Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society and Heritage Junction [CA]

Description

The Society operates Heritage Junction, a site including eight historic buildings: the 1890 Pardee House, the 1893 Newhall Ranch House, the 1887 Saugus Train Station, the 1865 Mitchell Adobe, the 1919 Edison House, the 1878 Kingsburry House, the 1927 Callahan Schoolhouse, and the 1926 Ramona Chapel.

The society offers lectures, film screenings, and occasional recreational and educational events; the Kingsburry House offers tours; and the Saugus Train Station offers exhibits.

County of Los Angeles Fire Museum [CA]

Description

One of the museum's first donated pieces was the famous Squad 51 from the hit television show Emergency! Since then, the collection has grown from a dozen or so antique fire engines to more than 40 dating back to the 1860s. Additionally, uniforms, badges, helmets, photographs, and many other artifacts are being resurrected and preserved as lucent examples of the County fire service.

The museum offers exhibits, but is only open to the public on a few days over the course of the year.

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park [CA]

Description

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park presents the opportunity to experience the history of early San Diego by providing a connection to the past. Visitors can learn about life in the Mexican and early American periods of 1821 to 1872, as converging cultures transformed San Diego from a Mexican pueblo to an American settlement. The core of restored original historic buildings from the interpretive period are complemented by reconstructed sites, along with early 20th-century buildings designed in the same mode. The Historic Plaza remains a gathering place for community events and historic activity. Five original adobe buildings are part of the historic park, which includes museums, unique retail shops, and several restaurants. La Casa de Estudillo is a mansion built around a garden courtyard. La Casa de Machado y Stewart is full of artifacts that reflect ordinary life of the period. Some of the other historic buildings include the Mason Street School (California's first public schoolhouse), La Casa de Machado y Silvas, the San Diego Union Printing Office (site of the city's oldest surviving newspaper office), and the first brick courthouse. The Seeley Stables Museum, with newly rehabilitated exhibits on overland transportation, houses one of the finest wagon and carriage collections. Visitors can experience a working blacksmith shop, enjoy music, see or touch the park's burros, and engage in activities that represent early San Diego.

The park offers exhibits, tours, living history events and programs, and other recreational and educational events.

Wells Fargo History Museum

Description

Wells Fargo and Co. is a joint stock company that was founded in 1852, with the intention to do a banking and trading business in the newly formed state of California. The Wells Fargo Museums, located in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, Anchorage, Portland, Phoenix, and Minneapolis, provide visitors with a wealth of information on the early history of Wells Fargo and Co. and highlight the company's impact on regional history.

The site offers information about the Wells Fargo Museums and online exhibits, as well as information about the Wells Fargo and Co. corporate archives for researchers.

San Diego Historical Society and Museum of San Diego History [CA]

Description

The Museum of San Diego History is the headquarters of the San Diego Historical Society. Visitors will find a collection of exhibitions that chronicle San Diego's diverse history.

The Society also maintains the Junipero Serra Museum and the Marston House Museum.

The society offers educational programs, lectures, tours, and occasional recreational and educational events; the museum offers exhibits, tours, and research library access.

Santa Barbara County Historic Courthouse

Description

For almost 160 years, this site has been the home of local government and a place of civic pride and celebration. The County Board of Supervisors caused the construction of the now-historic courthouse in 1926, after the smaller Greek-Revival courthouse was damaged in an earthquake the previous year. Visitors from around the world come to see the courthouse, mural room, and grounds.

The courthouse offers tours.

Dunsmuir House and Gardens

Description

Built in 1899, Oakland's Dunsmuir Historic Estate features a 37-room Neoclassical Revival mansion set upon 50 acres of landscaped grounds. The estate also includes a carriage house and a pavilion overlooking a pond and a gazebo, and plays host to a variety of educational, cultural, entertainment events throughout the year.

The house offers tours and educational and recreational events, including occasional living history events.