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Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site

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This is a contributing entry for Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site and only appears as part of that tour.Learn More.

The bedroom of Jotham and Margaret Bixby’s sons’ Harry and George is depicted here. Harry Bixby is pictured at left of mirror (along with cousins Sarah and Anne Bixby), and his brother George Bixby is pictured at right of the mirror. The child’s bed (which is a family piece) has metal springs and a straw mattress. The small folding bed or a straw mattress could be added for younger siblings or cousins to sleep on. Underneath the bed is a chamber pot, reflecting the fact that the home had no indoor plumbing.

The Bixby family believed girls as well as boys should be literate, a progressive value for the time. There was no public school in the area until September of 1879, so Harry Bixby and his siblings were tutored at home with the series of McGuffey’s Readers before heading off to boarding school. Their cousins, Sarah & Anne Bixby, attended public school once their family moved from Rancho San Justo to Los Angeles in 1878.

The mix of homemade and manufactured toys on display includes fishing poles, a set of Chinese checkers, an “exploding” puzzle, a jumping jack, a clown on a pole, and a horse-headed tricycle powered with one’s hands instead of feet. The exhibit room also includes bird eggs and marbles, since Harry collected both according to his diary. 


Dresser

Property, Picture frame, Mirror, Interior design

Bed

Property, Furniture, Comfort, Window

Tableware, Dishware, Drinkware, Interior design