Paint Out at Strathearn Park in Simi
Schedule
Sat Mar 22 2025 at 01:00 pm to 04:00 pm
UTC-07:00Location
Simi Valley Historical Society & Museum at Strathearn Park | Simi Valley, CA
I have requested special permission for us to visit Strathearn Park; hopefully we have the park to ourselves. Please consider making a donation to the docents, for keeping this historic place open. RR onsite. For audio tour when on-site, and virtual tour before you visit: https://www.simihistory.com/park-tour/
This site is California Historical Landmark Number 979 and is also on the National Register of Historic Places.
Ventura County Landmarks at Strathearn Park:
No. 6 Simi Adobe/Strathearn House (aka de la Guerra Adobe). Built in 1810 by Santiago Pico, original grantee of El Rancho Simi, the adobe was the headquarters of the Rancho from the first decade of the 1800s. It provided an important link between the San Fernando and Ventura missions. Jose de la Guerra purchased the huge 113,000 acre grant from Rafael Pico, son of Patricio Pico, in about 1832. Two usable rooms of the original structure remained when Robert P. Strathearn bought approximately 15,000 acres from Simi Land and Water Co. in about 1890. In 1892-93, a nine-room Victorian farmhouse was added to the adobe rooms, which continued to be used as dining room and kitchen by the Strathearn family. The Strathearn family occupied the house continuously until 1968. (Other landmarks located at Strathearn Historical Park: No. 40, 41, 91 and 93.)
No. 40 Simi Library Building, Built 1930. This quaint square one-room structure was the first purpose-built branch library of the Ventura County library system, after local citizens raised the money for the land. It served the community until the early 1960s when a new library was dedicated on Church St. in the Community Center. It subsequently was the first Simi Valley Museum before Strathearn Historical Park was established in 1969. Originally located on Third Street near Los Angeles Avenue, the building was moved to Strathearn Historical Park in 1971.
No. 41 Haigh/Talley Colony House. Built 1889. Also National Historic Landmark. This is one of twelve pre-cut, partially assembled two-story houses shipped by rail in 1888 by a group of Chicago doctors, the California Mutual Benefit Colony, to the townsite of Simiopolis. Later owners of the house included the Henry and Grace Haigh family (1903 to 1909) and the John and Mary Talley family (1924 to 1961). Through the years the Colony Houses were modernized by various additions and running water. The existing house was stripped of its additions when it was moved from its original location at Second and Ashland Streets to the historical park in 1970. (blue house)
The Printz-Powell house was moved to Strathearn Historical Park on April 6, 2018, from where it was originally located at Second and Pacific Streets. (yellow house)
Prior to moving his family to Simi Valley, the original owner, Charles Printz, had been a land agent in Los Angeles for Simi Land and Water Company. His wife, Rosabella Printz, was the Simi postmistress for many years. The Printz family owned two identical colony houses next door to one another, just like you see here.
Kerosene oil lamps were used to light the houses in those days. Each lamp had a flame inside a glass chimney, and a wick soaked with kerosene from the base was lit with a match. In February 1905, Bessie Printz was given a dollhouse for her birthday. She was playing with her gift upstairs in the family’s original home, when she accidentally knocked over the kerosene lamp. The curtains caught fire, and within minutes the house was lost. The family then moved to the identical house next door and continued to operate the Post Office from the side porch in their new home, which we now call the Printz-Powell Colony house.
There was no sign on the house indicating it was the Post Office. The Simi residents knew where the Post Office was located, and newcomers were told to “just go up and put your letter through the slot in the door.”
When rural telephone service was brought to Simi in 1909, telephone central was also placed in the Printz Colony House. Rose and her daughters Gertrude, Frances, and Bessie, operated telephone central, which consisted of four telephone lines, with several parties on each line.
The Printz Colony House served as the Simi Post Office from 1904 to 1941. Family members lived in the house until February 1984, when Bessie Printz sold the property to Larry Powell. Mr. Powell purchased the Printz Colony House with the intent of preserving its heritage. After acquiring the house, he stated that he intended to donate the building to Strathearn Historical Park and Museum when the time was right for him to do so. He personally used it as his residence from 1984 until the house moved to Strathearn Park in 2018.
If you look to the peak of the house, you can see the finial that was fabricated by our local high school students, and placed atop the roof.
No. 66 Saint Rose of Lima Catholic Church
EARLY WORSHIP IN THE SIMI COLONY (Built as a Presbyterian Church in 1902) Former Location: Corner of Third and Pacific Streets, Simi Valley. This small frame building was originally constructed for use as a Presbyterian Church. The community could not support two Protestant congregations, so the Presbyterian congregation merged with the Methodist congregation to form a community church using the Methodist building. About 1910 the former Presbyterian church became a mission church of Santa Clara Church in Oxnard. It was the only Catholic church in Simi Valley until a new Saint Rose of Lima Church was built in 1965. It was moved to Strathearn Historical Park and Museum in 2002.
No. 91 Chumash Village of Shimiji. Age: From 500 to 1800+ A.D Most of the Chumash village of Shimiji is covered by industrial development but a portion (north of the adobe) within Strathearn Historical Park is protected and has been partially excavated. An adobe building of the 1795 Spanish land grant, El Rancho Simi, was coincidentally sited over the village. R. P. Strathearn purchased many thousands of acres at the west end of the Rancho and in 1892-93 built his new home onto the front of what was left of the old adobe. Thus, three periods of history are reflected in the same location.
No. 93 Wood Ranch Barns. Built 1945. A main barn, 100 feet long by 50 feet wide, and a feed barn, 160 feet long by 23 feet wide with an overhang of approximately 11 feet were built and used for cattle ranching by Adrian G. and Emma Grubb Wood on their 5000 acre ranch known as Taylor Ranch. The barns were moved to the historical park when the Wood Ranch subdivision was begun.
The Simi Store is a reproduction of the W.S. Keir Store, which was originally located on the south side of Los Angeles Avenue at Fourth Street. This building is not historic, it was constructed from a garage that was on the Strathearn Property, and moved to its current location. It served as the Historical Society’s Visitors center for a time. It now serves as our general store, selling Park merchandise, and an eclectic collection of vintage items.
The Barbershop Building: Originally located on Los Angeles Avenue between Third and Fourth Streets. It was first known as Dora Beach’s little general store in the early 1900s. Women bought their sewing notions there, and children went there for penny candy. It stood between other stores on the South Side of Los Angeles Avenue, the WS Keir Store at Fourth Street, and John Sawetelle’s Store at Third Street. This Bañaga barbershop building was always a part of “downtown Simi.”
After Dora Beach’s store, the building served a variety of purposes. In the 1940s it was briefly a residence; then it was a chiropractic office. For a short while it was a meeting hall for Jehovah’s Witnesses. There was even a café at one point. All these uses were prior to the 1950s.
Beginning in 1958, Manuel Bañaga Jr. operated his barbershop in this building for almost 50 years, until 2006. In April 2007 a pickup truck and a flatbed trailer were all that was required to relocate the building from its old location between Midas and Bob's Transmission on Los Angeles Avenue to Strathearn Historical Park. Many long time Simi residents who visit Strathearn have memories of getting haircuts in this building.
Exhibits in this building include a fearsome looking permanent wave machine and antique implements which were used by beauticians and barbers. The beige barbers chair in the barbershop belonged to Manuel Bañaga Jr.
The Montgomery Playhouse: The Wayne and Eleanor Montgomery house was at the southeast corner of Cochran St. and Erringer Rd. In the early years of the Montgomery ranch, they grew grain, planted various fruit trees, and finally they raised cattle. The family home was a small cottage at first. As the family grew, so did the house. Their first two children were girls, so, in 1924, an 8 by 10 foot playhouse was built for their daughters to enjoy. It was furnished with Eleanor's childhood furniture. After the death of her husband Wayne, Mrs. Montgomery decided to donate five acres of their land to the United Methodist Church. She built a new house nearby on a street to the east that she named Wayne Circle. She then had the little playhouse moved to the new location so her grandchildren could continue to enjoy it. That is where it sat for the next thirty years. When the Church purchased the land in the year 2000, the playhouse was moved to Strathearn Park.
The Santa Susana Corner: The Santa Susana corner features historical items from the east area of Simi Valley that was known as Santa Susana located near Los Angeles and Tapo Street. Santa Susana sprung up in the early 1900s when a train station was built there. In this corner you will find the slab of a heritage oak tree, the Santa Susana school bell, the Crinklaw Title Stone, and the Casino Mexicano cornerstone.
The Heritage Oak slab is that of a California Coast Live Oak. This preserved slice of the tree which was felled by disease in its original location, is believed to be between 300 and 500 years old and was declared a county landmark by the Ventura County Cultural Heritage Board.
The Bell you see is from the original Santa Susana school and was used to call the children to class.
The Crinklaw building was built in 1912 by Horace Crinklaw. It was located east of Tapo Street on Los Angeles Avenue and housed several retail businesses. Unfortunately, the building was destroyed in the 1971 earthquake.
The Casino Mexicano Cornerstone was laid on Cinco de Mayo 1930. The casino was intended to serve the increasing Mexican population in Simi Valley, and was more like a recreation community center than a casino as we think of them today. Only four rows of bricks were laid before the effects of the Great Depression were felt and it was never completed.
The light posts that you see are two of many that were to be placed on Los Angeles Avenue as part of a planned subdivision. These plans were abandoned along with those for the Casino Mexicano around the time of the Great Depression.
The Hirschi Monument: This structure is called The Hirschi or Dante-Irene Monument. It is technically a ‘cenotaph,’ which is a monument erected to a deceased person, whose remains lie elsewhere. It was moved to Strathearn Historical Park from its previous site owned by the Woman’s Club in 1971 to save it from demolition.
Strathearn Windmill. Many Simi residents believe that the windmill at Strathearn Park is one that once stood in the Wood Ranch development, but in fact it came from Strathearn ranch land. It once was located in the Strathearn ‘Middle Ranch’ that was in Moorpark.
The Gazebo: The gazebo is not a historic structure. It was moved to Strathearn Historical Park in 1996 from a model house display located in the Wood Ranch housing development.
The Currier Pitting Shed was built in the 1920’s and moved to Strathearn Park in 2001. Apricots were a big industry in Simi Valley and all of Ventura County for many decades. There were several “pitting sheds” in the valley, notably on the Montgomery, Wright and Currier ranches. The fruit was ready to be harvested and processed in early summer. That meant temporary intensive work for all ages. Older boys and men picked the fruit and hauled it to the pitting shed. Women, girls and younger boys worked in the shed. Redwood trays, three by six feet, were set up on stands; the fruit was rolled out onto the tray, and each apricot was skillfully and rapidly cut and laid out on the tray with the cup side up. It was important to make a clean cut to retain the juice for the next step in the process. Workers were paid by the box, so speed was important, but “slipping pits” in order to make more money was not allowed. The trays full of raw fruit were stacked onto small rail cars and rolled into a smudge house, where sulfur fumes were used to help combat the insects as well as to retain the moisture. Then the trays were laid out in the sun for drying.
For history buffs: 500 page book "Simi Valley: A Journey Through Time" published by the Simi Valley Historical Society and Museum available in the Simi Store. Soft cover $29.95+. Hardbound $49.95+.
