CHL# 617 FORT BENSON This is the site of an adobe fortification erected about 1856-57 by the ‘Independent’ faction in a dispute with the Mormons over a land title. The fort was maintained for about a year. This also is the site of the Indian village of Jumuba, and Jedediah Smith camped here in January […]
CHL# 121 AGUA MANSA Don Juan Bandini, owner of the Jurupa Rancho, donated parts of his rancho to a group of New Mexican colonists in 1845 on the understanding that they would aid in repelling Indian raids on his stock. The community was named Agua Mansa-Gentle Water-and was prosperous until 1862, when a great flood […]
CHL# 950 UNITED STATES RABBIT EXPERIMENTAL STATION In March 1928, the Federal Government established the first and only experimental station in the United States devoted solely to research on the breeding and raising of rabbits on a five-acre property donated by A. B. Miller of Fontana. The station successfully pioneered new techniques of rabbit care […]
CHL #856 RALSTON HALL This redwood structure was completed in 1868 by William Chapman Ralston, San Francisco financier. Incorporating Count Cipriani’s earlier villa, this enlarged mansion with its mirrored ballroom became the symbol of the extravagance of California s Silver Age. It anticipated features later incorporated into Ralston’s Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Descriptions of […]
CHL# 857 JOHN ADAMS SQUIRE HOUSE Designed by T. Paterson Ross and constructed in 1904 by builder George W. Mosher, this house is a notable example of California’s interpretation of the Greco-Roman Classic Revival movement in America. Descriptions of each landmark are from the California Office of Historical Preservation website.
CHL #895 HOSTESS HOUSE Designed by Julia Morgan for the YWCA, this building originally served Camp Fremont as a meeting place for servicemen and visitors, and was dedicated in 1919 to those who died in World War I. Moved from its original site to Palo Alto to become the first municipally sponsored community center in […]
CHL# 259 VASQUEZ TREE AND SITE OF 21-MILE HOUSE This famous tavern and stage stop was located 21 miles from San Jose on the road to Monterey. The 21-Mile-House was built in 1852 by William Host beneath a spreading oak that later was called the Vasquez Tree. The house was sold to William Tennant in […]
CHL# 492 BUTTONWILLOW TREE This lone tree, which gave the town of Buttonwillow its name, served as a landmark on an old trans-valley trail. An ancient Yokuts Indian meeting place, it later became the site of settlers’ stock rodeos. Miller and Lux established their headquarters and store here about 1885. Descriptions of each landmark are […]
