Fillmore Historical Museum (Tour)

This tour was curated by: Fillmore Historical Museum

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1. 1919 Rancho Sespe Bunkhouse

The Bunkhouse was built in 1919 based on a design by the Pasadena firm of Greene and Greene. It was one of 3 buildings which served as dormitories for ranch workers. It had 14 rooms, each approximately 7 ft. by 13 ft. The Hull/Spalding family owned Rancho Sespe from 1895 until 1961. The ranch was then deeded to the California Institute of Technology and later sold multiple times. The large ranch was finally divided into 40 acre parcels and sold off. The James P. Finch family bought the headquarters parcel and donated Bunkhouse #2 to the Fillmore Historical Museum. It was moved in the middle of the night along Highway 126 approximately 3 miles from Rancho Sespe to Fillmore. The bunkhouse contains displays of clothing and accessories, local school history, Native American artifacts, the history of the Fillmore insectary and general displays of the history of our area. The walls are covered with some or our extensive vintage photographs. You will also find the museum office and gift shop and the Ynez Haase Library which is available to researchers by appointment.

2. Bardsdale Post Office and Model A Pick up

The smallest building on the Fillmore Historical Museum grounds is the 1890s Bardsdale Post Office. It served as the area post office for a brief period of time until other post offices were established in Sespe and Fillmore. It continued to serve the people of the Bardsdale area until 1906 when it was combined with the Fillmore Post Office. After that it had various lives as a tool shed, chicken coop and children's playhouse before it was donated to the Museum in 1988. The Model A pickup was restored by Fillmore Union High School students and competed the 2002 History Channel Great Race from Atlanta, Georgia to Anaheim, California. It is housed in a garage built to reflect the style of the next door Hinckley House.

3. Ira and Kate Hinckley House

The Hinckley House was built in 1905 by one of Fillmore’s, Dr. Ira Hinckley and his wife Catherine, "Kate". Ira Hinckley was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1879, the son of Dr. John Hinckley and Cora Loomis Hinckley. Dr. John Hinckley came to Fillmore in the early 1890s and became the town’s first physician. His son, Ira, became a dentist and pharmacist opening an office on Central Avenue. In 1899 he married Catherine “Kate” Cruson and in 1905 they built a home at First and Fillmore Street in Fillmore. There they raised their two children, Lawrence and Hattie Mae. When the house was going to be demolished following the 1994 Northridge earthquake, it was given to the Fillmore Historical Museum and moved down Fillmore Street onto the present site. The house consists of a living room, dining room, bedroom, and kitchen as well as a representation of Dr. Ira Hinckley’s dental office. The bathroom originally was located outside. A lean-to was added at a later date to house the more modern bathroom, but it didn’t survive the earthquake. Very few of the items displayed in the house actually belonged to the Hinckley family, but were donated by many local families.

4. 1887 Southern Pacific Depot

In the beginning the Southern Pacific left just a boxcar to serve as a depot and office. But by the end of 1887 the depot had been constructed. Materials for the depot arrived on a flatbed rail car as flat panels which could be assembled into a variety of configurations. Our Fillmore depot is the smallest of the sizes. Within the Depot you will find exhibits showing how travel was in the late 19th Century. model train displays, history of the citrus industry and other agriculture in the valley, as well as information regarding the St. Francis Dam Disaster, the worst US man made disaster of the 20th Century.

This Tour is a Virtual Museum or Site Tour.

Fillmore Historical Museum

Created by Susan Zeider on April 15th 2020, 9:42:22 pm.

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Description

Since 1972 the Fillmore Historical Museum has been sharing the history of the Santa Clara River Valley with local citizens and visitors. The historical park includes the 1887 Southern Pacific Depot around which the town of Fillmore grew up as well as the 1905 Hinckley House, and the 1919 Rancho Sespe Bunkhouse as well as the Bardsdale Post Office and a 1968 Caboose. Displays depicting why the communities in the Valley began and why they flourished can be found in the historic buildings. Native American settlements, Mexican rancheros, agriculture and oil all played a part in the growth of the Santa Clara River Valley.

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Fillmore Historical Museum

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