Rancho Camulos
Encyclopedia
Rancho Camulos, now known as Rancho Camulos Museum, is a ranch
located in the Santa Clara River Valley
2.2 miles (3.5 km) east of Piru, California
and just north of the Santa Clara River
, in present day Ventura County, California
. It was the home of Ygnacio del Valle
, an alcalde
of the Pueblo de Los Angeles
and member of the California State Assembly
. The ranch was known as the Home of Ramona because it was widely believed to have been the setting of the popular 1884 novel Ramona
by Helen Hunt Jackson
. The novel helped in raising awareness about the Californio
lifestyle and "romanticizing of the mission and rancho era of California history
."
The 1800 acres (7 km²) working ranch is a prime example of an early California rancho
in its original rural setting. It was the source of the first commercially grown orange
s in what is now Ventura County
, and is one of the few remaining citrus
growers in Southern California
.
State Route 126
bisects the property, with most of the main buildings located south of the highway, and a few buildings on the north. The main adobe
is one of the few extant Spanish Colonial buildings left in the state. Most of the other buildings are done in Mission Revival
or Spanish Colonial Revival styles, both of which are derivatives of the original.
Rancho Camulos is designated a National Historic Landmark
, listed on the National Register of Historic Places
, and is also a California Historical Landmark
. Many of the buildings and grounds are open to the public as a museum
of this period in California history.
Originally a Tataviam
village named Kamulus (meaning "juniper
"), the area was used by Mission San Fernando Rey de España
for growing crops and as a grazing area for livestock as early as 1804. The population of this relatively isolated area (only traversed by the El Camino Real
), as recorded by William Edward Petty Hartnell
during his inspection of the mission, was 416 in 1839. It was included in the 48612 acres (197 km²) Rancho San Francisco
granted to Del Valle's father, Antonio del Valle, administrator of Mission San Fernando, by Governor Juan B. Alvarado on January 22, 1839, after the secularization of the missions
.
After Antonio's death in 1841, Ygnacio inherited Rancho San Francisco
, but this was challenged in court by his father's second wife. Nevertheless, by 1853 he constructed a four-room adobe
house and a corral
at Camulos. By 1857, the land title dispute was settled, with Ygnacio getting the western portion and the remainder was split among Antonio's children and his second wife. He purchased back some of the other portions from his family as well as the neighboring Rancho Temescal
to the north, and began livestock
operations on the expanded area. However, Del Valle and his family did not live on the ranch initially, instead settling in house on what is now Olvera Street
in Los Angeles. The Del Valle family did not move back to Camulos, which he had expanded, until 1861. During this time, the ranch was overseen by José Antonio Salazar, Ygnacio's majordomo
. Thus, despite its close association with Ramona and Mexican California
, the house was constructed after California statehood and the family never lived there under Mexican rule.
In the 1860s, a drought
forced Del Valle to sell off much of his land, but Camulos not only survived, but thrived. By the time of his death in 1880, the house had expanded to twenty rooms and the compound had become a self-sustaining ranch, complete with a brick winery
, chapel
, barn
and workers' housing. Records indicate that in 1870 the ranch was largest vintner
in the area. A stagecoach
line opened in 1874 and in 1887, Southern Pacific
ran a rail line past the ranch, including a depot at Camulos, ending the ranch's isolation.
In 1908, the Del Valle Company was incorporated
by Ygnacio's children, but by 1924, the property was sold to August Rübel, a native of Zürich
, Switzerland
. Upon its sale, the Los Angeles Times
lamented,
Rübel continued operating the ranch in the same manner as the Del Valles, employing many of same workers. He had served in the American Field Service during World War I
and when World War II
broke out, he volunteered for active duty again. However, he died while serving in Tunisia
in 1943. After his death, his wife Mary married a man named Edwin Burger, who was not as interested in maintaining the rancho. After Mary's death in 1968, Burger closed the ranch entirely, and the buildings and grounds were left untended for years. Rübel's heirs regained control of the property after the 1994 Northridge earthquake
, which had damaged a number of buildings on the rancho.
The Rübel family restored commercial citrus production and set about repairing the earthquake damage. They successfully lobbied to have Camulos listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. In 2000, it was further designated a National Historic Landmark. Although the main house was restored in 1996, funding was not available to restore the smaller buildings until 2006, with construction completed in spring 2007. The rancho is on State Route 126, but little is visible from the highway.
seedlings in 1857 from his friend William Wolfskill
. The fruit from these trees was the first to be commercially grown in what is now Ventura County, although this was a relatively small scale because the crops had to be taken by wagon to Los Angeles. A Southern Pacific line opened in 1876 seventeen miles (27 km) to the east in Saugus, providing a more convenient form of transport.
However, the primary agricultural product from Rancho Camulos was wine
. Ninety acres (360,000 m²) of vineyard
s were planted in the 1860s and Camulos wines and brandies
were known throughout Los Angeles and Santa Barbara
. In 1870, records indicate Camulos was largest of the four vintners in the San Buenaventura Township of Santa Barbara County
, with 45 tons (40,900 kg) of grapes grown, making 6,000 US gallons (23,000 L) of wine and 800 US gallons (3,000 L) of brandy. In addition to oranges and grapes, the ranch produced almond
s, walnut
s, apricot
s, wheat
, corn
and barley
. Rose
petals grown at Camulos were shipped to Europe
to make perfume
.
Over the years, the vineyards were replaced by other fruits. Today, about 600 acres (2.4 km²) are under cultivation, most of it oranges, but lemon
s, grapefruit
, and avocado
s are grown too. This makes Camulos a rare instance of a surviving citrus operation. During the years 1920–45, the citrus industry experienced a period of great growth, and, in contrast to the natural desert-like conditions of the area, images of "citrus belts" help cement the image of Southern California as an idyllic farmland in the nation's eye. After World War II, urban development eliminated much of the Southern California citrus production, with the notable exception of the Santa Clara River Valley.
, published in 1884, was based in part of some of the experiences that Helen Hunt Jackson
had had during her visit to Rancho Camulos in 1882. Jackson only spent two hours on the ranch and did not meet with Ysabel del Valle, and yet she had a keen eye for details, many of which made it into the book. For example, the altar cloth in the rancho's chapel had a small tear in it which had been mended; in the story, Margarita accidentally tears the altar cloth and Ramona resews it together. The book became extremely popular and inspired a great deal of tourism, which happened to coincide with the opening of Southern Pacific
railroad lines in Southern California.
With all of the interest generated by the book, a number of communities declared that they were the setting for the novel in order to cash in on the boom, most notably Rancho Guajome
in San Diego County
, where Jackson had also visited prior to the book's publication. However, the location of the fictional Moreno Ranch, "midway in the valley [between lands] to the east and west, which had once belonged to the Missions of San Fernando and San Bonaventura" corresponds to the location of Rancho Camulos, and the physical description of some of the buildings on the fictional ranch accurately describe actual buildings at Camulos. On the other hand, relative to the other locations in the novel (Ramona's having been married in San Diego
and Alessandro's family being from the Temecula
area), Camulos seems too distant to be the real location. Unfortunately, Jackson died in 1885, never having publicly disclosed what locations the book was based on. Historians today are unsure whether Moreno Ranch actually represented a real location.
Nevertheless, by 1886, the ranch was already considered the setting of the novel. Edward Roberts published an article entitled, "Ramona's Home: A Visit to the Camulos Ranch, and to the Scenes Described by 'H.H.'" in the May 13, 1886 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle
. Significantly, he was one of the first to publish an account that blended fact and fiction. The inclusion of his article as an appendix
to later versions of the novel only served to cement that association.
The first book solely devoted to Ramona and the ranch was published in 1888 by Charles Fletcher Lummis
, a close friend of the Del Valles and who had fallen in love with the teenage Susana Carmen (nicknamed "Susanita") del Valle. Lummis took photographs of the buildings and published them in his own book, Home of Ramona: Photographs of Camulos, the fine old Spanish Estate Described by Mrs. Helen Hunt Jackson as the Home of "Ramona". He made it clear that the Del Valles were nothing like the fictional Morenos, who treated Ramona poorly, but he too would mix fact with fiction with such statements as, "[the veranda
] is about a hundred feet in length and runs from the door of Father Salvierderra's room to that of Ramona's room."
Lummis's goal was to discourage the novel's association with other properties, as was Adam Clark Vroman's Ramona Illustrated: The Genesis of the Story of Ramona, which compared photographs of the rancho's buildings and environs with text from the novel, as well as photographs from competing locations. By 1909, George Wharton James
could confidently declare that Camulos was the "avowed and accepted home of the heroine".
Despite the lack of easy access to the ranch and any lodging in the area, tourists flocked to it, and the 1887 establishment of the Southern Pacific line only served to increase that number, with the railroad featuring the ranch in its advertisements in order to distinguish it from its competitors. Although the ranch was not developed for tourism, the Del Valles, with their Californio sense of hospitality, would lodge the visitors, but by October 1888, it was getting to be so expensive for the family that Reginaldo del Valle pressed upon his mother to stop being so hospitable. The tourists themselves would also be quite a nuisance, and uncouth visitors would steal items from the house as souvenirs, or help themselves to fruit from the orchards.
Naturally, the name Camulos became so tied to the novel that many people began to use it instead of the original "Moreno Ranch" when referring to the novel. An 1897 play based on the book was called, "Ramona, or the Bells of Camulos". In Virginia Calhoun's 1905 stage adaptation, characters in the play called the ranch Camulos as well.
Given the general belief that Camulos was indeed the original setting, D. W. Griffith
shot portions of his 1910 silent film
at the rancho, using the chapel, the adobe and patio, and the nearby mountains as backdrops. Paintings and photographs by noted artists such as Adam Clark Vroman, Henry Sandham
(who had accompanied Jackson on her initial tour), Henry Chapman Ford, and Alexander Harmer of the rancho also illustrated later versions of the novel.
Although tourism brought much difficulty to the Del Valles, they were not above capitalizing upon their newfound fame themselves, brand
ing their wine and oranges the "Home of Ramona Brand", with their label using the same view of the veranda that had been popularized in postcards. One Tataviam servant girl apparently also made quite a bit of money by pretending to be the real Ramona and charging tourists for a photograph.
Tourists continued to arrive even after the SP relocated their main line through the Santa Susana Pass
in 1903. Two daily trains made stops at Camulos until the service was discontinued in the 1940s and tourism by automobile became commonplace at this time. After the Rübels took ownership in 1924, they continued to welcome visitors in small numbers, converting the second floor of the winery into a small museum with artifacts from the Del Valle family. Today, the rancho hosts a "Ramona Days" festival annually in October.
There are fifteen buildings open to the public as part of the Rancho Camulos Museum, all of which were built before 1930 and are still in their original locations. They are mostly built in Spanish Colonial
or Mission Revival
styles (the latter is derived from the former), but later buildings were done in differing architectural style
s, more representing the period in which they were built. Landscaping
features such as lawn
s, flower gardens, ornamental trees, and walkways separate the residential areas from the working portions of the ranch.
The main adobe, also called the Ygnacio del Valle adobe, is a 10,000 square foot (929 m²), twenty-room, U-shaped structure. When initially constructed in 1853, it was an L-shaped four-room house connected with an external corredor (as opposed to an interior hallway), as is typical of the Spanish Colonial style. It is unusual for its time period because around this time, the Monterey style was in vogue, as is evidenced by contemporaneous buildings in Santa Barbara. Los Alamos Ranch House
in Santa Barbara County, and Rancho Guajome Adobe
and Las Flores Adobe in San Diego County, all National Historic Landmarks, are built in a similar vein.
The house expanded in several phases. In 1861 before the Del Valle family moved here permanently three additional rooms were added as well as a free-standing cocina (kitchen). A basement was installed under the new rooms as well. In the 1870s, another wing was added perpendicular to the 1861 attachment. Finally some time after 1895, one more room was added to the new wing, as well as a breezeway
to the kitchen, completing the current shape. Further remodeling done after this time was to the interior only.
The basement of the house initially served as the wine storage area, but in 1867, a one-and-a-half-story brick
winery was constructed. After 1900, when wine grapes were no longer grown commercially, this building served as a storage room. Rübel later converted it to a museum for Ramona visitors, complete with Del Valle family artifacts. Currently it is used for farm equipment and automobile storage.
To the west of the main house is a large California Black Walnut (Juglans californica)
tree that was most likely planted by Juventino del Valle in the 1860s. It measures 25 feet (7.6 m) in circumference and its branches spread out almost half an acre (2,000 m²). It is believed to be the largest Black Walnut tree in the area.
The wooden chapel
was constructed around 1867, replacing a makeshift chapel that had been set up in 1861. After the secularization of the missions
, this chapel became known as the "lost mission", the only place of worship between Mission San Fernando and Mission San Buenaventura
. Directly to the northwest of the chapel is a bell structure containing two bells on a freestanding frame, which were used to call worshipers to Mass
. These were cast at Kodiak, Alaska
, and one had previously been used at Mission San Fernando. A third bell was removed by one of the Del Valle daughters and is missing.
The exact dates of construction of the barn, gas station, and bunkhouse are unknown, but the American Craftsman
style of architecture indicates it was between 1910 to 1916. The barn is located to the northwest of the living quarters, in the main work area. The gas station and bunkhouse are not depicted on the map.
The small adobe, next to the highway, was built by Nachito del Valle. This Spanish Colonial Revial
house was constructed around 1920 and was damaged severely in the 1994 earthquake. After its reconstruction, it will serve as the museum's visitor center.
The schoolhouse, constructed in 1930, was the last to be built on the property. It was built by Rübel for his and his bookkeeper's families and designed to match the main adobe.
There are few buildings left on the north side of the highway. The most notable are the wooden Southern Pacific saltbox
-style section house and workers' bunkhouse, both built in 1887. A train depot
and post office
both used to exist, but have been torn down. Finally, three farmworkers' bungalow
s, built by the Del Valle family in 1916, sit west of the section house.
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
located in the Santa Clara River Valley
Santa Clara River Valley
The Santa Clara River Valley is a valley that runs from east to west through Ventura County and northwest Los Angeles County, California...
2.2 miles (3.5 km) east of Piru, California
Piru, California
Piru is a small unincorporated census-designated town located in eastern Ventura County, California, in the Santa Clara River Valley near the Santa Clara River and Highway 126, about seven miles east of Fillmore and about west of Interstate 5. The population was 2,063 at the 2010 census, up from...
and just north of the Santa Clara River
Santa Clara River (California)
The Santa Clara River is approximately long, located in southern California in the United States. It drains an area of the coastal mountains north of Los Angeles. The Santa Clara is one of the largest river systems along the coast of Southern California and one of only a few remaining river...
, in present day Ventura County, California
Ventura County, California
Ventura County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. It is located on California's Pacific coast. It is often referred to as the Gold Coast, and has a reputation of being one of the safest populated places and one of the most affluent places in the country...
. It was the home of Ygnacio del Valle
Ygnacio del Valle
Ygnacio Ramón de Jesus del Valle was a rancher and landowner in the eastern Santa Clara River Valley, California, United States, as well as an alcalde of Los Angeles. His estate, Rancho Camulos, is registered as a National Historic Landmark.- Early life :Del Valle was born in Jalisco, Mexico...
, an alcalde
Alcalde
Alcalde , or Alcalde ordinario, is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An alcalde was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian cabildo and judge of first instance of a town...
of the Pueblo de Los Angeles
Pueblo de Los Angeles
El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles was the Spanish civilian pueblo founded in 1781, which by the 20th century became the American metropolis of Los Angeles....
and member of the California State Assembly
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
. The ranch was known as the Home of Ramona because it was widely believed to have been the setting of the popular 1884 novel Ramona
Ramona
Ramona is a 1884 United States historical novel written by Helen Hunt Jackson. It is the story of a Scots-Native American orphan girl in Southern California, who suffers racial discrimination and hardship. Originally serialized in the Christian Union on a weekly basis, the novel became immensely...
by Helen Hunt Jackson
Helen Hunt Jackson
Helen Maria Hunt Jackson, born Helen Fiske , was a United States writer who became an activist on behalf of improved treatment of Native Americans by the U.S. government. She detailed the adverse effects of government actions in her history A Century of Dishonor...
. The novel helped in raising awareness about the Californio
Californio
Californio is a term used to identify a Spanish-speaking Catholic people, regardless of race, born in California before 1848...
lifestyle and "romanticizing of the mission and rancho era of California history
History of California to 1899
Human history in California begins with indigenous Americans first arriving in California some 13,000-15,000 years ago. Exploration and settlement by Europeans along the coasts and in the inland valleys began in the 16th century...
."
The 1800 acres (7 km²) working ranch is a prime example of an early California rancho
Ranchos of California
The Spanish, and later the Méxican government encouraged settlement of territory now known as California by the establishment of large land grants called ranchos, from which the English ranch is derived. Devoted to raising cattle and sheep, the owners of the ranchos attempted to pattern themselves...
in its original rural setting. It was the source of the first commercially grown orange
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
s in what is now Ventura County
Ventura County, California
Ventura County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. It is located on California's Pacific coast. It is often referred to as the Gold Coast, and has a reputation of being one of the safest populated places and one of the most affluent places in the country...
, and is one of the few remaining citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
growers in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
.
State Route 126
California State Route 126
State Route 126 is a highway in Ventura and Los Angeles counties, California. The route runs from U.S. Route 101 in Ventura to Interstate 5 in Santa Clarita...
bisects the property, with most of the main buildings located south of the highway, and a few buildings on the north. The main 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...
is one of the few extant Spanish Colonial buildings left in the state. Most of the other buildings are done in Mission Revival
Mission Revival Style architecture
The Mission Revival Style was an architectural movement that began in the late 19th century for a colonial style's revivalism and reinterpretation, which drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century Spanish missions in California....
or Spanish Colonial Revival styles, both of which are derivatives of the original.
Rancho Camulos is designated a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
, listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, and is also a 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:...
. Many of the buildings and grounds are open to the public as a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
of this period in California history.
History
Tataviam
The Tataviam , were called the Alliklik by their neighbors the Chumash , are a Native American group in southern California...
village named Kamulus (meaning "juniper
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
"), the area was used by Mission San Fernando Rey de España
Mission San Fernando Rey de España
Mission San Fernando Rey de España was founded on "The Feast of the Birth of Mary" , 1797. The settlement is located on the former Encino Rancho in the Mission Hills community of northern Los Angeles, near the site of the first gold discovery in Alta California.-History:Mission San Fernando Rey de...
for growing crops and as a grazing area for livestock as early as 1804. The population of this relatively isolated area (only traversed by the El Camino Real
El Camino Real (California)
El Camino Real and sometimes associated with Calle Real usually refers to the 600-mile California Mission Trail, connecting the former Alta California's 21 missions , 4 presidios, and several pueblos, stretching from Mission San Diego de Alcalá in San Diego...
), as recorded by William Edward Petty Hartnell
William Edward Petty Hartnell
William Edward Petty Hartnell, a.k.a. Don Guillermo Arnel was a prominent early immigrant to Alta California who played a vital role in the history of Monterey County, California as well as the history of California.-Early life:William Hartnell was born in Backbarrow, Lancashire, England, and...
during his inspection of the mission, was 416 in 1839. It was included in the 48612 acres (197 km²) Rancho San Francisco
Rancho San Francisco
Rancho San Francisco was a land grant in present day northwestern Los Angeles County and eastern Ventura County, California. It was of by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Antonio del Valle, a Spanish army officer, in recognition for his service to the state of Alta California...
granted to Del Valle's father, Antonio del Valle, administrator of Mission San Fernando, by Governor Juan B. Alvarado on January 22, 1839, after the secularization of the missions
Spanish missions in California
The Spanish missions in California comprise a series of religious and military outposts established by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order between 1769 and 1823 to spread the Christian faith among the local Native Americans. The missions represented the first major effort by Europeans to...
.
After Antonio's death in 1841, Ygnacio inherited Rancho San Francisco
Rancho San Francisco
Rancho San Francisco was a land grant in present day northwestern Los Angeles County and eastern Ventura County, California. It was of by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Antonio del Valle, a Spanish army officer, in recognition for his service to the state of Alta California...
, but this was challenged in court by his father's second wife. Nevertheless, by 1853 he constructed a four-room 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 and a corral
Corral
Corral is a town, commune and sea port in Los Ríos Region, Chile. It is located south of Corral Bay. Corral is best known for the forts of Corral Bay, a system of defensive batteries and forts made to protect Valdivia during colonial times. Corral was the headquarters of the system...
at Camulos. By 1857, the land title dispute was settled, with Ygnacio getting the western portion and the remainder was split among Antonio's children and his second wife. He purchased back some of the other portions from his family as well as the neighboring Rancho Temescal
Rancho Temescal
Rancho Temescal was a Mexican land grant in present day Ventura County and Los Angeles County, California given in 1843 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Francisco Lopez and José Arellanes...
to the north, and began livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
operations on the expanded area. However, Del Valle and his family did not live on the ranch initially, instead settling in house on what is now Olvera Street
Olvera Street
Olvera Street is in the oldest part of Downtown Los Angeles, California, and is part of the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument. Many Latinos refer to it as "La Placita Olvera." Circa 1911 it was described as Sonora Town....
in Los Angeles. The Del Valle family did not move back to Camulos, which he had expanded, until 1861. During this time, the ranch was overseen by José Antonio Salazar, Ygnacio's majordomo
Majordomo (domestic staff)
A majordomo is a person who speaks, makes arrangements, or takes charge for another. Typically, the term refers to the highest person of a household staff, one who acts on behalf of the owner of a typically large residence...
. Thus, despite its close association with Ramona and Mexican 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,...
, the house was constructed after California statehood and the family never lived there under Mexican rule.
In the 1860s, a drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
forced Del Valle to sell off much of his land, but Camulos not only survived, but thrived. By the time of his death in 1880, the house had expanded to twenty rooms and the compound had become a self-sustaining ranch, complete with a brick winery
Winery
A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...
, chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
, barn
Barn
A barn is an agricultural building used for storage and as a covered workplace. It may sometimes be used to house livestock or to store farming vehicles and equipment...
and workers' housing. Records indicate that in 1870 the ranch was largest vintner
Vintner
A vintner is a wine merchant. You pronounce it like this In some modern use, in particular in American English, the term is alsoused as a synonym for winemaker....
in the area. A stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
line opened in 1874 and in 1887, Southern Pacific
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
ran a rail line past the ranch, including a depot at Camulos, ending the ranch's isolation.
In 1908, the Del Valle Company was incorporated
Incorporation (business)
Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation . The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organisation, sports club, or a government of a new city or town...
by Ygnacio's children, but by 1924, the property was sold to August Rübel, a native of Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. Upon its sale, the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
lamented,
Rübel continued operating the ranch in the same manner as the Del Valles, employing many of same workers. He had served in the American Field Service during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and when World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
broke out, he volunteered for active duty again. However, he died while serving in Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
in 1943. After his death, his wife Mary married a man named Edwin Burger, who was not as interested in maintaining the rancho. After Mary's death in 1968, Burger closed the ranch entirely, and the buildings and grounds were left untended for years. Rübel's heirs regained control of the property after the 1994 Northridge earthquake
Northridge earthquake
The Northridge earthquake was a massive earthquake that occurred on January 17, 1994, at 04:31 Pacific Standard Time in Reseda, a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, lasting for about 10–20 seconds...
, which had damaged a number of buildings on the rancho.
The Rübel family restored commercial citrus production and set about repairing the earthquake damage. They successfully lobbied to have Camulos listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. In 2000, it was further designated a National Historic Landmark. Although the main house was restored in 1996, funding was not available to restore the smaller buildings until 2006, with construction completed in spring 2007. The rancho is on State Route 126, but little is visible from the highway.
Agricultural development
Del Valle acquired his first Valencia orangeValencia orange
The Valencia Orange is a sweet orange first hybridized by California pioneer agronomist and land developer William Wolfskill, on his farm in Santa Ana in southern California in the United States. -History:...
seedlings in 1857 from his friend William Wolfskill
William Wolfskill
William Wolfskill was a cowboy and agronomist from Los Angeles, California, who was highly influential in the development of California's agricultural industry in the 19th century.-Valencia orange:...
. The fruit from these trees was the first to be commercially grown in what is now Ventura County, although this was a relatively small scale because the crops had to be taken by wagon to Los Angeles. A Southern Pacific line opened in 1876 seventeen miles (27 km) to the east in Saugus, providing a more convenient form of transport.
However, the primary agricultural product from Rancho Camulos was wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
. Ninety acres (360,000 m²) of vineyard
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
s were planted in the 1860s and Camulos wines and brandies
Brandy
Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...
were known throughout Los Angeles and Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
. In 1870, records indicate Camulos was largest of the four vintners in the San Buenaventura Township of Santa Barbara County
Santa Barbara County, California
Santa Barbara County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, on the Pacific coast. As of 2010 the county had a population of 423,895. The county seat is Santa Barbara and the largest city is Santa Maria.-History:...
, with 45 tons (40,900 kg) of grapes grown, making 6,000 US gallons (23,000 L) of wine and 800 US gallons (3,000 L) of brandy. In addition to oranges and grapes, the ranch produced almond
Almond
The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...
s, walnut
Walnut
Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...
s, apricot
Apricot
The apricot, Prunus armeniaca, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation.- Description :...
s, wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
and barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
. Rose
Rose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
petals grown at Camulos were shipped to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to make perfume
Perfume
Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and/or aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces "a pleasant scent"...
.
Over the years, the vineyards were replaced by other fruits. Today, about 600 acres (2.4 km²) are under cultivation, most of it oranges, but lemon
Lemon
The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...
s, grapefruit
Grapefruit
The grapefruit , is a subtropical citrus tree known for its sour fruit, an 18th-century hybrid first bred in Barbados. When found, it was named the "forbidden fruit"; it has also been misidentified with the pomelo or shaddock , one of the parents of this hybrid, the other being sweet orange The...
, and avocado
Avocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
s are grown too. This makes Camulos a rare instance of a surviving citrus operation. During the years 1920–45, the citrus industry experienced a period of great growth, and, in contrast to the natural desert-like conditions of the area, images of "citrus belts" help cement the image of Southern California as an idyllic farmland in the nation's eye. After World War II, urban development eliminated much of the Southern California citrus production, with the notable exception of the Santa Clara River Valley.
Ramona
RamonaRamona
Ramona is a 1884 United States historical novel written by Helen Hunt Jackson. It is the story of a Scots-Native American orphan girl in Southern California, who suffers racial discrimination and hardship. Originally serialized in the Christian Union on a weekly basis, the novel became immensely...
, published in 1884, was based in part of some of the experiences that Helen Hunt Jackson
Helen Hunt Jackson
Helen Maria Hunt Jackson, born Helen Fiske , was a United States writer who became an activist on behalf of improved treatment of Native Americans by the U.S. government. She detailed the adverse effects of government actions in her history A Century of Dishonor...
had had during her visit to Rancho Camulos in 1882. Jackson only spent two hours on the ranch and did not meet with Ysabel del Valle, and yet she had a keen eye for details, many of which made it into the book. For example, the altar cloth in the rancho's chapel had a small tear in it which had been mended; in the story, Margarita accidentally tears the altar cloth and Ramona resews it together. The book became extremely popular and inspired a great deal of tourism, which happened to coincide with the opening of Southern Pacific
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
railroad lines in Southern California.
With all of the interest generated by the book, a number of communities declared that they were the setting for the novel in order to cash in on the boom, most notably Rancho Guajome
Rancho Guajome Adobe
Rancho Guajome Adobe, listed in the National Register of Historic Places as Guajome Ranch House, is an adobe house in Vista, California...
in San Diego County
San Diego County, California
San Diego County is a large county located in the southwestern corner of the US state of California. Hence, San Diego County is also located in the southwestern corner of the 48 contiguous United States. Its county seat and largest city is San Diego. Its population was about 2,813,835 in the 2000...
, where Jackson had also visited prior to the book's publication. However, the location of the fictional Moreno Ranch, "midway in the valley [between lands] to the east and west, which had once belonged to the Missions of San Fernando and San Bonaventura" corresponds to the location of Rancho Camulos, and the physical description of some of the buildings on the fictional ranch accurately describe actual buildings at Camulos. On the other hand, relative to the other locations in the novel (Ramona's having been married in San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
and Alessandro's family being from the Temecula
Temecula, California
Temecula is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States with a population of 100,097 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it the lowest populated American city over 100,000 population. It was incorporated on December 1, 1989...
area), Camulos seems too distant to be the real location. Unfortunately, Jackson died in 1885, never having publicly disclosed what locations the book was based on. Historians today are unsure whether Moreno Ranch actually represented a real location.
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
. Significantly, he was one of the first to publish an account that blended fact and fiction. The inclusion of his article as an appendix
Addendum
An addendum, in general, is an addition required to be made to a document by its reader subsequent to its printing or publication. It comes from the Latin verbal phrase addendum est, being the gerundive form of the verb addo, addere, addidi, additum, "to give to, add to", meaning " must be added"...
to later versions of the novel only served to cement that association.
The first book solely devoted to Ramona and the ranch was published in 1888 by Charles Fletcher Lummis
Charles Fletcher Lummis
Charles Fletcher Lummis was a United States journalist and Indian activist; he is also acclaimed as a historian, photographer, poet and librarian....
, a close friend of the Del Valles and who had fallen in love with the teenage Susana Carmen (nicknamed "Susanita") del Valle. Lummis took photographs of the buildings and published them in his own book, Home of Ramona: Photographs of Camulos, the fine old Spanish Estate Described by Mrs. Helen Hunt Jackson as the Home of "Ramona". He made it clear that the Del Valles were nothing like the fictional Morenos, who treated Ramona poorly, but he too would mix fact with fiction with such statements as, "[the veranda
Verandah
A veranda or verandah is a roofed opened gallery or porch. It is also described as an open pillared gallery, generally roofed, built around a central structure...
] is about a hundred feet in length and runs from the door of Father Salvierderra's room to that of Ramona's room."
Lummis's goal was to discourage the novel's association with other properties, as was Adam Clark Vroman's Ramona Illustrated: The Genesis of the Story of Ramona, which compared photographs of the rancho's buildings and environs with text from the novel, as well as photographs from competing locations. By 1909, George Wharton James
George Wharton James
George Wharton James was a prolific popular lecturer and journalist, writing more than 40 books and many articles and pamphlets on California and the American Southwest....
could confidently declare that Camulos was the "avowed and accepted home of the heroine".
Despite the lack of easy access to the ranch and any lodging in the area, tourists flocked to it, and the 1887 establishment of the Southern Pacific line only served to increase that number, with the railroad featuring the ranch in its advertisements in order to distinguish it from its competitors. Although the ranch was not developed for tourism, the Del Valles, with their Californio sense of hospitality, would lodge the visitors, but by October 1888, it was getting to be so expensive for the family that Reginaldo del Valle pressed upon his mother to stop being so hospitable. The tourists themselves would also be quite a nuisance, and uncouth visitors would steal items from the house as souvenirs, or help themselves to fruit from the orchards.
Naturally, the name Camulos became so tied to the novel that many people began to use it instead of the original "Moreno Ranch" when referring to the novel. An 1897 play based on the book was called, "Ramona, or the Bells of Camulos". In Virginia Calhoun's 1905 stage adaptation, characters in the play called the ranch Camulos as well.
Given the general belief that Camulos was indeed the original setting, D. W. Griffith
D. W. Griffith
David Llewelyn Wark Griffith was a premier pioneering American film director. He is best known as the director of the controversial and groundbreaking 1915 film The Birth of a Nation and the subsequent film Intolerance .Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation made pioneering use of advanced camera...
shot portions of his 1910 silent film
Ramona (1910 film)
Ramona is a 1910 short drama film directed by D. W. Griffith based on Helen Hunt Jackson's 1884 novel Ramona. A copy of the print survives in the Library of Congress film archive.-Cast:* Mary Pickford - Ramona* Henry B. Walthall - Alessandro...
at the rancho, using the chapel, the adobe and patio, and the nearby mountains as backdrops. Paintings and photographs by noted artists such as Adam Clark Vroman, Henry Sandham
Henry Sandham
Henry "Hy" Sandham was a Canadian painter and illustrator. He was the brother of author and numismatist Alfred Sandham.- Biography :...
(who had accompanied Jackson on her initial tour), Henry Chapman Ford, and Alexander Harmer of the rancho also illustrated later versions of the novel.
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
ing their wine and oranges the "Home of Ramona Brand", with their label using the same view of the veranda that had been popularized in postcards. One Tataviam servant girl apparently also made quite a bit of money by pretending to be the real Ramona and charging tourists for a photograph.
Tourists continued to arrive even after the SP relocated their main line through the Santa Susana Pass
Santa Susana Pass
The Santa Susana Pass is a Southern California mountain pass in the Simi Hills connecting the San Fernando Valley and town of Chatsworth, to the Simi Valley and city of Simi Valley.-Natural history:...
in 1903. Two daily trains made stops at Camulos until the service was discontinued in the 1940s and tourism by automobile became commonplace at this time. After the Rübels took ownership in 1924, they continued to welcome visitors in small numbers, converting the second floor of the winery into a small museum with artifacts from the Del Valle family. Today, the rancho hosts a "Ramona Days" festival annually in October.
Grounds
Spanish Colonial Style architecture
Spanish Colonial architecture represents Spanish colonial influence on New World and East Indies cities and towns, still be seen in the architecture as well as in the city planning aspects of conserved present-day cities. These two visible aspects of the city are connected and complementary...
or Mission Revival
Mission Revival Style architecture
The Mission Revival Style was an architectural movement that began in the late 19th century for a colonial style's revivalism and reinterpretation, which drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century Spanish missions in California....
styles (the latter is derived from the former), but later buildings were done in differing architectural style
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
s, more representing the period in which they were built. Landscaping
Landscaping
Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including:# living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly referred to as gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal of creating a beautiful environment within the landscape.#...
features such as lawn
Lawn
A lawn is an area of aesthetic and recreational land planted with grasses or other durable plants, which usually are maintained at a low and consistent height. Low ornamental meadows in natural landscaping styles are a contemporary option of a lawn...
s, flower gardens, ornamental trees, and walkways separate the residential areas from the working portions of the ranch.
The main adobe, also called the Ygnacio del Valle adobe, is a 10,000 square foot (929 m²), twenty-room, U-shaped structure. When initially constructed in 1853, it was an L-shaped four-room house connected with an external corredor (as opposed to an interior hallway), as is typical of the Spanish Colonial style. It is unusual for its time period because around this time, the Monterey style was in vogue, as is evidenced by contemporaneous buildings in Santa Barbara. Los Alamos Ranch House
Los Alamos Ranch House
The Los Alamos Ranch House is a historic adobe house from the mid-19th century, located near Los Alamos in northern Santa Barbara County, California...
in Santa Barbara County, and Rancho Guajome Adobe
Rancho Guajome Adobe
Rancho Guajome Adobe, listed in the National Register of Historic Places as Guajome Ranch House, is an adobe house in Vista, California...
and Las Flores Adobe in San Diego County, all National Historic Landmarks, are built in a similar vein.
The house expanded in several phases. In 1861 before the Del Valle family moved here permanently three additional rooms were added as well as a free-standing cocina (kitchen). A basement was installed under the new rooms as well. In the 1870s, another wing was added perpendicular to the 1861 attachment. Finally some time after 1895, one more room was added to the new wing, as well as a breezeway
Breezeway
A breezeway is an architectural feature similar to a hallway that allows the passage of a breeze between structures to accommodate high winds, allow aeration, or provide aesthetic design variation. Often a breezeway is a simple roof connecting two structures ; sometimes it can be much more like a...
to the kitchen, completing the current shape. Further remodeling done after this time was to the interior only.
The basement of the house initially served as the wine storage area, but in 1867, a one-and-a-half-story brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
winery was constructed. After 1900, when wine grapes were no longer grown commercially, this building served as a storage room. Rübel later converted it to a museum for Ramona visitors, complete with Del Valle family artifacts. Currently it is used for farm equipment and automobile storage.
Juglans californica
Juglans californica, the California black walnut, also called the California walnut, or the Southern California black walnut, is a large shrub or small tree of the Juglandaceae family endemic to California....
tree that was most likely planted by Juventino del Valle in the 1860s. It measures 25 feet (7.6 m) in circumference and its branches spread out almost half an acre (2,000 m²). It is believed to be the largest Black Walnut tree in the area.
The wooden chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
was constructed around 1867, replacing a makeshift chapel that had been set up in 1861. After the secularization of the missions
Spanish missions in California
The Spanish missions in California comprise a series of religious and military outposts established by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order between 1769 and 1823 to spread the Christian faith among the local Native Americans. The missions represented the first major effort by Europeans to...
, this chapel became known as the "lost mission", the only place of worship between Mission San Fernando and Mission San Buenaventura
Mission San Buenaventura
Mission San Buenaventura was founded on Easter Sunday, March 31, 1782 in Las Californias, part of the Spanish Viceroyalty of New Spain. Named for a Franciscan theologian, Saint Bonaventure, it was the last of the missions founded by Father Serra...
. Directly to the northwest of the chapel is a bell structure containing two bells on a freestanding frame, which were used to call worshipers to Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
. These were cast at Kodiak, Alaska
Kodiak, Alaska
Kodiak is one of 7 communities and the main city on Kodiak Island, Kodiak Island Borough, in the U.S. state of Alaska. All commercial transportation between the entire island and the outside world goes through this city either via ferryboat or airline...
, and one had previously been used at Mission San Fernando. A third bell was removed by one of the Del Valle daughters and is missing.
The exact dates of construction of the barn, gas station, and bunkhouse are unknown, but the American Craftsman
American Craftsman
The American Craftsman Style, or the American Arts and Crafts Movement, is an American domestic architectural, interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts style and lifestyle philosophy that began in the last years of the 19th century. As a comprehensive design and art...
style of architecture indicates it was between 1910 to 1916. The barn is located to the northwest of the living quarters, in the main work area. The gas station and bunkhouse are not depicted on the map.
The small adobe, next to the highway, was built by Nachito del Valle. This Spanish Colonial Revial
Spanish 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...
house was constructed around 1920 and was damaged severely in the 1994 earthquake. After its reconstruction, it will serve as the museum's visitor center.
There are few buildings left on the north side of the highway. The most notable are the wooden Southern Pacific saltbox
Saltbox
A saltbox is a building with a long, pitched roof that slopes down to the back, generally a wooden frame house. A saltbox has just one story in the back and two stories in the front...
-style section house and workers' bunkhouse, both built in 1887. A train depot
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
and post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
both used to exist, but have been torn down. Finally, three farmworkers' bungalow
Bungalow
A bungalow is a type of house, with varying meanings across the world. Common features to many of these definitions include being detached, low-rise , and the use of verandahs...
s, built by the Del Valle family in 1916, sit west of the section house.
Historic designations
- United States National Historic LandmarkNational Historic LandmarkA National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
— added February 16, 2000 - United States National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
— reference number 96001137, added November 1, 1996 - California Historical LandmarkCalifornia Historical LandmarkCalifornia 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:...
— number 553
See also
External links
- Rancho Camulos Museum web site
- Rancho Camulos, Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society
- NRHP Registration form (San Buenaventura Research Associates)