Minnie Hill Palmer House (Homestead Acre)

Minnie Hill was born on a ranch that included this property in 1886. Her parents had claimed land in what is now Chatsworth under the Homestead Act and settled on the ranch in 1886. A small portion (1.3 acres) of the ranch has been preserved and includes the redwood cottage built by the Hill family from 1911 to 1913. The cottage was later inherited by Minnie. Although Minnie sold the cottage to the City of Los Angeles in 1956, she retained the right to live on the remaining homestead acre for the rest of her life. She lived to age 94, dying in 1981. The city's Department of Recreation and Parks owns the Minnie Hill Palmer House on Homestead Acre. The Chatsworth Historical Society maintains the cottage as it would have looked in the 1910s, and periodically offers group tours. The cottage - the only remaining Homestead Act cottage in the San Fernando Valley - was listed in the 1970s in the National Register of Historic Places and as a Los Angeles Historical Monument.

Minnie Hill was born on a 120-acre ranch that included this property in 1886. Her parents had claimed land in what is now Chatsworth under the Homestead Act and settled on the ranch in 1886. The Homestead Act was enacted by the federal government in 1862 to encourage westward expansion of settlement. After five years of living on claimed land and improving the tract by living on it or cultivating it, the homesteader could claim ownership. After six months of occupying or improving the land, the homesteader could claim the property by paying a small fee per acre. Union soldiers could deduct time spent in military service after the Civil War.

A small portion (1.3 acres) of the eventually 230-acre Hill family ranch has been preserved and includes the cottage built by the family from 1911 to 1913. James David Hill and his wife, Rhoda Jane had a large family. Minnie was the seventh of eight children. The family settled in a house that they built in 1886, a few months before Minnie was born. That house no longer stands but appears in historic photos. The Chatsworth Historical Society has documented the property's history (there's a weblink below to their online presentation on the Hill family and their land).

The 1886 house was very near the site of their 1911-1913 cottage. By 1909, Minnie had married Alfred Palmer and moved elsewhere. Minnie lived in Hawthorne, California and later in Montana. Minnie and her husband moved back to the family ranch in the 1920s; her husband died in 1946. The cottage was inherited by Minnie's brother, Lovell, who bequeathed the cottage to Minnie in the 1950s. Although Minnie sold the ranch and cottage to the City of Los Angeles in 1956, she retained the right to live on the homestead acre for the rest of her life. She continued to raise fruits and vegetables on the acre, using an antique hand plow. Due to declining health, Minnie moved out of the cottage in the 1970s. She lived to age 94, dying in 1981.

The redwood cottage on a concrete foundation was a cross between a California bungalow and Western stick style architecture. The cottage began as a simple rectangular structure with a front porch. The small front porch was originally open but was enclosed later into a screen porch. The one-story house had no fireplace or chimney. The hipped roof with a wide overhang had an unusual gable at the ridge top, probably for decoration. The south-facing house is sheltered from the strong winds common in the area due to its closeness to a hill. In the 1950s, a rear porch and bathroom wing off of the kitchen were added to the cottage. The bathroom wing had its own gable roof.

The city's Department of Recreation and Parks owns the Minnie Hill Palmer House on Homestead Acre. The Chatsworth Historical Society maintains the cottage as it was in the 1910s, and periodically offers group tours. The cottage - the only remaining Homestead Act cottage in the San Fernando Valley - was listed in the 1970s in the National Register of Historic Places and as a Los Angeles Historical Monument. The cottage is rented out occasionally for weddings, private parties, or movie shoots.

City of Los Angeles Dept. of Recreation and Parks. The Homestead Acre/Hill Palmer House, Historic Sites. Accessed April 15th, 2023. https://www.laparks.org/historic/homestead-acre-hill-palmer-house.

Southern Nevada Conservancy. The Homestead Act of 1862, California Trail Interpretive Center. January 1st, 2018. Accessed April 15th, 2023. https://www.californiatrailcenter.org/the-homestead-act-of-1862/.

Vincent, Ann and Ray. The Minnie Hill Palmer Story, Chatsworth Historical Society. February 12th, 2023. Accessed April 15th, 2023. https://www.chatsworthhistory.com/Program%20Downloads/The%20Minnie%20Hill%20Palmer%20Story.pdf.

Wright, Sara. NRHP nomination of Minnie Hill Palmer House. National Register. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1978.