(Rancho Sespe, Bunkhouse) 2896 Telegraph Road Fillmore Ventura County California
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HABS No. CA-2687-A Sespe Ranch, Bunkhouse (Rancho Sespe, Bunkhouse) 2896 Telegraph Road Fillmore Ventura County California PHOTOGRAPHS WRITTEN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE DATA Historic American Buildings Survey National Park Service Western Region Department of the Interior San Francisco, California 94107 HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY SESPE RANCH BUNKHOUSE IA-- (Rancho Sespe, Bunkhouse) HABS No. CA-2687-A Location: 2896 Telegraph Road, Fillmore, Ventura County, California, 93001 Present Owner: James Finch, 2423 Hyland Avenue, Ventura, CA 93001 Present Use: Vacant Significance: The Sespe Ranch Bunkhouse is an historically significant structure due to its association with the Ventura County citrus industry between 1910-1940. As a structure designed to house the ranch's unmarried Caucasian male citrus laborers, it represents one of the very earliest facilities to include such modern amenities as indoor plumbing, cooking facilities, and electric lights. As such, it represents a major turning point in the evolution of housing for Southern California's citrus laborers. The Bunkhouse is a very good, and perhaps the last, remaining example of the historical evolution of citrus workers' housing during the early decades of the twentieth-century. The Sespe Ranch Bunkhouse is also historically significant for its association with Sespe Ranch owner Keith Spalding, who commissioned the design and construction of the structure. Heir to the Spalding family of baseball and sporting goods fame, Spalding served as the head of several industrial corporations with ties to the East Coast, as well as influential cultural associations in Southern California. Perhaps influenced by the ideas of Progressivism and the County Life Movement which contributed to the industrialization of agriculture from 1900-1930, Spalding was one of the most prosperous and successful agribusiness men in Ventura County between 1910-1911, when the bunkhouse was designed and constructed, until his death in 1961. At the time the bunkhouse came into existence, the Sespe Ranch, under Spalding's direction, had become one of the largest privately owned producers of lemons in the state, as well as one of the largest private producers of citrus in the country. The Sespe Ranch Bunkhouse can also be considered historically significant due to its design and association with the Pasadena architectural firm of Greene and Greene. As undisputed master craftsman and renowned Southern California architects, Charles and Henry Greene were pioneers among the Arts and Crafts and Craftsman styles. Although not directly designed by the Greene brothers, the Bunkhouse's significance in this regard is only slightly diminished, as it was a product of a highly respected and innovative architectural firm. In an architectural context, the bunkhouse is a good example of a Greene and Greene utilitarian design, created for citrus workers' housing during the first decade of the twentieth-century. Historian: Scott A. Moomjian, Office of Marie Burke Lia, Attorney at Law, Prepared for Architect Milford Wayne Donaldson, F.A.I.A., Inc. PART I. HISTORICAL INFORMATION SESPE RANCH, BUNKHOUSE HASS No. CA-2687-A (Page 2) A. Physical History: 1. Date of Erection: 1910-1911, for Keith and Eudora Spalding, owners of the Rancho Sespe. Plans for the "Bunk-House For Keith Spalding, Esq. at Sespe California" were drawn in 1910 by the Pasadena architectural firm of Greene and Greene. The primary set was dated October 27, 1910. 2. Architect: Architectural Firm: Greene and Greene. Architects Charles and Henry Greene are best known for the contribution to the Arts and Crafts and Craftsman styles during the twentieth-century. Charles Sumner Greene was born on October 12, 1868 in Brighton, Ohio, then a suburb of Cincinnati. His brother, Henry Mather Greene, was also born in Brighton, fifteen months later on January 23, 1870. In 1874, the Greene family moved to St. Louis, Missouri. In 1876, the brothers moved with their mother to the Mather farm in Guyandot, West Virginia, while their father, Thomas Greene (formerly an accountant), studied medicine in Cincinnati. Four years in this location led the brothers to a deep appreciation of the natural environment. From an early age, the brothers were heavily influenced by their father, Dr. Thomas Greene, who encouraged the boys to become architects. In 1880, the boys and their mother returned to St. Louis where their father established his medical practice, specializing in respiratory ailments. The Greene brothers gained understanding of the importance of providing for adequate light and air in designing homes. Dr. Greene, was a friend of Calvin Milton Woodward, the founder of the Manual Training High School, operated by Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. The school, which opened in 1880, required that each student, in addition to the normal high school curriculum, spend two hours a day at manual training. The first year, students would engage in woodworking and carpentry with an emphasis on an understanding of the inherent characteristics of wood. Their second year would focus on metalworking, and their third on toolmaking. Woodward, who was widely acclaimed as the father of manual training, stressed the dignity of craftsmanship and is credited with introducing handicrafts into American secondary education. Dr. Greene was enthusiastic about Woodward's educational theories and believed that such training would provide an effective background for an architectural career. Accordingly, Charles enrolled in 1883, and Henry in 1884. The Greene brothers greatly benefitted from Woodward's program. They both became exposed to a craftsman style approach where form results from the nature of materials and the tools employed. Because of this high school background, the Greenes developed a real appreciation of the opportunities of the craftsman, an appreciation that would later be reflected in the detail of their own original work. In 1888, Charles and Henry Greene entered the School of Architecture at Boston Tech (which was later to become part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology), where their training was in the tradition of historic European styles. They graduated from the school in 1891. Between 1891-1893, the brothers remained in Boston and worked in a variety of different architectural offices. At the end of 1892, the brothers were contacted by their parents who had moved to the "little country town" of Pasadena, California. Faced with poor health, financial problems, and loneliness, the parents urged their sons to move to California. Although the decision was not an easy one to make, the brothers were attracted to the area and left for Pasadena in mid-August 1893. When the Greene brothers arrived in Pasadena, in 1894, they decided to establish their own architectural firm. Their first commission was for a tombstone, the second was a modest house for a friend of their father. The early projects reflected the traditional tastes of their clients, but in time, SESPE RANCH, BUNKHOUSE HABS No. CA-2687-A (Page 3) Greene and Greene achieved recognition for developing the California bungalow to a high art and for creating houses with the quality of fine furniture. In 1910, the firm of Greene and Greene entered into its final phase. The first three commissions of 1910 never progressed beyond the design stages. By 1910, the Greenes were reputed to be very slow and very costly. Fewer and fewer commissions came their way and they were no longer able to pick and choose among wealthy clients. In fact, the Greene passion for expert craftsmanship ultimately limited their practice. The unwillingness of Greene and Greene to meet the realities of the changing economic picture meant that they priced themselves out of the market. By 1916, most of their major work was done. In 1910, Greene and Greene were very busy. During this year they were hired to produce new designs for five projects, including the Ernest W. Smith bungalow, the Sam L. Merrill house, and the Sespe Ranch Bunkhouse. They also were engaged in completing various projects, as well as working on alterations and additions for other clients. Randell Makinson, a leading authority on Greene and Greene, has argued that there is little to suggest that either Greene brother had much to do with designs produced in 1910. The work of the two brothers was often complementary. Henry conducted the business affairs, ran the office, controlled the production of working drawings, and was responsible for the financial success of the operations. Charles, on the other hand, spent most of his time engaged in design, away from the office. His concern with the refinements of design left him little time to take part in the technical details of the practice. Much of his work was done in the field or in the mill operated by craftsman Peter Hall. With few exceptions, Makinson notes, Charles had little to do after 1909 with any smaller bungalow designs. His conception and practice of art was channeled into exquisite, but expensive "total design," not open to compromise. As a result, it appears that the designer of the Sespe Ranch Bunkhouse was one of many draftsmen or architects employed by the large firm. By 1909, the two brothers recognized a growing difference in their personal interests. This difference prompted them to work more and more as individuals. In 1916, Charles moved to Carmel. Charles continued to design, while Henry carried on the business. By 1922, it was clear that Henry would continue to practice from the Pasadena office, while