564,514 it is Mexico's second most populous municipality...
, while the supervising contractor was Sylvester Cook of Whititer. The home (9,000 square feet, as built, with 2000 square feet (185.8 m²) of dormitory space constructed in 1930 for a military school using the home) contains twenty-six rooms, including nine bedrooms, six bathrooms, a barber shop, commercial size electric cold storage unit, basement with a late 1870s bank vault for storage, and other notable features. Lived in by the Temple family for only two full years (1928 and 1929) as a fully completed structure, the home was leased to Lawrence Lewis, who was headmaster of a boys' military academy, Raenford (later Golden State), which moved from Redondo Beach and operated at the 92 acres (372,311.1 m²) ranch from 1930 to 1935. The home and property were then owned by the California Bank and occupied by caretakers until purchased in October 1940 by Harry and Lois Brown, operators of El Encanto, a sanitarium moved to the site from Monrovia. The Brown family took excellent care of the house until it was sold to the City of Industry in 1975.
Restoration took place in subsequent years with the home opened as part of the Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum in May 1981. While most of the house was intact, some replication was done and the house was almost entirely furnished with acquired period pieces, though some original family furniture and artifacts have been donated by Temple descendants.
El Campo Santo Cemetery
The family cemetery, El Campo SantoEl Campo Santo Cemetery
El Campo Santo is a cemetery located at the Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum, 15415 East Don Julian Road, in City of Industry, California....
, was established in the 1850s. The earliest documented date is the burial of founder William Workman's brother, David
Boyle-Workman family
The Boyle-Workman family relates to the pioneer interconnected Boyle and Workman families that were prominent in: the history of colonial Pueblo de Los Angeles and American Los Angeles; the Los Angeles Basin and San Gabriel Valley regions; and Southern California — from 1830 to 1930 in Mexican Alta...
, in November 1855. A year later, artist Henry Miller, touring California to visit and sketch the Spanish and Mexican-era Roman Catholic missions, stayed at the Workman House and prepared sketches for a chapel contemplated by Workman. On 30 May 1857, the cornerstone to St. Nicholas' Chapel (named in honor of Workman's wife, Nicolasa Urioste de Valencia) was laid and blessed by Bishop Thaddeus Amat
Thaddeus Amat y Brusi
Thaddeus Amat y Brusi, C.M. was a Roman Catholic cleric who eventually became Bishop of Los Angeles, California.- Birth and Early Career:Amat was born in the Catalan capital of Barcelona, Spain on December 31, 1810. He was ordained a priest of the religious order of the Congregation of the...
. Construction of the Gothic Revival structure, which measured 24' x 48' and featured gilt ceiligns and stained glass windows, was completed by the early 1860s. The cemetery was used exclusively as a private burial ground for Workman and Temple family members and friends and masses were regularly heard, presumably by a priest visiting from Mission San Gabriel
Mission San Gabriel Arcángel
The Mission San Gabriel Arcángel is a fully functioning Roman Catholic mission and a historic landmark in San Gabriel, California. The settlement was founded by Spaniards of the Franciscan order on "The Feast of the Birth of Mary," September 8, 1771, as the fourth of what would become 21 Spanish...
, at the chapel.
After the property, reduced from 24,000 to 75 acres (303,514.5 m²) after the family's bank failed in 1876, was lost by the family in 1900, the chapel was said to have burned and was razed, as were three of the original brick enclosure walls. Numerous gravestones were removed and the site desecrated. A lawsuit by Walter Temple, Workman's grandson, in 1907 halted the destruction, but the cemetery languished for a decade until Temple, newly enriched with oil revenue from his Montebello ranch, bought the ranch and cemetery. From 1919 to 1921, Temple's first priority on the ranch was the renovation of El Campo Santo and the building of a mausoleum, designed by the architectural firm of Garstang and Rea, on the site of the chapel. The reopening of the cemetery took place in April 1921, at which time the remains of the last governor of Alta California
Alta California
Alta California was a province and territory in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later a territory and department in independent Mexico. The territory was created in 1769 out of the northern part of the former province of Las Californias, and consisted of the modern American states of California,...
, Pío Pico
Pío Pico
Pío de Jesús Pico was the last Governor of Alta California under Mexican rule.-Origins:...
, and his wife, Ygnacia Alvarado, were placed in the mausoleum. It also contains the remains of other prominent pioneer families. The Workman Home And Family Cemetery are designated California Historical Landmark
California Historical Landmark
California Historical Landmarks are buildings, structures, sites, or places in the state of California that have been determined to have statewide historical significance by meeting at least one of the criteria listed below:...
No. 874.
The cemetery remained in use during the occupancy of the Temple family in the 1920s and during that of the Brown family from 1940 to 1981. In recent years there have been three burials. Walter P. Temple was relocated to the site in 2002 from Mission San Gabriel, where he was buried in 1938 after the cemetery's owner, California Bank, refused the Temples' request to have him buried there. Temple's son, Walter, Jr., the last member of the family to have lived at the Homestead, and daughter-in-law, Nellie Didier, were buried in the cemetery in 1998. A spot is reserved for their daughter, after which the cemetery will cease being in active use.
Public Access to the Homestead Museum
The museum, opened 1 May 1981, is owned and fully funded by the City of Industry and its management is currently contracted to Historical Resources, Inc., owned by museum director Karen Graham Wade. Guided public tours of the Workman Home, 'La Casa Nueva' , and El Campo Santo Cemetery at the Homestead Museum are available on the hour from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, excepting major holidays. The museum also maintains a full schedule of festivals, weekend living history tours, behind-the-scenes tours, workshops and other events throughout the year.External links
- Homestead Museum Official Website
- Workman House at the Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum
- El Campo Santo Cemetery at Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...
- Workman House, Workman & Temple Family Homestead Museum photographs from the Historic American Building Survey
----