Sights and Sounds of Old Santa Ana

Can you imagine scrubbing laundry on a washboard, turning a hand crank to use the telephone or listening to the scratchy sounds of a gramophone? Return to such times at the Discovery Museum of Orange County in Santa Ana.

The exhibits in this new museum are scattered throughout the restored 1898 home of Hiram Clay Kellogg, Santa Ana’s first city engineer. He mounted an engineer’s transit on the roof so everyone could identify his house, which has since been moved to the west side of the city near Centennial Regional Park.

The innovative engineer designed an oval dining room, with drawers that ran through the wall into the kitchen. Kellogg also built an elliptical staircase around a ship’s mast that was erected through the middle of the house.

But most visitors will be more fascinated by the collection of household items rather than the building. Docents answer questions and give directions about how things were used in “the good old days.” Also, you can wander from room to room and floor to floor on a self-guided tour.

On the back porch you can scrub clothes in a washtub and then crank them through a wringer. In the music room, visitors can play the square grand piano. You also can crank the Kellogg’s original wall phone and tap out a message in Morse code with a telegraph key.

Dress for Photos

In the kitchen you’ll have fun guessing the purpose of some vintage utensils. That big card in the window with a number on it is to tell the iceman how many pounds to deliver for the icebox.

On top of the winding staircase is a room with branding irons, orange crate labels and photographs that recall occupations in early Orange County. In the Boudoir Room are Victorian hats and clothes you can dress in for photos. Sit down to pump the treadle sewing machine, inspect a home loom and look at the detail in the quilts.

A small area upstairs has been converted into a schoolroom, complete with writing slates and “McGuffey’s Readers.” In the children’s room are popular toys of bygone times, such as Lincoln Logs and an Erector set.

The three-story home was decorated by the Junior League of Orange County and opened in May. The public is welcome on weekends from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is $1, 50 cents for children.

School classes can tour the house by appointment on weekdays. Private Victorian birthday parties for children can be arranged, and a new grassy plaza with a gazebo is available for weddings. Call the Discovery Museum for details at (714) 540-0404.

A good time to visit the 11-acre property is next Saturday, when the arts, crafts and entertainment of yesteryear come back to life during the museum’s Victorian Fair. Performing around the grounds will be barbershop quartets, dulcimer players, madrigal singers and clog dancers.

Also spinners, weavers, quilters and lace makers will be at work, and hundreds of handcrafted gift items will be offered for sale.

Old-Fashioned Games

Children can take pony rides and play old-fashioned games. Soft drinks and snacks will be available during the fair, which runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $2, children under 12 years $1.

The Discovery Museum is at 3101 W. Harvard St. From the Los Angeles Civic Center, drive south on Interstate 110 (Harbor Freeway) to pick up Interstate 405 and continue south on it to the Fairview Road exit. Drive north (it becomes Fairview Street in Santa Ana) about two miles and turn left on Harvard Street to the museum entrance.

Two other historic buildings are in downtown Santa Ana. They were restored recently to their turn-of-the-century elegance. The Old Orange County Courthouse, which was in use from 1901 to 1969, is just across the street from the 100-year-old Dr. Howe-Waffle House. It was the home of the city’s second mayor and his wife, one of the area’s first women doctors.

Dr. Willella Howe later divorced Howe and married Edwin Waffle, thus the hyphenated name of the house. Now on the National Register of Historic Places, the 12-room home was built entirely of California redwood and can be recognized by its ornate exterior that is painted green.

The two-story house has been redecorated with 1920s and earlier furnishings, some belonging to the Howe-Waffle families. Visitors can take guided tours on the third Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Donations are welcome. Call (714) 547-9645 for more information.

Across Sycamore Street is the old courthouse where free tours are offered Tuesdays between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Go through the triple-arched main entrance into the red sandstone building and continue up the grand staircase to meet docent guides in period dress.

Courthouse History

They’ll show you a classic courtroom of earlier times, complete with spittoons beneath the counsels’ tables. Desks in the court reporter’s office hold antique dictating machines.

A second courtroom is now an exhibit gallery and features a 12-minute video about the construction and history of the courthouse. A crime display shows old sheriffs’ badges, shackles and photos of confiscated whiskey stills and gambling equipment.

In the foyer is a case with the contents of a rusted tin box, a 1900 time capsule that was opened in celebration of Orange County’s centennial this year. A new time capsule with memorabilia of 1989 has been buried in the courthouse square.

From the Discovery Museum, continue driving north on Fairview Street to 1st Street, turn right to go across town to Main Street, turn left to Santa Ana Boulevard, then left again to the Old County Courthouse at Sycamore Street.

To return to Los Angeles, continue east on 1st Street or go north on Main Street to join Interstate 5 north.

Round trip from Los Angeles to discover early Santa Ana is 72 miles.