We still aren't quite done with LA County-- and actually we were thinking that our final site should be in LA, so we won't be done for quite a while. This weekend we had a little time before Girl Scouts to embark on another outing to get more sites checked off our list.
Our first stop was in
El Monte-- the first Southern California settelment by immigrants from the United States (CHL 975).
Sadly the park is closed for refurbishment, so we were only able to get photos from outside looking in. This site was originally an encampment spot on the Old Spanish Trail, which was a sort of extension of the Santa Fe Trail. It was also here that "immigrants" from Texas settled, causing it to be the first So Cal settlement founded by citizens of the US. It's so funny to think that at one time US citizens were immigrants in California, but that was the case.
Next we drove a short distance to the
Savannah Memorial Park (CHL 1046) which is the final resting place for many of the pioneers from El Monte.
We spent a bit of time walking around, but we hadn't researched who was buried here.
Luckily for us, the historians in El Monte were more prepared then we were...
Next to significant pioneer settler graves were these signs explaining who the people were and their areas of interest. It is, by far, the best cemetery we have visited in California in terms of highlighting the important historical figures buried within.
Even Libi enjoyed finding the signs and telling us who the pioneers were and what they accomplished.
Next we fought construction and no turn signs to find our third site, the
Ortega-Vigare Adobe (CHL 451).
This is now a well-guarded private residence, so a few photos out front will have to do.
The home was the second oldest adobe in the area, which was constructed during the old mission days (1792-1805). At one time this building also housed San Gabriel's first bakery.
This adobe was separated from the mission grounds by a cactus wall-- now it is separated by lots of construction on a few city streets.
Mission San Gabriel Arcangel (CHL 158) was our only mission for the day. It was founded on September 8, 1771 and was the 4th mission founded in California.
The grounds are great to explore-- very well labeled and, with your map in hand, you can see lots of cool things!
Libi led the way into the chapel, which has been re-done due to some earthquake damage.
The baptismal room has some interesting facts about it. Here is the information directly from the Mission website:
"Within the Mission is the baptistery. The floor, walls and domed
ceiling are original. Here rests the hand hammered copper baptismal
font, which was a personal gift from King Carlos III of Spain. Also, is
the same sterling silver baptismal shell carried by the founding
fathers over 200 years ago, from which in November 1771, the first
Tongva child received Baptism, just as the latest first born of today’s
parishioners do."
How cool would it be to be baptized in a font from the King of Spain?
The altar was absolutely gorgeous and full of history!
Again from the Mission website:
"The altar is original and was handcrafted in Mexico City, and brought to
the Mission in the 1790’s. The six polychrome wooden statues were hand
carved in Spain, and they were brought around the Horn in 1791. These
statues and reredos (ornamental screen covering at back of a church’s
altar) were restored to their original beauty after the earthquake of
1987. Also, Our Lady of Sorrows, well over 300 years old, now is
beautifully framed in wrought iron."
This is quite possibly the largest sanctuary light ever! So beautiful!
The pulpit was interesting...
they cut the banisters in half to save wood/money! Very smart!
We walked under a hundred year old grapevine...
to find a musician at the other end. Who has live music in the middle of the mission? San Gabriel, that's who!!
The dirt floor in the original section of the mission dates back to when George Washington was President-- it's old as dirt! Get it?
Here is a beautiful frontal from the early 1800's.
This was one of the coolest things we saw...
a vestment worn by Father Serra! It is well protected behind glass and with lots of cameras around!
Our obligatory photo with the main man himself, Father Serra!
The courtyard has lots of neat mini-exhibits including a sample of Native American life, replicas of all 21 missions, and early tools.
I don't know why Ron didn't want to get into these tanning vats like he did at La Purisima?
After we knocked down Mission San Gabriel (sorry, I'm full of puns tonight!)...
we visited the
Governor Stoneman Adobe, Los Robles (CHL 669). George Stoneman, Jr. was an interesting figure, whom I knew nothing about. We was an Army cavalry officer who roomed at West Point with Stonewall Jackson. He served in the Civil War and his raids in Virginia are said to have inspired the song "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down."
He had always dreamed of living in California, so he went west after the war. He settled in the San Gabriel Valley at an estate he called Los Robles. It was a grand 400 acre estate which entertained many dignitaries, including President Rutherford B. Hayes. He became Governor of California from 1883-1887, but wasn't renominated for a second term. Shortly after this his house burnt to the ground (rumored to have been set by his political adversaries) and he left California broke and ill. He died shortly thereafter in New York.
Now the plaque for this once gigantic estate is on the corner in a quiet neighborhood in San Marino.
The
Old Mill (CHL 302) was only a minutes drive away. The mill was originally built to serve the mission in about 1816 and is claimed to be the oldest commercial building in Southern California. When a mill was built closer to the mission in 1823 this mill was abandoned.
The property passed into private hands during the coming years and was once used as a golf club house.
In 1928 Mr. and Mrs. James Brehm bought the property and restored the mill.
It is open daily from 1-4, but we were too early to go inside. We will have to return to explore the building and the CA gardens-- perhaps even to see a performance by the California Philharmonic Chamber, who has their summer concerts here.
Our final stop for the day was the Pacific Asia Museum (Grace Nicholson's Treasure House of Oriental and Western Art) (CHL 988).
This building was commissioned by the art collector/anthropologist Grace Nicholson. She had her hand in every aspect of the building-- even bringing over many of the tiles and building materials from China.
On the first floor she housed her Native American, Chinese and Pacific Island Art collections and she lived upstairs. In the early 1920's this building was the center of arts and culture in Pasadena.
You can see all the amazing details from the outside. We had to return home for a Girl Scout meeting, so we will have to come back to see the exhibits inside another day.
We did make one quick stop on the way home-- when we visited the
Pasadena Playhouse (CHL 887) we didn't notice the state plaque. Today we rectified the error, so now we have the official plaque photo!
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