|
Located at the eastern end of Heritage Valley
is the Rancho Camulos Museum, the best remaining example of an early
California rancho in its original rural setting. The rancho's lovely
gardens are in full bloom in the spring.
Established by Ygnacio del Valle in 1853, Camulos was once part of a
48,000 acre Mexican land grant deeded to Ygnacio's father Antonio del
Valle in 1839. The del Valles were a prominent California family both
before and after statehood and were famous for their generous hospitality,
maintaining the traditional rancho lifestyle long after it had disappeared
elsewhere. Camulos bustled with extended family members and workers of
Indian and Mexican descent, with up to 200 people living at the ranch
during years of peak agricultural production.
Rancho Camulos is also part of literary folklore as the setting for
Helen Hunt Jackson’s novel Ramona, first published in 1884 and still in
print today. It is the romantic tale of a part-Indian girl raised by an
old Spanish Californio family. Ramona falls in love with an Indian ranch
hand, and their life together mirrors the tragic fate of Indians at the
hands of white settlers. With its tragic love story and nostalgic view of
history, the dramatic tale struck a chord in the imagination of the
American public and gave rise to a romanticized vision of the mission and
rancho era in the land of milk and honey.
This image sparked both tourism and migration to California in huge
numbers from the late 1880s until the beginning of WWII. After the second
printing of Jackson’s novel, in which Camulos was cited as the Home of
Ramona, the Del Valles were inundated with tourists traveling on the
region’s new railroads, hoping to seek a glimpse of the romantic
heroine.
|
|
Attractions:
Rancho Camulos Museum
Rancho established 1853;
Original Spanish land grant adobe;
Ventura County Landmark #152, National Register of Historic Places;
National Historic Landmark
Open to the Public for tours:
Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 1 pm to 4 pm.
Suggested Donations:
Adult: $5.00 each
Children & Students: $3.00 each
(proceeds go to help finance ranch restoration and retrofitting efforts)
For more information, please call Hillary Weirter, at
805.521.1501
http://www.ranchocamulos.org
5164 East Telegraph Road
Piru, CA
Rancho Camulos stands as a vibrant reminder of the SpanishMexican
ranchero life of Old California. The museum is working to create a living
history site and educational center dedicated to preserving the cultural
legacy from one of the most colorful periods of western history. The
museum includes 15 structures within a 40 acre preserve listed on the
National Register of Historic Places and recently designated a National
Historic Landmark.
 The
buildings include a 20 room casa grande adobe, a private chapel and brick
fountain, a Spanish Colonial Revival adobe, a brick winery, barn, bunk house
and out buildings.
 The
chapel on the property has often been referred to by scholars as the Lost
Mission; padres traveling between the San Fernando and San Buenaventura
missions would stop here and say mass for the Del Valle family once each
month. Rancho Camulos remained in the Del Valle family until 1924 when it
was sold to August Rübel, whose heirs are the current owners.
|
