Author: phyllis (---)
Date: 03-19-00 14:09 PST
ventura county star
ventura,ca
Historical ranch seeks new life as tourist site
DONATIONS NEEDED: Owner has big plans to refurbish 150-year-old Rancho Camulos.
By Amy Bentley
Staff writer
Sunday March 19, 2000
The 1994 Northridge earthquake was a blessing and a curse for Rancho Camulos.
The earthquake caused millions in damage to the historic adobe, winery and other buildings near Piru. The structures were already rundown after years of inattention, and it seemed the quake might spell their doom.
But Anne Reinders would not let that happen. She took on the challenge to transform one of Ventura County's most unique historical landmarks from a diamond in the rough to a sparkling crown jewel.
"People just now after 150 years are getting to appreciate the history of the area,"she said.
Reinders, 43, is one of 17 relatives who own Rancho Camulos, a mission-style ranch on nearly 1,800 acres of an original Mexican land grant two miles east of Piru. The struggle to restore the ranch fell to Reinders as the only owner who lives in Ventura County. She took over as ranch manager in 1996, made the orchards profitable again after years of running in the red and has grand plans for the historic ranch -- if she can secure the money to fix up the damaged buildings.
The ranch is open to the public by appointment only, which means visitors are welcome when Reinders can squeeze in the time to lead a tour.
"We are looking to open up to the public by the end of the year if we have all the facilities in place," she said. "We intend to make this a family destination."
All the ranch and its supporters need is money. Like, a couple million.
Reinders wants to make the wood-frame chapel from the 1860s available for weddings. The 11,000-square-foot main adobe house, built in 1854 with the original, detailed wrought-iron lighting fixtures still hanging, could be a museum. The schoolhouse seats 100, and Reinders envisions it as a community center or a place for club meetings and poetry readings. Outside, the old children's play area would be restored for family use. The brick winery, built around 1885, would reopen with a gift shop and offer wine tasting. The barn could be a gallery or crafts shop. The small adobe along Highway 126 could be a gift shop or restaurant. And in the grassy, tree-shaded yard near the chapel, the aviary would again be filled with birds. Reinders would set up patio furniture to welcome people for public events or touring students.
One million dollars in earthquake grant money has already been spent to rebuild and reroof the main adobe, and retrofit the winery and small adobe. But those repairs barely scratched the surface. The main adobe needs an estimated $1 million for replastering, repainting, furnishings and other repairs. The chapel and school need a new roof, and public restrooms must be installed. Only the schoolhouse has water and power, which the other buildings will need.
Ventura County Supervisor Kathy Long, whose office is helping the ranch apply for government grants, said the county is waiting to hear whether it will get a $1.2 million federal grant from the Economic Development Administration to build train tracks from Piru to Rancho Camulos to increase its accessibility with a train stop at the ranch.
The fund-raising effort got another key boost earlier this month when the federal government recognized Rancho Camulos as Ventura County's first National Historic Landmark, a status that qualifies the property for more restoration grants. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt recognized the ranch as the home of Ramona, a fictional character of the 19th-century novel by Helen Hunt Jackson that tells the story of a wealthy Spanish girl's doomed romance with an American Indian boy.
Reinders said the first half of the book was set at Camulos Ranch, where Jackson had spent a few hours as she toured the Southwest. The story helped to romanticize the California mission and ranch lifestyle, and bring Anglo immigrants to Southern California beginning in the 1880s.
The story of Reinders' modern-day efforts to restore Rancho Camulos is as colorful as its history from a century ago. The Mexican government gave about 40 square miles of land to soldier Antonio Del Valle in 1839 as payment for his efforts fighting Spain. In 1924, Reinders' grandfather, August Alexander Rubel, bought the Rancho Camulos parcel from Del Valle's relatives, whose lavish lifestyle forced them to sell their land.
Reinders' grandparents lived in the large adobe, which is surrounded by a brick path and gardens under a massive 150-year-old walnut tree. They planted new orange and lemon orchards.
"This ranch was a showcase when my grandfather was here. People came from Europe, Latin America and Africa to see it,"she said.
The heyday ended when her grandfather was killed in 1943 in World War II. Her grandmother remarried a man Reinders described as "mean, alcoholic and heavily armed."After her grandmother died in 1968, the step-grandfather stayed in the adobe for the next 26 years.
"As soon as she died he wouldn't allow us on the property," Reinders said. "He had kept the ranch closed for 30 years and didn't want anyone to come. He ran the ranch into the ground. The orchards were a mess."
Then the 1994 earthquake hit, rocking Piru so hard that outside walls of the large adobe tumbled down. Walls that were still standing were deeply cracked. Bricks flew off the winery. The chapel was nearly lifted off its foundation.
Reinders' step-grandfather suffered a heart attack the day after the quake, moved to his home in Las Vegas and died a few months later.
The quake was a wake-up call for the family to fix the historic buildings before they fell apart. The owners scrambled to apply for historical landmark status and get earthquake repair funding. Reinders managed the ranch herself from 1996 until two weeks ago, when finances finally allowed her to hire a manager. The avocados, lemons, oranges and vegetables now turn a profit.
That doesn't mean Reinders, a wife and mother of three small children, can sit back and relax. "There's still so much work to be done,"she said.
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