Strathearn Historical Park
Simi Valley
January 17, 2015
When we were brainstorming something new to do on this visit, we read through the Passport 2 History booklet. This booklet, and the related website, list over 60 historic sites throughout Southern California, from San Luis Obispo County down to San Diego County. We knew from going to the Reagan library that Simi Valley is not a bad drive from Margaret’s home, so we picked this site.
There are about a dozen historic buildings located in the park, which covers a little over 6 acres. It is named for the Strathearn family, who bought the land in the late 19th century. The park is open on weekdays from 9 AM to 3 PM, but docent led tours of the interiors of the buildings are only available five days week in the afternoon, including Saturday and Sunday.
We timed our arrival for 1 PM on the dot, just as the park opened, and began our tour in the visitor center. There is a nice collection of artifacts on display in the visitor center, in glass cases grouped to show the Chumash era, the Spanish era, American frontier era, and the early 20th century. Meredith was rather disconcerted to see a collection of nondescript telephone books and a black standard rotary dial telephone on display. When the everyday objects of our childhood become museum pieces, we really start to feel old!
We sat with a couple other visitors and watched a video in the visitor center which gave an overview of history in the valley over those same periods. The substantive content of the video was quite informative. The production values left a bit to be desired but were adequate for the purpose.
A pair of Cub Scouts and their parents and siblings joined us, and we all headed out on a docent led tour of the various buildings and outdoor exhibits in the park. We particularly liked the original St. Rose of Lima church, the Simi Adobe / Strathearn House, and the antique car and carriages.
The church, like most of the buildings in the park, was relocated from its original location, in this case at Third and Pacific in the old town area of Simi. It was first built by Presbyterians in 1902 but was soon sold to the Catholic diocese and converted to a Catholic parish church, and it was used as such until 1964.
The Simi Adobe, which was later incorporated into the Strathearn House, is the oldest building in the park, and that combined building is one of the few which was originally located on the site. The adobe portion of the building was the headquarters for the Spanish era rancho and dates from about 1810. It is reduced in size from what it was originally; it is now just one story, and the room at the back end of it was destroyed in a fire and not rebuilt. In 1892 the Strathearns added a two-story Victorian frame house to the front of the adobe building. They used the adobe portion as their kitchen and dining room. The entire building is well outfitted with furniture and furnishings from the era. A small part of the floor and wall in one room of the adobe section have been removed and encased in glass, so that one can see the adobe wall and wood floor structure.
Bob went inside the Colony House, which dates from 1888 and was relocated from Second Street and Ashland. That particular building is not wheelchair accessible. It is a prefab building from the abortive “Simiopolis” development in the late 19th century. It was used for many years as a church and minister’s home. Although quite attractive in outward appearance, it is uninsulated and cannot have been very comfortable to live in.
One of the barn buildings contains several well preserved antique carriages, and we all enjoyed seeing a 1926 Model T kept in one of the garage buildings that date from the Strathearn family’s time. Margaret chuckled and called it a “bug eyed monster.”
Other buildings we saw included the local library, built in 1930 and used until 1962; a barbershop; several barns and farm outbuildings with extensive period equipment displayed; and a former garage restyled as a general store and used as the park’s gift shop.
Admission is $3 for adults. Much but not all of the park is wheelchair accessible. Several buildings cannot be entered by wheelchair, although we could see into the library fairly well from outside. With help we lifted Margaret’s wheelchair up one step into the adobe. She could not go up to the Victorian era part of Strathearn House, however, nor could she enter the Colony House.
The park does not have a café or snack bar. We had stopped for lunch on our way to the park in any event, at a sandwich shop nearby that we found on Yelp, Old School Sandwiches & Salads. We all enjoyed our various sandwiches – roast beef, tuna, and chicken – and the two of us were impressed with the chili we had with our half sandwich combos. It seemed nicely made from scratch, with several types of beans and a nice blend of meat, vegetables, and mild spices. They use fresh bakery bread for their sandwiches and pride themselves on fresh and mostly local ingredients. We recommend them to anyone in the area.