RANCHO CAMULOS MUSEUM N A T I O N A L H I S T O R I C L A N D M A R K

u Del Valle Adobe & Old Cocina

Built between 1853-1880, the 10,000 square foot structure with its two-foot thick walls and long corredores is an outstanding and rare example of the rural domestic vernacular style of Spanish-Mexican Colonial architecture. The original four room section built in 1853 for the ranch foreman evolved into a u-shaped plan organized around a central courtyard to accommodate the growing del Valle family who moved permanently to the ranch from Los Angeles in 1861. The old cocina was the original adobe kitchen (later used as a garage), one of the only detached rancho kitchens still in existence

v Chapel

Constructed in 1867 as a private place of worship for Doña Ysabel del Valle, the chapel is a wood frame structure that features an unusual barrel vaulted wood ceiling under the long gabled porch. Priests traveling between the San Fernando and San Buenaventura Missions would stop at the rancho once a month to say mass in the chapel for the family, ranch workers and nearby residents, thereby earning it the moniker “the lost mission”. The chapel was clad in stucco during the 1930s by August Rubel.

w School House

The school house was built circa 1930 by August Rubel ro serve the family’s five young children and those of the ranch bookkeeper. It is a wood framed structure clad in stucco designed to blend in with the early adobe buildings.

x Old Winery

Built in 1867, the brick winery with its massive stone buttresses stored the famous Camulos wines and brandies produced between 1870 and 1900. Wines were aged in casks in the basement. The 1870 census lists Camulos Ranch as the largest vintner in the region, processing 45 tons of Mission grapes. The winery also housed the rancho school on the ground floor during the 1880s.

y/zBarn & Bunkhouse

Built circa 1910, the large barn is constructed of wood and served to house ranch animals as well as equipment in later years. The California Bungalow-style bunkhouse was built circa 1916 as the ranch bunkhouse for workers and is now used as the ranch office.

{ 1920 Spanish Colonial Revival-Style Adobe

Known as the Nachito del Valle adobe, this house was built circa 1920 for the youngest son of Ysabel and Ygnacio del Valle. It was constructed around a courtyard and exhibits the Colonial Revival-Style with its tile roof and recessed arched entry. This building is undergoing renovation and will be the museum’s new Visitors’ Center.