Santa Barbara Historical Museum — 25 Years: A Celebration

NOTICIAS Quarterly Magazine Of The Santa Barbara Historical Society Vol. XXXVl, No. 2

Summer 1990

25 Years: A Celebration

The Femaldfamily parlor,shown here with Florence seated at the piano,exemplifies Victorian prrference for eclectic decor. The roomispresentlyfimiished as JxidgeFernaldsstudy.

m.

This isstic q/^NOTICIAS commemorates the a^th anniversary ofour museum building by looking at three ofthe Historical Society s pwperties.

David Bisol traces the past and charts thefuture ofthe Victorian remold House;Donald Bjorknan profiles thefamilies ofthe Trussell-Winchester adobe, and a pictorial essay portrays the museum building as it might have been. Allphotos arefrom the Historical Society s collection.

Back.Cover:The Femald House at its originalsite, Santa Barbara Street.Note the scalloped -metal ridge on roof,typical ofQueen Anne architecturalstyle.

Michael Redmon, Editor Judy Sutcliffe, Designer © 1990 The Santa Barbara Historical Society 136 E. De la Guerra Street, Santa Barbara, California 93101 Single copies $3.00

David S. Bisol A native Santa Barharan, David Bisol has had a lifelong inter est in local history. At age sixteen he was afounding member of the Qoleta Valley Historical Society and was elected to their board at nineteen. He is currently Acting Curator at the Santa Barham Historical Society.

This rare i8yjview shows the ori^nal brichhoxise Due to the many later additions, the only architccturdlfeature ofthis house that can be seen today is thefront portico.

The Feraald House is a 14-room man sion with an eyeful of porches, balconies and gables and is an excellent example of the Victorian architecture introduced to Santa Barbara in the late 1800s. In this

N A QUIET, SHADY CORNER of MontC-

I

cito Street, only a few blocks from the roar of the crosstown freeway

project, stands one of the Santa Bar bara Historical Society's hidden treas ures—the former home of Judge Charles Femald.

home many of the important visitors to our community were entertained, includ25

26

“ NOTICIAS Santa Barbara to visit friends. At that time, Santa Barbara was being terrorized by an organized gang of bandits, causing many county officials to resign.

Through friends he had met, he accepted the position of sheriff, and at the age of 22 decided to remain in Santa Barbara.

He later served as district attorney and was then appointed county judge and was elected for second and third terms.

He also carried on an active law practice and was granted permission to present cases before the Supreme Court of Cali' fomia. Then, in 1881, Judge Femald was eleaed mayor of Santa Barbara, accept ing no compensation.

On August 7, 1862. Judge Fernald married Miss Hannah Hobbs, whom he had brought to California via the hazard ous Panama crossing. Later that year the Fernalds began to build their family home.

ing Princess Louise, fourth daughter of Queen Victoria, and her husband, the Governor General of Canada, when they made a tour of the Pacific Coast in Janu ary, 1883.

Five children were bom to Judge and Mrs. Femald: Beatrice (who married Robert Cameron Rogers, author of the lyric. The ^sary)-, Edith, who died at the age of seven; Florence; Charles. Jr., and Reginald. Miss Florence lived in the fam

The Family-

ily home until the age of 91, the last of her generation.

Charles Fernald was bom in North

After many years of distinguished public service in Santa Barbara, Judge Femald died in 1892. Hannah, s^l in

Berwick, Maine, on May 27, 1830. The lure of gold brought him to California at 19 years of age, arriving in San Francisco on June 14, 1849. After a few months in mining camps he returned to San Fran cisco, where he was employed by the Pose and A1c2, leading newspapers of the area and, at the same time, he began to study law.

Burned out by two disastrous fires, he remained in San Francisco only long enough to pass his bar examination.

Then, in June of 1852. Femald decided to return to New England, stopping off in

their home, died in 1929 at the age of 90.

The Home.

Judge Femald loved the sea, and he chose a building location comprising a full city block not far from the ocean.

The original house erected at 422 Santa Barbara Street was a two-story, 30-foot sqioare, brick structure. The building was covered by a medium-pitched hipped roof with a single-story porch running across

27

FERNALD HOUSE the south side of the house. A lean-to kitchen was at the rear. The original plan of the house was almost entirely ob scured by later remodeling. Its basic floor plan apparently consisted of a hall to the south side and a parlor living room, con nected by a wide opening to the dining room in the rear. Upstairs, there were three bedrooms and a hall along part of the south side.

In 1880 Thomas Nixon, architect and builder, was engaged to completely remod- ^’1^':,-:'. el and enlarge both ^ the exterior and in-

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terior of the house. ^ j|j| On the south side of'Mm

received an alternating pattern of oak and walnut. Elaborate wainscoting was installed in the dining room and entry hall, using an interesting zigzag molding which would be repeated in the paneled doors.

The birth of the Femald’s fifth child, Reginald, hastened the completion of the renovations in order for the family to celebrate his christening. To the Fernalds, this was a very important social function and an opportunity to enter ifc.' .V ic' tain the "gentry” of ^ ‘ Santa Barbara. \ One might think .

the house, a family parlor, dining room and porch were add ed. The service area and kitchen to the rear of the house were also remodeled. On the second floor two new bedrooms were

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added, one over the new first-floor fami ly parlor, the other over the new dining room. The old hipped roof was replaced by a steeply pitched ser ies of gable roofs, with elaborate sawed

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Florence Fernald never married and lived her entire life of91 years in the family home. An accomplished pianist, she expanded the music room ofthe house in igxS.

that this elegant home was, by this point, complete for all time. But, like Topsy, the Fernald House continued to grow. In the ensuing years, as the family’s affluence increased, additional rooms of a practical nature were added: servants’ quarters, an additional bedroom and interior bathrooms.

By 1892 a third addition had been completed to the rear of the house. On its

and turned woodwork in the gable ends.

Originally, a scalloped metal ridge and typically high-paneled Queen Anne chimneys dominated the roof line.

Roswell Forbush, local cabinetmaker,

first floor was a new and larger kitchen with a pantry and rear stairs to the sec ond floor. The old small kitchen space be came the butler’s pantry. On the second floor a small bedroom, bathroom and an

began to transform the interior using fin ished redwood to create a carved, curving staircase and paneled doors. The entry hall was floored in a complicated pattern of oak parquet. The family parlor floor

array of new closets were added. Architect Peter J. Barber departed from the Queen Anne style of the 1880 addition, introduc ing an Italianate-inspired exterior.

The year 1905 brought about yet an-

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30

NOTICIAS An(Xnxious moment occurred during the move of the house to its presait site. Asit crossed the rail road tracks at Castillo Street,the house suddenly sh^ed,residting in an emergency radio call to delay the northbound Southern Padfic train,averting a collision.After redistribution ofthe load,the house continued on Usjourney withoutfurthermcident.

Director, set in motion a campaign to raise money to purchase the Femald House and move it to the TrussellWinchester property at 414 West Montecito Street. The property and its his toric adobe had been a gift to the Society from Mrs. John Russell Hastings, provid ing the land on which to relocate the venerable mansion.

The Femald House property had been acquired by The Central Life Insurance Company before Miss Femald’s death (she had retained life tenancy), and shortly thereafter was leased to the General Tele cheap boarding house much as the rest of

phone Company. Starting with a dona

the neighborhood. Mr. A. C. Postel, Flor

tion of ^1,200 from General Telephone,

ence’s lawyer, issued an opinion that if

representing the cost of demolishing the

the home was preserved as an historic landmark, her wishes would not be vio

house, Society member Elmer Whittaker, a retired building contractor, took on the

lated.

The Move In the spring of 1959. W Edwin Gledhill, Santa Barbara Historical Society

Taken shortly after the move,this view clearly shows the sorry state into which the house had fallen.Also evident are the two dominant styles of the house the steeply roofed Queen Anne and the corniced eaves oftheflat-roofed Italianate,center.

FEKNALD HO VSE:In Search ofA Style Formost ofthe i^tk century,American architects were obsessed with the idea offinding a really American style. They looked everywherefbrit—vn ancient Qreece (the Qreekrevivol), in the Italian countryside(the Italianate),and in medieval churches(the Qotkic and Fprruinesque Fpvivals). They even looked in the Middle East(the Egyptian and Moorish volsJl Each ofthese tacks seemed promising—but they were notready American.

Then,intheiS yos,American designers came upon the work offi^hord Norman Shaw, an English architect specializing in a style that presumably represented building durirxg the reign ofQueen Anne,the eariy-i8th centurypraiecessor ofthe various King Qeorges.Ac' tu^y,the half-timbered cottages thatShaw and his American admirers likpd so much were a bit earlierthan Queen Anne(say, by a hundred years).But nobody minded.A Queen Anne style wasjust the thing—and somethirtg really American was about to happen to it.

Spurred on by architecturalstyle books likp Henry Hudson Holly's Modem Dwcllings, the style thmtookoffacross America,becoming,as Holly pointed out,'popularat once.not only among the educated,but even among the rusticpopulation .“In oneform or another,its popularity stretchedfivm the late i8yos through thefirst decade ofthe 2.0th cen tury.iJhp t^Femald House,the style emphasi^ vertical lines with plenty ofsteep gables, and it had veryfew boring,flat wall surfaces. Angles were everyplace,alternately catching and absorbing light.Bays and verandas projected,wiruiows and niches receded,chimneys surged skyward.

Up,down,and across the building,the walls werefairiy alive with changes in materi als—stucco,shingles, dies,wood siding,clear and stcUned glass—and colors.

Thistvas Arnenc3n.

But that's not alL The Femald House also includes the i8p^ addition m the Italianate style. The overall ^ect is a ratherscncare orrectangular box-shape unth a low hipped roofor,as seen on the Femald house,afiat roofLarge eve brackets donate the cornice line. The Italianate style began in England aspart ofthe Picturesque movement,a reaction to theformal classical ideals in art and architecture that had beenfashionablefor about two hundred years. The style was popularizfd by the ivfiuentialpattem book^ ofAndrew Jackson DownmgpubUshed m the iS^os and 1850s,profoundly acting American design.In architecture,the styleflourished through die 1850s and 1880s,and thenfaded in the i8^os,lingering longest in Califomia and the West.

Today,these two styles stand outas a lasting tribute to the idealism ofHigh Victorian style as seen on the Feniald House.

E>avid S. Bisol

NOTICIAS

KfstonUion m progress. Hpnotxil ofthe paneling s whitepaint has raxaUd rare woods worh.ed with mastercrafismanship.

I ● I

1 I I task of arranging for the move.

Mr. Whittaker personally posted the necessary bonds with the city to secure the moving and building permits, and the house was cut into three sections. Ar rangements were made to cut and replace 400 telephone cables, chart a route across Hi^way In 101, and coordinate 'W' railroad timetables to cross the tracks at Castillo Street. The move took two days.

The left side was first, and the right side and rear were second. Miss Pearl Chase reported that many of the spec imen trees of the old Feraald House site had been taken to beautify the University of Cali fornia’s Santa Barbara campus at Goleta.

In January, 1959, a Women’s Projects

Board was formally organized. Its pur pose was to work with the Historical Sodety in the restoration and management of the Trussell - Winchester adobe and the Fernald House. This group gave many hours and expended considerable effort toward the restoration of the old mansion to bring it to some semblance of its former glory. The interior of the house once again became a charming and gracious residence. The Women's Projects Board from the start had been the backbone, muscle and heart of the entire un dertaking. TTiis group not only did much of the physical work, but also collected furnishings and decorated the rooms.

When the Fcmald House opened on Eas ter Sunday, 1962, it was sparsely fur nished with some original Fcmald fumi-

33

FERNALD HOUSE

ture, paintings and articles from the So ciety. Among early donations to the home were a Waterford crystal chande lier in the dining room, a grand piano to replace the one belonging to Miss Flor ence Femald(\^o had bequeathed hers to a favorite student), and an impressive four fk)Ster bed.

A transitional period saw the disband ing of the Women’s Projects Board in the fall of 1986. The legacy of their energetic efforts is appreciated to this day. In the winter of that year, it became necessary to close the Femald House. Then, due to the single-handed persistence and hard work of a dedicated and skilled museum volunteer, William Troiano, Jr., and a loyal handful of Femald House aficianados. the Femald House was re-opened to the public. During that time, portions of the house were used as a private residence and a major part of the furnishings was transferred to the Society’s museum base ment for storage. Although the second

floor is currently empty, the house re mains open for viewing.

The Future.

By January of 1990, the interior of the house was in serious need of restora tion. To this end an exhaustive research project was undertaken. The first step was to determine what period to repli cate. The second step was to locate physical evidence to determine what type of materials and finishes were used by the builders.

In the scope of historic homes main tained by the Historical Society, three major periods are represented. Casa Covarrubias, an early California adobe built in 1817, represents the Spanish period.

The Trussell-Winchester adobe tran scends that period and reflects the An glo-American influence of the 1850s. The Femald House, bom in the early part of the Victorian Era, reached the zenith of

Plans arc to return the dining room to thetuayitlookfidin the 1880s,seen at right.T^ote the nat ural wood wainscoting and the wall-to<oallcarpeting. The tiles surrounding the jxreplacewazdestroryed m the 19^5 earthejuak.^

^w^nn-nri^i'Tv"

34

its evolution upon completion of its i88os redesign, highlighted by the family cele bration of Reginald Femald’s christening.

Test samples taken from the surfaces revealed the details with which Roswell Forbush finished the interior of the house.

It was discovered under multiple layers of paint that, in addition to polished red wood, rare zebrawood had been used to create insert panels in the staircase and newel post. Light and dark stains to create alternating patterns had been used in the elaborate wainscoting of the dining room and entry hall.

Further exploration of the hidden sur faces exposed evidence of the 1925 replas tering and the mended walls of the 1959 reconstruction of the moved house. Trac es of original wallpaper were discovered in remote sections of the rooms.

In an historic photograph of the din ing room following the 1880s remodeling, wall-to-wall carpeting covers the entire floor. Hardwood floors u^re introduced to this and other rooms following the 1925

NOTICIAS

earthquake remodel. Research revealed wall-to-wall carpeting was fashionable during the Victorian period. Loomed in narrow strips, the sections would be sewed together to create a room-sized carpet. As loom sizes increased, the term "Broad Loomed” was coined during the early part of this century.

The Feraald House will be returned to the period of the 1880s, but before replac ing the historic artifacts removed earlier, the surfaces of the interior rooms will be restored. Wallpapers, colors, fabrics and finishes appropriate to the period are be ing selected. Room-by-room restorations will be undertaken as funding becomes available. Presently, work on the chil dren's room is underway and completion is targeted for July of this year.

Continued interest in our rich archi tectural and cultural history by the Soci ety and its dedicated volunteers will en sure that the Fernald House will not merely remain intact, but will be restored to a bygone era of elegance.

The.Fernald Hovse was also known as 'The Palms’’when it was at its originallocation at422Santa Barbara Street.It is now located at ^12. West Trfontecito Street,the site ofthis photo.

\

35

HISTORICAL MUSEUM

Michael Redmon Tvlichdd is the librarian,ofthe QledhillLibrary ofthe Santa Barbara Historical Society and also is editor ofNOTICIAS.

r

HE Santa Barbara Historical

T

Society was born without a home, searching for the next 32 years for a place to settle. In its earliest years, the Society had a room in the rotunda tower of the County Court house, facing the sunken garden, arranged largely through the efforts of Supervisor Sam Stanwood.

The Society’s collections quickly be gan to outgrow this confined space and with incorporation in 1943, the search for a museum site became an ever higher pri ority. By the second half of the 1940s, the collections were primarily housed in three places: the tower room, the Trus sell-Winchester adobe on West Montecito Street, which was the home of Mrs.

John Russell Hastings.and the home of Miss Elizabeth Mason on Rancheria Street.

In 1948 Mrs. Hastings offered the So ciety her adobe and the lot behind it, with the idea that the Society could con struct a museum on the site. Mrs. Hast ings stipulated chat she could live in the

adobe until her death and that if the So ciety wanted to build a museum immedi ately, they do so in such a manner that the building would not obscure her view of the mountains.

In 1948-1949, the society engaged ar chitect Robert Ingle Hoyt to draw up con ceptual drawings for a museum building.

The first concept was to reconstruct the two-story Alpheus Thompson adobe.

Thought to be the earliest example of the Monterey style of adobe construction in California, Thompson constructed his home in 1834-1836 at 805-806 State Street. Later known as the San Carlos or St. Charles Hotel, it was tom down in 1913. Seen to the left of the drawing on page 36 is the Trussell-Winchester adobe and behind that the carriage house, the idea apparently being to construct an historic park. (Note that Castillo Street has been mislabeled Cabrillo Street.)

It Is unclear why the Thompson adobe was chosen as a model. The Socie ty had just received the Alpheus Thomp son papers which may have affected

36

NOTICIAS

Above:Bpbert Ingle Hoytsfirst conceptuai drawingfor tkeproposed museum.

Above Kight:B^sellB^iizs drawing combines the St. Charles concept with a V-shaped adobe.

Below:BpbertIngle Hoyts second try.

HISTORICAL MUSEUM

their thinking. Georgiana Lacy Spalding, one of the last Thompson descendants, urged the Society in her will to recon struct the adobe. Although Miss Spalding did not pass away until 1959, perhaps she had already made her wishes known.

In any case, the Building Committee in their January 1949 meeting deemed the St. Charles design impractical and decid ed to move forward on a building "in the spirit of the Santa Barbara Presidio.” An interesting hybrid is seen in Russell Ruiz’s drawing (date unknown) in which the St. Charles is combined with a tradi

own unique architectural "look.” One of the outstanding examples of this style in the city is the train depot at 209 State Street. Hoyt also considered a plan more along the lines of a Spanish-Colonial style as seen in his "Scheme #3,” on page 38. Lack of funds was the primary reason that planning did not get much beyond the conceptual stage. Further, in 1954 So ciety President Francis Price negotiated to have the Society move into three rooms at the Old Mission. Although not

tional U-shaped adobe building.

Hoyt’s second design rendered the mu seum in a Mission Revival style. This

By the early 1960s attention had fo cused on a downtown location, "El Recinto Stanwood." at the comer of Santa Barbara and De la Guerra Streets. The

style, popular around the turn of the cen tury, was developed to give California its

a permanent solution, it undoubtedly eased the situation for a time.

county had designated this site in honor

i^ofccrt Ingle Hoyts thirdconc^tuaLdrawing,in Spanisk-ColoniaLstyle.

of Sam Stanwood in 1944, with the idea of eventually erecting a museum there, possibly linked to the history of the Old Spanish Days Fiesta. In 1954, Stanwood’s widow, Carolyn, urged the county to move forward with this plan.

Nothing had been done by the early ’60s and the Society faced a number of options for museum sites. These included the Trussell property, the Louis Dreyfus property on Constance Avenue and a city-owned site across from the Old Mis sion, but the Society began to favor the "El Recinto” location. There were several reasons for this. W Edwin Gledhill, Mu seum Director, was a prime mover in es tablishing the El Pueblo Viejo historic district in the downtown area. A historic museum was a natural tie-in. Also the Society had begun to negotiate the pur chase of the Covarrubias and Historic adobes to the south of "El Recinto Stan wood” from the Los Adobes de los Rancheros. The two adobes and a museum

would make a nice complex.(The Socie ty bought the two adobes in 1964.)Super visor Joseph Callahan was the main gobetween between the Society and the County and in 1961, the Society was granted a 99-year lease on "El Recinto."

These last two Hoyt drawings (page 39) date from around 1961 and show that the basic design of the building(U-shaped adobe) was in place. The first drawing is reminiscent of the Casa De la Guerra at n-19 East De la Guerra Street in that the courtyard faces the street.

This last drawing comes even closer to the final design. The entrance opens onto De la Guerra Street and the second story has been added to that comer of the building. The design of this two-story portion creates an additional courtyard before one enters the main courtyard created by the two legs of the U-shaped building. Note that these two wings ap pear to face west rather than south as in the present building.

39

HISTORICAL MUSEUM

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=jS,-|F In February 1965 the Santa Barbara Historical Museum building was formally dedicated in ceremonies held in the Mu seum courtyard. The Society had traveled a long road from the days of the Court house tower room. These drawings attest to a 25-year process of planning, rccvaluation and redesign which is being pursued to this day.

Above:Kpbat Ingle Hoyt’sfourth attempt at a workable concept.

Below:Hisfifth try,now showing elements ofthe finalversion.

40

NOTICIAS

The Families of the Frussell-Winchester Adobe Donald Bjorkman Donald Bjorkman moved to Santa Barbara in 198^.

With a special interest in architectural history and his toric homes, he served as a docent at the TrussellWinchester adobe and as a volunteer in the Qledhill Library.TAr.Bjorkpianpassed away earlier this year.

TrussellWinchester adobe

ried Ramona at the Old

7

Mission. He was 42 years old. she was 16.

has had a long history and has been associated with a number of prominent Santa Barbara families.

It is at this point that Isaac Sparks enters the couple’s life. Sparks, a former otter hunter,

This, then, is not only the story of an historic building, but the story of the families who lived there and their role in de

was by now a prosperous merchant, operating a general score on Burton Mound overlooking West Beach. For a six-

veloping the community of Santa Barbara.

Horatio Captain Gates Trussell was bom

month period in 1853 he would serve as the city’s mayor. Sparks had three ' daughters with Ramoj na’s mother, Maria, and thought of Ramona as a daughter as well. So it was to Sparks that the newly weds turned for property on which to build a home.

in Orland, Maine, in 1808. He was a seamanfirst as a ship's carpenter and later as a captain. In volved in the trade be tween the Hawaiian Is lands, California and the

liamona Trussell in 186^.

She and Captain Trussell had ten children. B^amona was the greatgranddaughter ofQeorge Stewart,a sauoron the HMS Bounty,and a TahitiOnwoman,Peggy.

East Coast ports, especial ly Boston, he visited Mon terey, San Pedro, San Diego and Santa Barbara in his travels. On one of his

stops here he spied the young Ramona Ayers-Burke playing on the beach. Upon his retirement, Trussell returned to Santa Barbara and on September 1, 1851, mar¬

Sparks made available to them a piece of property on the corner of Castillo and Montecito Streets.

By 1854, Trussell had completed a house that was a hybrid of architectural styles. The home had an adobe core, but also featured a porch, an entry-storeroom of wood and one of the first shingle roofs

TRUSSELL-WINCHESTER

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Uriah Winchester and doughta^Sarah outside the adobe. in Santa Barbara. Also a number of the timbers used in the floor and roof came from the ill-fated Winfield Scott which had run aground at Anacapa Island in De cember, 1853. This "Yankee adobe” stands as an embodiment of the transitional per iod from Mexican to American rule. In 1858, Sparks formally deeded the property to Ramona "in love and respect."

Trussell retained his tie to the sea in retirement, joining forces with some of Santa Barbara’s wealthiest and most powerful figures. In 1853 he and Alpheus TTiompson purchased the brig, Prince de Joinville. Thompson had also been a sea faring man involved with the trade to China and the Hawaiian Islands and had married into the influential Carrillo fam ily. In the late 1860s, he purchased a schooner with Albert Packard, mer chant, lawyer and owner of a 200-acre vineyard on Santa Barbara's Westside, as a partner. Trussell was also involved in a number of real estate dealings, often involving Sparks.

The Trussells lived in the adobe until 1869, when the captain built a two-story wood frame house just to the north. In 1878, the adobe passed into the hands of William M. Eddy.

WilliamM. Eddy was involved inanumberof real estate deals in the Santa Barbara area.

TAaps ofthe late 1880s show an "Eddy Tract "on Salinas Street between ?rlason and Cacique.

42

NOTICIAS

Eddy’s introduction to California, like thousands of others, had been during the gold rush, after which he returned to New York, married and brought his new family west, eventually settling in Santa Barbara in the early 1870s. Eddy first built a home on nine acres in Montecito, later expanding the estate to sixteen acres. He then sold the estate, moved into town, and built a home on West Mission Street. In 1875, he became one of the founders and first president of Santa Bar bara’s second bank, the Santa Barbara County Bank. It is fairly certain that Eddy never lived in the adobe; in fact, the adobe may have been vacant since the Trussells moved out in i86g. Another possibility is that some of Trussell’s older children lived in the adobe until the sale to Eddy. Perhaps Eddy rented the house, but in any case, he held on to it for only a short time. In July 1882 he sold the adobe to the Winchester family.

The Winchesters, like Captain Trussell, were of Maine stock. Uriah Win chester was born in Holden. Maine, in

1814, marrying Sarah Haynes of Brewer, Maine, in 1837. Six children were bom to the couple, but by the time they came to Santa Barbara in 1869, only three still sur vived. The eldest of these was Sarah, who was bom in 1840. and who had taught school in New York and Pennsylvania be fore coming west with her parents.

Sarah's younger brother, Robert, had served in the Civil War and received his medical degree from Bowdoin College in Maine in 1867. He then moved west, set ting up a practice in San Francisco. He made the acquaintance of Colonel W W Hollister in 1868, when a smallpox epi demic broke out on Hollister’s ranch near San Juan Bautista. Hollister later urged Winchester to follow him to Santa Bar bara to become his personal physician.

The youngest child was Charlotte, bom 1850. In 1876, she married Stanley Bagg, whose father was co-founder of the Detroit Free Press. Soon after, the couple left Santa Barbara and settled in Tombstone, Arizona, where Stanley opened a furniture store. In 1887, he bc-

Dr.Bpbert Winchester’s photo was tahpi around the time ofhis marriage in 18y6.Afier his divorce,he moved into the secondfloor ofthe carriage house,which remains living quarters to this day.Photo datesfrom around igyo.

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TRUSSELL-WINCHESTER

came an investor in an evening newspa per, the Prospector, which became the competitor to the other paper in town, the Tombstone Epitaph. Exchanges be tween the two papers could at times be come heated. A typical Epitaph comment

family about 1904. Changes also occurred at other buildings on the property. In 1899, Dr. Winchester’s wife of 23 years, Carrie, divorced him on the grounds of verbal abuse. Winchester then trans formed the upper floor of the carriage house (which still stands) into bachelor quarters for himself.

A bit of Santa Barbara history now intruded on the family's serenity. TTie story of the Haley survey of the city streets in 1851 is a well-known one. A passing sea captain, Salisbury Haley, submitted the low bid to the city’s Com mon Council to lay out a grid pattern of streets. It turned out the city got what it paid for. Haley used leather thongs to re pair his survey chain, which therefore expanded or contracted depending on conditions of temperature and humidity.

The result was that no two blocks were

Stanley Bag^ the 'Jivtjhotoumerofasixcolumn newspaper."

about Bagg ran. tt You can prick a bladder or a Bagg and never exhaust its wind.” Bagg himself rarely resorted to such name calling, modestly referring to himself as "the five-foot owner of a sixcolumn newspaper.” In 1891, he bought the Epitaph, combining the two papers xmder the Epitaph name until selling them in 1895. The Baggs then tried their hand in various mining enterprises in Arizona and lived for a time in San Diego before returning to Santa Barbara in the early

exactly the same size and errors in meas urement grew progressively worse as one moved out from the starting point at State and Carrillo. The legacy was a nightmare of dispute and litigation over property lines for years to come.

In 1907, daughter Sarah Winchester got into a boundary dispute with her next-door neighbor. Orren D. Payne claimed the rights to eight feet, six inch-

1920s.

The Winchesters added a small bedroom and enlarged the master bedroom of the adobe, probably in the mid-i88os.

The sun room was probably added by the

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44

es of her property on the west side. Sarah filed suit

Hpl rine often came out from . New York to visit her

and a lengthy court fight evolved. Payne had the city surveyor survey his mproperty, and he found in his favor. Sarah appealed but lost. To this day, deeds %rt for the Trussell- Ib4

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Winchester property refer 1

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to this dispute. j Changes in ownership j of the property began to ‘ come fast and furious in

them in 1932. Thus by 1932, the entire lot and the adobe had passed into the Hast ings family.

Charlotte Bagg continued to live in the adobe until her death in 1942. Kathe*

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room into a dressing room with a full bath, while also restoring the adobe to its original white color.

Katherine Hastings had an abiding interest in his toric preservation, both here and back east. After

moving to Santa Barbara upon her husband’s death in 1942, she became a prime mover in having the Histor ical Society incorporate in 1943, wanted to see her adobe home preserved, perhaps as part of an historic park. In 1951, she gave a quit claim deed to all her property to the County National Bank and Trust Company, the eventual execu tors of her will. In 1955, she had granted to the Assistance League of Santa Barba ra a 95-foot by 125-foot piece of proper ty on the comer of Castillo and Montecito streets, so the League could move the historic Hunt-Stambach house to the site, to save it from demolition. It re

Katherine Hastings, whosegaxerosity to the Historical Society allowed one ofSanta Barbara‘s landmark.5 to hepresaved forfixture generations.

signed over the western half of the property to sister Charlotte.

In May 1926, Dr. Winchester sold the adobe to Charlotte’s daughter, Katherine, and her husband, John listings, selling the rest of his property to Charlotte two years later. She in turn sold that remain ing east half of the lot to the Hastings for $10.00 and the west half of the lot to

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September 1924. Nineteen days before her death on the 21st, Sarah signed over her property to her brother. Dr. Winchester, who in turn

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mother and in 1938 helped remodel the adobe, con-

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mained there until 1966, when once again it was moved, this time to Coronel Street, where it still stands.

With Mrs. Hastings’ passing in 1955. the adobe property was deeded to the Historical Society, who have followed through on her wishes that the property remain a testament to Santa Barbara’s past.

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This view ofthe adobe dearly shows the addition of the sunroom. The corh oak, planted by Captain Trussell shortly afiercompletion ofthe adobe, came down in a storm in

SANTA BARBARA HISTORICAL SOCIETY BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Mr. David F. Myrick .

President .. First Vice President Second Vice President

Mrs. Susan B.Simpson Mr. Michael Rodrigue

.Secretary .Treasurer

Mrs. Jean Goodrich . .

Mr. David Glcdhill ...

Mr.fted Allen

Mr.J. James Hollister, m

Mrs. Helene Beaver

Dr. C. Seyhert KinscU Dr.John IVkrritt Mrs. Delfina R. Mott

Mrs. Jean Gallanan Mr. Lcland Oawford Mr. Oswald J. Da Ros

Mr. Dorm Tognazzini Mr. William G. Troiano,Jr.

Mr. C.John Douglas, III

Mrs. Julie Villa Mr. William F. Luton,Jr., Executive Director

LIFE MEMBERS

Mr.Stephen A. Acronico Mr. and Mrs.J.W Beaver

Mr. and Mrs. Keith Glcdhill Mr. Richard C. Harpham Mrs. Natalie B. Clark-Harpham Mr. and Mrs. Glenn D. Hillcbrand

Mr. and Mrs. Danily Bell Mr. Marvin J. Branch Dr. and Mrs. Ashlcigh Brilliant Mr. H. R. de la Cuesta Burkhart

Dr. C. Seyhert Kinscll

Mr. and Mrs. Pierre P. Clacyssens Mr. and Mrs. Charles Cleek

Mrs. Jane Rich Mueller Mr. Spencer L. Murfey,Jr.

Mrs. M. C. Coukey Mrs. Florence GDrder-Witter

Mr. William W. Murfey

Mr.Eric P. HvoIboU

Marla Daily Mrs. R. E. Danielson, Jr.

Mr.David F. Myrick Mr. and Mrs. Godwin J. Pclisscro Miss Frederica D. Poett Mrs. Rena Redmon Mrs. Alma R. Ritchie

Mr. and Mrs. Oswald J. Da Ros Mrs. Albert dc L'Arbrc

Mr. and Mrs. Wade Rubottom Mrs. Russell A. Ruiz

Mr. and Mrs. Wilson Forbes

Mrs. Melville Sahyun Mr. Peter J. Samuclson Mrs. Nina Sandrich

Mr.J. V Crawford Mr. Richard G. Croft,Jr.

Mr. Donald R.Foyer Mrs. Helen W.Foyer Master John Galvin Mr. Michael Galvin

Mr. and Mrs. J. Terry Schwartz Mrs. David Shoudy Mr. Walter G.Silva

Miss Sally Gane

Mr. and Mrs.John C. Woodward BENEFACTORS: Santa Cruz Island Foundation, Northern Trust of California, Jon Douglas Company and Two Anonymous Categories of membersh^: Life/Bcnefactor, $5,000; President’s Circle, $1,000; Busincss/Professional Patron. $500; Patron. $500;Business/Professional Associate. $250; Associate. $250; Sustaining. $100; Supporting, $50; Regular, $30. Contributions to the Society are tax-exempt.

Museum and Library: 136 East De la Guerra Street. Santa Barbara, CA 93101 Telephone: 805/966-160L-

Iff

Non-Profit Ot^izacion U.S. Postage PAID Santa Barbara California

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Permit No.534 Uii I ●Li pf-

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NOTICIAS Quarterly Magazine of the Santa Barbara Historical Society P.O. Box 578 Santa Barbara, California 93102

Address Correction Requested Forwarding Postage Guaranteed

CONTENTS: Pg. 25: The Grand Lady of the Society by David S. Bisol Pg.^: Evolution of a Building

by Mchael Redmon Pg.40; Trussell-Winchester Farnilies by Donald Bjorknian